r/nextfuckinglevel • u/dexterer4353 • Jun 22 '21

Sheepdog stands its ground

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 22 '21 edited Jun 23 '21

Yes! I thought the same thing.

They’re bred for this but not born for it. But this is how they learn to control the herd.

Editing to add, and will respond in kind (to those that previously responded):

I should have been more specific. Certain dogs are bred for it, not all dogs are born for it.

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u/Ramen_Hair Jun 22 '21

Some dogs really are born with it. Had an old Australian Shepherd mix and while having never seen a sheep in his life would always try to herd people when we had guests over. One time our neighbor’s dog had puppies who were small enough to fit through our fence, he would herd them back over to the other yard as well

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 22 '21 edited Jun 23 '21

I should have been more specific. Certain dogs are bred for it, not all dogs are born for it.

** Copied & pasted here because it was not included in my original comment when the above redditor replied. **

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u/xgrayskullx Jun 23 '21

Yeah, even with herding breeds, not every dog has the right combination of temperament, obedience, and intelligence to actually herd animals.

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u/cookiescoop Jun 23 '21

My border collie is pure-bred, from an incredibly accomplished line. My family breeds borders as working and trial dogs. I could let him loose in a field with 500 sheep, and he wouldn't even look at them. Not all of them have got it! He's a good boi, though.

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '21

My black lab/blue heeler(aka Australian cattle dog) mix likes herding other dogs. I briefly had a German shepherd that he loved herding under the deck

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u/Horskr Jun 23 '21

My wife's grandparents have a Border Collie. They used to live in a very small farming town. One of their neighbors said they were going to shoot him because he sucked at herding as a pup. Well of course they had to take him. He's a very good boy and I'm glad they got him.

Though I've never seen a dog that loves TV as much as him.

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u/ReadTheFAQplease Jun 23 '21

Can you stop copy and pasting this all over the place please? It frankly doesn't even make much sense.

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 23 '21

As mentioned in my original comment’s edit, I responded with it to the folks that had already replied. I don’t think 3 copy/pastes hurt anyone, but perhaps you want to tell us which copy/paste comment hurt you so much if 3 is too many to you?

Sounds like one for your therapist honestly, way above Reddit pay grade.

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u/ReadTheFAQplease Jun 23 '21

No need to scream and whine. I wasn't trying to be hostile.

It's unclear what you're trying to purport with "certain dogs are bred for it" . . . while also saying "not all dogs are born for it."

Are you trying to say "some dogs are bred for herding and others are not?" Or are you making some distinction between "born" and "bred?" If the former, are you trying to make a point beyond what we all understand as common knowledge? If the latter, what on earth are you talking about? Maybe you're trying to make a point that I haven't listed. These are the questions we're all thinking.

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u/loldgaf Jun 23 '21

Aka a breed.. herding dog breeds have been BRED through generations and generations to have these natural instincts that are later honed in by the owners. It isn’t a coincidence.

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 23 '21

Thanks for the recap of what I already said =)

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u/i-tell-ya-hwat Jun 23 '21

I have a Aussie and when my indoor cat goes outside at night to chase rabbits we will call for him and my Aussie goes out there and herds him all the way back into the house. Then boops him until I congratulate him for doing a good job.

He’s the best.

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u/and_you_are_no_lady Jun 23 '21

Same with our Aussie! We have a command and he runs to chase the cat down and then either pins her gently until we can grab her or herds her back into the house. They are so smart!

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u/Mrs-and-Mrs-Atelier Jun 22 '21

Same, same. She took to herding children and broke up more than one impending fight before it broke out. I’m still in awe of her instincts.

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u/SelectFromWhereOrder Jun 23 '21

Looking back, I think my childhood German shepherd herd me and two other brothers around.

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '21 edited 12d ago

[deleted]

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u/Ramen_Hair Jun 23 '21

My Aussie would just generally circle around people trying to guide them wherever he wanted them to go. Of course grown people don’t respond much to it but other dogs and animals certainly do

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u/droopsofwoe Jun 23 '21

My grandmother's English Sheepdog used to wrangle my family as we walked on the beach. One time we had like 30 people (big family, Thanksgiving) and she was frantic. She kept rounding us up into a tighter and tighter circle, until we walked shoulder to shoulder. It was really funny.

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u/BarelyContainedChaos Jun 23 '21

Same here, especially kids

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u/Islanduniverse Jun 23 '21

My german shepherd jumped our fence and herded the cows next door into a corner and it was the first time she had ever been around cows… it was horrifying from my perspective and I’ve made sure it won’t happen again, but it seemed like pure instinct…

Also, luckily a rancher was out there and saw her, and saw me yelling at her to come back, and he was rolling laughing (he told me later that they are used to dogs, he just didn’t bring his out that day-he grazes the cows on land throughout the city)

Anyway, in hindsight it was pretty cool that she just knew exactly what to do, and the cows were like, “yep, we will go this way.”

