The size of cattle alone can intimidate a dog, causing him to react in many ways. Relying on our acquired working relationship and foundation training we should be able to help the dog focus and work with quite confidence. Familiar building blocks presented when working goats and sheep are reviewed and applied to cattle dog training. A helper dog remains on the job in the periphery.

This dog is learning to turn the cattle. From a driving position she was directed to swing out and slightly in front of the lead cow's shoulder. She will then walk in with presence to deliver the cattle to the handler or be ready to take another command.

At a friend's Riverfare Farm, I just finished a training session from horseback, allowing the young dog and cattle a new experience. The helper dog on the left waits on call. The young dog is being directed around the calves to turn them towards the handler, as in the previous picture. Once a dog has learned to work a few cattle with calm control, it is easy to move them on to a larger herd, just as we did with sheep and goats.

Here the dog's training and accountability will be tested. Following a distant outrun, the dog's adrenalyn will be flowing. As indicated by postures, the dog is on contact with the cattle and they with him. He must compose himself, as his body language depicts, to gain calm control of the cattle's movement.

This dog is learning to walk face on to push the cattle away from feed, a necessary skill for many working stock dogs. Her body language, bow and raised, curled tail, indicate experimentation to learn how much push is necessary to move them. This lesson, first taught with goats and sheep, allowed her to develop communication skills and confidence.

This is the previous dog after a few lessons. Here, she acomplished a blind out run, not knowing the exact location of the cattle, and was directed to stop, walk straight ahead and climb over a stone wall. She is on contact with intent and confidence.

Owning and handling livestock involves management practices to keep livestock and people around them safe. The day may come when they break out, head for a ledge or through an open gate towards traffic or otherwise put themselves and those around them in danger. A good stock dog is trained to help get these situations under control as safely as possible. This dog has been taught to grip on command. She has accountability and confidence not to over do it. Lips curled around her teeth show this is a warning. No blood was drawn. In a serious situation, when the safety of livestock and people is at stake, a well trained dog is invaluable.