SUCCESS WITH STOCK DOGS WORKSHOPS

PRACTICAL STOCK DOG TRAINING FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS

Success with stockdogs is a personalized three-part educational program designed to introduce and educate livestock producers to the benefits of stockdogs and learn to incorporate stockdogs into their operation.  Workshops will be offered Spring and Fall.  

Practical training of Core Skills for both dog and handler will be the focus

Each multiday workshop will include demonstrations as well as the opportunity to work your dog on stock with the clinician to improve specific skills you and/or your dog need. 

 The demonstrations will focus on using the dogs to help accomplish real work with livestock – gathering and moving stock, watching gates, penning, medicating stock, sorting ect.  We will also demonstrate the stages of training starting with a young pup and walking you through several different dogs and end with a finished dog. 

 The individual skill training portion of the workshop will include either beginning stages of training in a round pen or small field or recreating work scenarios that you and your dog will accomplish with the help of clinician.  The actual training will depend on what is most appropriate and helpful for you and your dog.  Not all dogs will be at the stage where they are able work in a new environment with stock they do not know.  Young dogs will benefit from cementing fundamental skills necessary to accomplish chores.  Inexperienced handlers may benefit most by concentrating on skill building elements that will be added together to make accomplishing chore work seamless once you and the dog are ready for that. 

The third part of the program is continued support and skill building through on-line discussion, video review and instruction after the workshops.  Low stress handling of livestock will be emphasized throughout.

Livestock producers will be able to gain valuable information allowing you to decide if a herding dog would be beneficial for you and your operation and lay a solid foundation for all your work with stockdogs.  Those who use stockdogs already will be able to learn how to better train and the use your dog. Networking and building relationships with other producers using dogs will enable everyone to exchange ideas benefiting from each individual’s experiences.  The ideal situation would be to attend multiple workshops building on each work session.  This will enable you to see a more complete picture of working stock using a dog and gain the most knowledge and skill.

SARE –- Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education has made this educational program possible by subsidizing the majority of the costs.  There will be a small daily fee to attend the workshops

For more information contact Denice Rackley at Clearfield Stockdogs and Lamb rackleydenice@gmail.com or 

 or go to facebook and search SUCCESS with STOCKDOGS