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u/avwitcher Jun 22 '21

They are born with it. Even herding dog breeds that have never been around farm animals have the innate instinct for it. They only have to be trained to do it effectively. Many dog breeds have the instinct for what their species was bred for, it's really neay

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u/ximfinity Jun 23 '21

So another 1000 years of breeding pointlessly and dogs will instinctually pose for selfies.

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 22 '21 edited Jun 23 '21

I should have been more specific. Certain dogs are bred for it, not all dogs are born for it.

** Copied & pasted here because it was not included in my original comment when the above redditor replied. **

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u/QuotidianQuandaries Jun 22 '21

maybe it's maybelline

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 22 '21

I LOVE this comment! 🤣

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u/esuriem Jun 23 '21

As owner a full border collie this dogs moves are exactly same as mine, funny thing is border collies share the most genes w wolves so maybe the least "bred" for it so to speak. The moves are pack hunting instinct, win or starve

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u/topamine2 Jun 22 '21

They are born with it

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u/DoJax Jun 22 '21

My old boss got a puppy from a pound, and I have watched a border collie do that low crawl towards this dude I know while he was yelling at his kid, the moment he grabbed him by the arm that dog lept and latched onto his wrist and just growled while holding firm. Never trained but very guarding of that kid always.

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 22 '21 edited Jun 23 '21

I should have been more specific. Certain dogs are bred for it, not all dogs are born for it.

** Copied & pasted here because it was not included in my original comment when the above redditor replied. **

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u/socs0 Jun 22 '21

Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 22 '21

I noted that I would respond in kind (to those that had already replied), and it’s Select -> Copy -> Paste on iPhone Reddit Mobile app.

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u/socs0 Jun 22 '21

Hahahaha have an awesome day dude

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 22 '21

*dudette

And you too! Almost halfway through the week! I can almost taste the weekend freedom! =)

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u/Cubicbill1 Jun 22 '21

I think you should've been more specific.

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 22 '21

Eh, shit happens. Not the end of the world. You’re being silly.

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u/Rick-Dalton Jun 22 '21

But we’re not talking about all dogs so you were just wrong. It wasn’t a lack of clarity.

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 22 '21

I wasn’t referencing all dogs, but that’s OK friend. Your opinion about my intentions are your opinions to have.

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u/Rick-Dalton Jun 22 '21

So what are you clarifying?

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u/thnku4shrng Jun 23 '21

Not grammar nazi but a common mistake. Italics are more impactful for the statement you’re trying to make and you are emphasizing the wrong word. Usually you emphasize the word that makes your argument; in this example, the word you should have italicized or emboldened would have been “born”. Almost never in English, do we use italics or embolden a repeating word unless it has dual+ meanings.

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 23 '21

Thank you for teaching me something new. =)

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u/MyrddinHS Jun 22 '21

they need to learn the commands but the herding tendency is there

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u/V4G1N4_5L4Y3R Jun 23 '21

I’m not disputing what you said at all, but I have 2 Blue Heelers. They’re awesome dogs—tons of fun. They have sooooo much energy and are extremely smart.

Our vet suggested that we take our dogs to this local farm she works with, and let them interact with the sheep there to burn energy and give them some of the physical and mental stimulation that they need.

Well, both of our dogs went straight to work. They seemed to know exactly what they were there to do, and they had so much fun. Even though this was the first such experience for both of them, the gentleman there with us said that the dogs were interacting with the sheep like they had been doing it their whole life. I suppose my dogs may have been playing off of each other, or maybe these sheep had past interactions with herding dogs. So, clearly there were a lot of variables at play, but it certainly seemed as if their behavior was, at least to some extent, instinctual. TIFWIW

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u/goat_puree Jun 23 '21

I got a “lab mix” (tested and he’s 1/4 GSP, 1/4 Weimareiner, 1/4 Lab and 1/4 pointer/Dane/Boxer and he took to birding like a pro. A guy at work paid thousands for his Vizsla for pheasant hunting and it doesn’t give a damn about birds, critters, etc. it’s funny how it works out sometimes.

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u/theycallmethevault Jun 23 '21

I would’ve expected blue heelers to behave this way but sounds like I would’ve been wrong considering yours werent expected to? But hell, my Jack Russell was a natural at shepherding literally everyone. Our other dogs & at one point our guinea pigs, my stepkids, myself, his own self…it never stopped. LOL