I understand how most people feel. You lost your old dog — or the one you had quit running — and you need one right away. It’s a week before you can get to my house, and the lambs or goats are getting fatter by the minute, so you actually drive a little faster going home so you can burn a couple of ounces off them before dark. That night I get a call, and the voice on the other end of the line says: he wouldn’t run, he wouldn’t stop, he ran past them, and he’s got diarrhea. (I’m not making fun of anyone. It occurred to me that if I didn’t explain it well enough when you were at my house, how should you be expected to know? It’s my fault, not yours. That’s why I’m writing this.)
Remember: you’re dealing with a living, breathing animal that can think, be scared, feel depressed, feel car sick, and act belligerent or indifferent to everything you say. Sure, the dog looked really good at my house — that’s where it’s lived all its life, or where it accepted a new home because I did what I’m about to tell you to do. It knows I’m its pack leader and that it’s there to serve me. And it’s running stock that has already run around that track probably 150 times, both ways — so many times that if I stood in the center and rang a bell, they might run. Your stock may have never seen a dog, doesn’t know how to react, let alone run around a track it’s never been on. To take a dog home, put it on the track right away, and expect good results — that’s not realistic.
Days one and two: settle in
When I bring a new dog home, I don’t put it on stock — I put it in its pen. I walk by and call its name, maybe sticking my hand up to the fence so it can smell me. I want that to be the familiar smell. I don’t take the dog out of the pen until it meets me at the gate wagging its tail side to side.
Anything less than that is the dog saying: “I’m not sure about this place. I’m not sure about you. I miss where I came from, and if you’ll make a little crack in that gate, I can shoot through faster than you can spit — and I’ll follow my scent trail back to where I came from, and you’ll never see me again.”
When the dog comes to the gate wagging its tail, it’s saying: “I need a friend and a leader, and you look like a good candidate.” I do it this way because I have a lot of dogs, and it’s much easier to make progress when it’s the dog’s idea to come along. You’ve got one new dog and it’s your only concern: if it appears to have already accepted you by the time you get home, keeping it on a lead with you for a couple of days is fine and will let you make progress sooner. If the dog is a little leery of its new surroundings, don’t overwhelm it — a pen where it can “take in” all the new noises and characters before it has to confront them lets the dog accept them with less stress.
The first time out: establish yourself
When I do take the dog out for the first time, I take it out on a choke lead and get it used to walking with me. The choke lead puts me in control of the dog, not the dog leading me when I’ve snapped something to its collar. While we’re walking, I can ask for a “Lie Down” and enforce it (gently) if I don’t get it. That has the dog relying on me for security in unfamiliar surroundings — and establishes me as the pack leader.
We may work our way over to the stock, and if the dog shows no interest, no worries: it’s got a lot on its plate right now, so working stock can take a back seat for a day or two. If it does show interest, I may ask for a lie-down, which again reinforces the point.
The first time loose: always a small pen
The first time I turn a dog loose around stock, I do it in a small pen with the dog dragging a small rope or cord I can step on if it decides to ignore the lie-down command. That shows it can’t get away with being disobedient — and it’s a necessary step in dogbreaking your stock (see Running Lambs and Goats with Dogs). If the dog is taking your “Lie Down” and the stock is acting afraid of it, trying to get away, you might try a lap or two — but that’s all. Don’t make it work for the stock or the dog. Make it a learning experience for the stock and fun for the dog. Put it up and try again tomorrow.
You probably aren’t wanting to run your stock every day, but a couple of laps a day for the first few days won’t hurt — and it gets your program going sooner. The next day, you’re just re-enforcing the lie-down on the way to the track. You don’t have to go for a walk, but I would put the dog around the stock in the small pen again — just to re-enforce to the stock what the dog is all about.
Give it time
The whole change of environment can have quite an effect on a dog. You have to give it time to adjust: some dogs adjust in a matter of hours, for others it can take days. Pay attention to your dog — without words, it will tell you what’s on its mind: fear, excitement, anticipation. For a few days, make your plans based on its feelings, until it feels like part of the pack. Then it and the stock will work like you saw them do at my house.
Good luck — and call anyway if you need help.
Archive note: Restored from the 2013 archive of the original site, lightly edited for clarity with the owner’s voice preserved.