Gundog Training?

B

Beth C

Forums Novice
Hi all,
New Sheltie owner here with two Shelties. One is happy being a sofa dog, the other I have to constantly find new challenges for or she becomes bored and destructive!
Now it might seem strange that I would like to train a sheepdog to do field work, and I suppose it is, but this would just be for fun - I am not even slightly interested in showing my dog or taking her hunting.

I know there are so many sports that a Sheltie is born to do, is it ridiculous to train her to do a spaniel/retriever sport? I just can't think of any other sport that we would both enjoy; there is no Treibbal in the London/Essex area, I won't do disc or agility type sports with her yet as she is only 11 months old, I hate the idea of canine freestyle (love watching it but wouldn't enjoy participating in it) and I want her to ignore sheep so herding is out.

I thought about Gundog training as it can be low intensity while she is young, plus it's on grass and gives her good transferable skills for agility next year. I don't want to overwork her, however she is one who needs a high level of mental stimulation (I did mental challenges with her twice daily from the day I got her) - my aunt is a farmer and said she is as intelligent and driven as her working border collies!

She can pick up tricks almost instantly but does have that adolescent naughty streak :sneaky:if anyone has any ideas I would appreciate your suggestion!
Many Thanks!
 
not sure why you wouldn't start agility training now if that's what you want to do. there are plenty of agility skills that you can teach a puppy without doing actual jumping, weaving or contact work. there are plenty of threads on here about that very topic.
herding is what they love to do- some of them (I have 4 and 2 are really into it and the other two are less excited about the idea). if they are taught to herd sheep, they are also taught to only do it when told. a trained dog would be better around sheep than an untrained dog if she does have instinct.
I don't know if your gundog training actually involves shooting guns during the training process but many shelties are noise reactive and that might not go so well.
 
Hi Beth.

I suppose, theoretically, any dog could try any activity. My only advice though, is to make sure you would be welcome in the activity. Dog sport people can be, let's say - precious, and may not welcome a herding breed into a gundog activity.

Have you thought about tracking? It's a great outdoor activity, and you can lay tracks yourself to do away from classes. It also leads well into scentwork - not sure if you have classes there for that, but you can buy a kit yourself and once she knows how to seek you can lay out scents for her to find (scent work is kind of like sniffer dog work). I often lay out scents around home on a rainy day when the dogs can't go out.

Otherwise, only another month and she can start flyball, now that's great fun for a dog, and as it's a team sport you make a lot of friends.
 
I think I would go into scent work over gun work. Scent is brilliant and can lead into many directions. There's scent trials ( area search) and tracking trials. There are rewarding things you can be involved with after the training if you don't want to show such as search & rescue, finding lost pets, getting a career searching for pests alongside a pest control company (the US has dogs working hotels for bed bugs and hunting for termites in homes and businesses), even scenting allergens or blood sugar issues (should you have any health concerns). Scent is phenomenal mental work without tearing up the body.
 
obedience. :) My shelties work around the house, they pick up the breakfast and dinner bowls and carry them to the kitchen for washing after they eat. They "help" pick up anything I drop on the floor. They look for and find the tv remote, my keys and an occasional treat. Oh, then there's the weekends, when I can take them to obedience trials and earn ribbons. :D
 
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