Springhaven Farm

When moving livestock, dominant animals can be fractious with the rest of the stock and having a good stock dog is an invaluable asset. We chose English Shepherds as our partners in this endeavor. They are an upright herding breed that tends to be dominant with the stock. Since they do not get into a predatory crouch and stare like most Border Collies, the stock don't view them quite the same way. They recognize the confidence and dominant stance of the English Shepherd and move out well. Our Milking Devon are horned cattle and can be quite dominant as well. However, our dogs will trot just close enough behind the cows to put pressure on them to move. When one stops and decides to graze on grass instead of moving with the rest of the herd, our dogs will go up to them and do a small half charge of a step or two and give a quick "woof" to get the cow moving again. They don't tend to nip at the heels of the cows unless absolutely necessary. The cows see this as just enough pressure to move on. While we don't really need the dogs most of the time, it can be handy when moving a large group or in getting calves to keep up with the herd as we move from one field to another. They all soon learn the dogs are there simply to keep things moving along and are no threat. It also helps to have smart cows that can recognize our dogs from strays or coyotes. They know that our dogs belong here on the farm and accept them quite well. The dogs are able to walk in and amongst the herd without incident. English Shepherds are very smart, rules-based dogs. They learn the rules of the farm and where stock should be. If a calf is out of the field, the dogs will put the calf back where it belongs. They know which calves belong to which mamas in which fields and they will put stock back without human commands. They've learned the rules and follow them. This is an incredibly valuable trait and has paid off numerous times on our small farm. Another asset to English Shepherds is that they do their job, then break off from the herd and go do something else like nosing around for scents or other things to occupy them. They calm down immediately and don't have the hyperkinetic energy of other herding breeds. In the house, they are couch potatoes, simply being content to be with their people. They can bond quite strongly with people and are generally good with all people, visitors, children, other dogs, and cats (most of the time!). For an easy companion and valuable herding partner when working stock, an English Shepherd is worth their weight in gold!

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