I've found a place nearby where they run a class for people beginning to train dogs for herding. I love the idea of working Sparky like this, though it would be purely for fun. When the dark nights are here we have a job to keep him occupied - he still gets the daytime walks of course, both boys do obedience and agility so that takes care of two nights, and we spend time trying out new tricks and games in the house, but being BCs I still feel guilty in winter that they aren't getting enough. Sparky hates traffic, especially at night, so lead walks of any great length after dark are really stressful for everyone - especially with the fireworks at the moment. I've been building him up slowly with short trips to the end of the road, going a bit further each time, but it's a long process.

Now I'm not expecting to be on "One Man and his Dog" or anything, but is it unrealistic to try something like this when I'm not from a farming background? There doesn't seem to be much information on the web about herding trials, and the sites I have found seem to be for what I call "proper" working sheepdogs, who live and work on farms. Does anyone take part in herding with a dog who doesn't work sheep daily?

Training a dog to sheep shouldn't be done as a "hobby"TBH If you want to trainyour dog to sheep he/she will need to work on a regular basis not just as & when there are classes & if your dog is keen(like my Rjj)he will need to work daily & not for just a few minutes

Herding as done in the USA is not a real test of a dogs ability as the sheep are trained round the course before the dogs are put on to them & in no way represent the true skill of shepherding

I won't start Rjj off as I'm not in a position to work sheep regularly enough for him(been there done that with my first male BC & it was very hard work)so I use games & obedience training to kep his mind occupied

Don't forget you have to be able to control your dog when he/she see sheep/stock & isn't going to work them. If you watch sheep dog trails you will see how the dogs react when they see sheep even if they are being wotked by another dog & these are highly trained dogs

"Herding"isn't a game

Thanks for being so honest in your reply, Moonmaiden. I suspected that to be the case :(. The person who runs the class in question was so persuasive in the benefits of going along (and at £20 a go I'm not surprised!). Can't stand the thought of Sparky missing out on something, that's my problem ;). Will just have to hold on to the dream of winning the lottery and buying a sheep farm in New Zealand :-D.
In the meantime it's back to the drawing board for winter fun. I think it's probably me fretting about the boys more than anything - they aren't destructive or anything - are hardly ever left alone for more than a couple of hours, are well behaved (ish!) and seem healthy and happy enough. If you have any good ideas for indoor games I'd appreciate it, though!

Why not get into agility training, it would be great fun for yourself and Sparky. He would love that, to be honest I agree with Moonmaiden, it is hard enough to get the herding instinct under control with some BC I certainly wouldn't encourage it unless you really wanted to work your dog.

I was told the same thing by a shepherd. What about HTM agility or even hydrotherapy

Thanks for the comments. We do go to an obedience class every Wednesday, and the agility is also once a week on a Tuesday - though over the course of the evening we're lucky to get one run round at the moment, it's so busy, so we're looking for another one. I'm not really too keen on the competitive side of it all, though, it's just for fun, but perhaps it's time to bite the bullet and have a go to get more out of it :). There is a cracking country park walk at the back of our house, with a shallow river running through it, so Sparky gets to swim there (Busby just runs up and down the bank barking like a loony). We really miss getting down there in the evenings in the winter. HTM is something my daughter is keen to get into, but we're struggling to find a local class (It's her GCSE year, so we don't want to spend hours travelling). Never mind - we'll crack on! :)

What area are you in? I could try and find a class on one of the HTM sites if you let me know :)

Also why not buy your daughter (and yourself) HTM books and do abit of "self training"

One of my friends is doing thins and taught her dogs lots of "tricks" and "moves" although hasn't put any together to music yet it's been great fun for her and her dog and his really impressive at what he can do, and she's done it all herself.

It will be something to keep the dogs occupied and most of the basic moves you can do indoors aswell but I'm sure the garden a night with a coat isn't too bad either when you need abit more space :)

I'm glad that someone else thinks that herding should not be undertaken lightly as this involves another species and I have certainly seen untrained dogs hurting the sheep ! IMO herding should not be done as a hobby unless you can be 100% certain that your dog will not harm the sheep in any way :(

Yvonne