The video below might be the coolest thing you see all day:

Ever wonder what it looks like when sheep are sheared? Below is a 17 second glimpse at the “A team” in action at Te Aka (we think this might be Te Akatarawa Station near Lake Aviemore and Lake Benmore in New Zealand):

The AKC currently recognizes 30 breeds in its Herding Group designation which was created in 1983. Before that time, herding breeds were part of the Working Group (and ask anyone who showed a herding breed in 1982 how long it took to judge the working group!)  While these 30 breeds can be wildly different from each other (from the corded Puli to the shorter coated swedish Vallhund), what these dogs have in common is an instinctual ability to control the movement of other animals. Those of us with herding breeds who’ve never gotten within 100 yards of a sheep or duck will still see evidence of our dogs’ instincts when they “herd” our kids or cat, or nudge us in a direction they think we should go.

It’s interesting, and often thrilling, to see one’s dog “on” sheep or fowl. Not every dog takes to it right off the bat, and a nice overview of what a beginner can expect can be read at the blog, LittleHats – Sheepdogging for Newbies –  When Ordinary Humiliation Just Isn’t Enough.

Where does one go with one’s dog to try this out?

You can do a Google search on “sheepdog herding clinics.”  We came up with 42,400 results by entering those words in an search.

You can also do a search on “herding dog training in (fill in your state).” When we typed in “herding dog training in colorado,” we got over 200,00 results.

But our first recommendation to anyone curious about their dog’s ability is to participate in an AKC Instinct Test, the initial test for which a dog needs no training. The dog can be handled by the owner, but also by the judge or a designated handler. The judge is simply looking for the dog’s ability to move and control livestock by fetching or driving (you can see the evaluation form the judge completes here).  The AKC has a wonderfully comprehensive way to find these tests where you live.

• Go to the events search page;
• On the left hand side, select “performance events,” and from the drop down menu, select “Herding Tests & Trials (HE);”
• Move to the center of the page and select the type of setting you want (indoors, outdoors or outside under cover. It’ll look like the blue boxes below):

 

From there, drop down to the map and click on the state in which you live. We selected Georgia as an example:

 

Under the map, you select the range of dates to see if herding tests are happening in your date within that time frame. And finally, you go to the very bottom of the page and click on a red box that reads, “retrieve events.”  You should get results for tests happening in your location without the time frame you set. If no results comes back, “fiddle” with the dates, or with the type of setting you chose earlier.

If you think your breed isn’t qualified to participate in a herding instinct test because it’s not a herding breed, you might be surprised. Check the list of eligible breeds because one or two may surprise the owners of Boxers, Giant Schnauzers, Kerry Blue Terriers and a few more.  If you do this, send us pictures!

Image: Jeff Shaver’s Rottweiler at work. Our videos are from the Facebook page of NZ Farming