The Work of the Herding Dog

Stories and Pictures of German Shepherds Working Sheep. Let a working shepherd dog take you through his routine tasks. This page is rich in graphic detail and may take several seconds to load. Please be patient -- the wait is worth it.

Max von Stephanitz on Our Herding BreedExcerpts from The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture, illustrated by photos of California working shepherd dogs. Max von Stephanitz is the founder of our modern German Shepherd Dog. His book shows the native work of the German Shepherd Dog and finally the development from herding to protecting.

Fee Tends Sheepin Wilton, California. See the fabulous Fee doing the native work of the German Shepherd Dog. She is an absolute natural, never having had a formal lesson in her whole three-year span of life. When she came to me at age 10 months, we simply started working with the sheep. She immediately knew how to do the tasks. She is definitely a "hard-wired" sheep dog.

Herding Tradition and Practice. A brief account of the development of sheep herding with the Central European shepherd dogs, the premier being the German Shepherd Dog. This page also describes a modern program of strip grazing sheep, using German Shepherd Dogs.

Dorit's Suki Works the sheep. A day in the life of training a working shepherd dog. Photographs and explanations of grazing, turning the flock and moving the flock through a narrow gate.

Altdeutscher Schaeferhund Old German Shepherd Dogs, the genetic basis for our modern breed. Photos of different types of non standard German Shepherds that still work sheep in Germany today.

Training the Herding Dog

First Steps toward the HGH. This page describes some of the foundation work with the flock which helps a herding pup to flower into a Herdengebrauchshund. Drawings and stories.

Training Program. The training program suggested at this site is fully illustrated with photos and diagrams and includes a clear explanation with opportunity for questions and answers, or a statement or your own opinions on the care, keeping, training and loving of our herding dogs.

Training, Second Phase For trainers who have made it through the initial phase of training, here is your next step. More to follow!

Shepherd Dog Training: a Team As a dog becomes more competent in his tasks, he can help train other herding dogs. See Azzie work with Kondor; two adult male shepherd dogs can work sheep quietly and confidently.

Training the Tasks of the HGH by Karl Hermann FingerExcerpts in translation from the definitive modern book on herding dogs in Germany. Translation is illustrated with photos of actual training and work.

Troubleshooting in Herding Dog Training Even good dogs get into trouble with some of the tasks they attempt. If you do not find your problem discussed on this page, you can email me and we will address the problem.

Manfred Voigt's Herding SeminarOn the day following the 1998 HGH trial, Herr Voigt gave a seminar and Dorit Van Der Wilden reports the highlights.

Testing the Herding Dog

1998 HGH in AmericaAnka Andrews observed the second annual run of the Herdengebrauchshunde in America. Her report is very colorful and informative. Includes beautiful photos of Suki's run contributed by Richard Ball. Enjoy!

Ulf Kintzel Reports on 1998 HGH in AmericaThis is the official report with judge's comments on the second annual HGH trial in North America. Courtesy of Dorit Van Der Wilden.

Regulations for Breeding and Testing herding dogs. The SV and USA have specific rules by which the breed survey and the herding test must abide. Bookmark this site for reference. This page will be a permanent part of the site.

HGH Trial Photos and Report. View the beautiful work of our official trial photographer. Read his report. Watch for more on this subject: rules for the breed performance test (the HGH trial) in herding and the breeding regulations for herding dogs.

Judge's Critiquesof the Herding Sieger and Vice Sieger. Photo of the typical herding dog rushing from the pen gate to head the sheep at let-out.

Photo and Scores from the preliminary report from the SV on the German National Herding Trial, the Bundesleistungshueten.

Tests and Trials. A summary of the styles and venues of the working shepherd dogs. Links to organizations that offer tests and/or trials in one or another of the styles or venues. This page offers a beautiful illustration of precise work in penning the sheep.

Special Herding Dogs

Herdenhunde vom WeiherA story in pictures of the dogs that have helped me work sheep at my place. Many photographs with short descriptions. Please allow a couple of minutes for loading in your browser.

Shepherd Dog Pioneers in Herding Mike as an oldster shows he still has the right stuff, and Pella shows how young she was when she got the right stuff.

Astrid's Dog Meets the SheepAstrid B. took her dog to a herding trainer and Astrid got this picture of his introduction to the sheep. I think he liked it. See the great photo and read the explanation of what is happening.

Pups and Sheep Their natural work with the flock is very exciting for a puppy or young dog. These pictures show some first reactions.

Special Guest Pups meet the sheep. Send in your own pup's introduction to livestock. We love to see the instinct awaken.

Library of articles on herding, training, nutrition, raising a herding puppy, growth, genetics and disease and much more.