A large portion of the success of your sheepdog will depend on the way in which it is raised. Sheepdogs are unique in that they are bred with specific characteristics; these characteristics enable them to work sheep and other livestock successfully. Unfortunately these same characteristics often lead them into danger and trouble. Most sheepdogs have a very high work drive, and if this is not correctly managed when the dog is young it can cause problems. It is sometimes more difficult to raise a sheepdog properly than it is to train it.

HEALTH
Your puppy should have had its first vaccinations at six weeks of age and then again a month afterwards. All dogs should be vaccinated annually, contact your vet for a comprehensive deworming and vaccination program.

FEEDING
Puppies should have specially formulated food to ensure proper growth. Ask your vet for advice and try to use a good quality puppy food. They should be fed at least 3 times a day to start with.

FIRST SIX MONTHS

Socialisation
The first few weeks after you have collected your puppy is a very important time. During this time the puppy will look for someone or something to replace the role of its mother, someone to follow and trust. Dogs are pack animals and need to have a leader to follow, unlike for example, cats that operate independently.

The following points are important

1) One of the most common problems with raising sheepdogs occurs where there are other dogs in the household. The chances are that your puppy will bond with the other dogs and not with you, the handler. It is of utmost importance that your puppy gets as much individual attention as possible, without the presence of the other dogs. The puppy needs to develop its own character and to build self-confidence. I would not allow a puppy to spend the whole day playing with other dogs. It is far better that the puppy is kept safely in its own kennel/run when you are not able to give it attention.
2) It is important that a puppy sleeps alone in its own kennel or safe area. This becomes even more important as the dog gets older, it also enables you to monitor whether the dog is eating properly or not, as this is often the first sign that a dog is sick. For a working dog a good kennel area is a place that it can rest and know that no one will pester it. There are literally hundreds of puppies killed each year by vehicles in farmyards merely because they were not shut into kennels out of harms way. It is better to keep your puppy in a run and let it out for an hour or two each day and give it quality attention, than to let it spend the whole day wandering around the yard without supervision.
3) Discipline. It is important to teach your puppy from an early age to accept discipline. It is impossible to train a sheepdog without using some form of discipline and making the dog realise when it is either wrong or correct. I have trained many dogs belonging to other people that have never been disciplined, and the first time that these dogs get disciplined their world collapses. What I mean by discipline is that the dog will for example understand that it must go out of the house or not to jump up on people. Often all that is necessary is a tap on the leg or a good shake of the collar. It is most important to remember that sensitive dogs must be handled very carefully. At a certain stage of a young dogs life you will notice that your dog begins to ignore you and won’t come when it’s called. At this stage it’s a good idea to put a long (thin) rope on the dog, allow it to run around a bit and when it runs past you, tread on the rope and call the dog, while pulling the dog to you with short/quick jerks. Two important points to remember, don’t sound cross when you call the dog, always sound upbeat, and secondly don’t allow the dog to run around with the rope on without supervision as it might get caught up and the dog could hang itself. It is very important to discipline your dog, but it can very easily be overdone so be careful. In this stage of a young dogs life many people want to teach their dog to sit or lie down, but this must be done carefully so that the dog does not become negative about it. A good place to train this is when you are feeding the dog. For me the most important point is that the dog knows it’s name and comes immediately it is called.
4) Don’t expose your young dog to sheep or cattle when it is too young. There is no point in taking your puppy with you when you are going to work stock. There is a good chance that it will either get into trouble or just be in the way. You can, however, take your puppy with you if you are going to check stock water or perhaps going to town, the more social stimulus the puppy gets the better.

SIX TO TEN MONTHS

Stimulus
The reason for this is to positively influence the young dog so that it knows that when it goes to sheep with you it is allowed to work the sheep. These lessons are usually very short – 5 minutes is more than enough.
Your puppy is now approximately six months old. Until now it has had no exposure to stock. Ideally the puppy should be healthy, know and respond to its name, and come easily when called. It is still too young to be trained, but one can begin to expose it to sheep to stimulate its working instinct. I usually use 5 – 8 sheep in a kraal (pen) of approximately 20m by 20m. I carry the puppy and move in the direction of the sheep. As soon as the sheep move, I put the pup down and encourage it to head them off. If you don’t have good control of you pup you can attach a longish thin rope to its collar to enable you to catch it again.

One of a few reactions will now occur.
1 Some dogs will immediately rush at the sheep or try to head them.
2 Others will show no interest in the sheep at all.
3 Some might just lie still and stare at the sheep.

1) In this case I would use the rope to maintain a bit of control over the dog. I do not want the dog to damage the sheep. I would try to get the dog to calm down and just head the sheep; I would then take the dog away. This lesson can be repeated once a week or every second week until I was sure the dog was keen to work sheep, thereafter I would not do too much else until the dog is 10 months old.
2) I would walk through the sheep and move them around myself, whilst continually calling and encouraging the dog to head the sheep. Don’t be concerned if the dog doesn’t immediately show signs of wanting to work, take the dog away and try again within two weeks. The dog is still very young at this stage and if it is well bred there is a 99% chance it will work. Some dogs switch on to stock at a much later stage than others, sometimes only at a year old. Always be positive and upbeat, as there is nothing more fascinating than seeing a dog that shows no interest in stock, suddenly switch on and want to work.
3) Try to get the dog moving. Chase the sheep around and encourage the dog to head the sheep. One must at all costs try to get the dog moving, as this can become a very bad habit that must be stopped in the early stages.
Remember this is just a stimulation process. The whole idea is to expose your dog to sheep in a controlled manner. The dog must develop no negative connection with sheep. It must understand that when it comes in contact with sheep is will be allowed to work.

At ten months old you want a dog that comes happily when you call it, and when it sees sheep it wants to work. This type of dog is much easier to train and they usually want to please their owners.
Now the training can start.

PROBLEMS

One of the most common mistakes people make is to take their young dog with them while they do sheep work. By this I mean a dog that is not sufficiently trained to be of use while doing the sheep work. Sometimes the young dog is even allowed to run about with an older dog that is working the sheep. Some people believe and expect the older dog to teach the younger one to work sheep. In such cases, the younger dog becomes completely useless if the older dog is not there. The young dog also picks up the older dogs’ bad habits and there is normally little control over the dogs.
In other cases the young dog just gets in the way and it is normally shouted at and chased away from the sheep to the vehicle.
One of the strong instincts in many sheepdogs is to head the sheep, which usually gets them into trouble because they get in front of the sheep. The dog is more often than not, completely correct, but it gets shouted at and chased off the sheep. In other cases dogs are tied up on the vehicle and they lie and stare at the sheep or they begin to bark from frustration which leads to them getting shouted at once again.
When one works with animals one should always allow yourself room to make adjustments. No two dogs are the same. The process of raising a puppy is probably the most important part of a sheepdogs’ life, and it is often neglected. Remember that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to training animals, but there are most certainly clear guidelines.