Some Stockdoggy Terms

I thought since I will be dropping a specialized vocabulary like stink bombs, I should first start out with some basic terminology  . . .

First, the great herding vs working debate. The PC and proper cowboy way of saying your dog is herding sheep is to say your dog is "working" sheep. You are "working your dog" on sheep or cows or pigs or whatever. (Yes, you can work dogs on pigs - ASCA even had a title for it once.) So while the URL of this blog is "RippaHerds" I only did that because it would be easy to remember. These are stockdogs, not herding dogs. That's just the parlance where I come from.

Some terms:

Head - meaning a single animal, but also, well, the head of the animal. Heading dogs work livestock by watching their heads, and very often their eyes. That's why they are called "heading dogs." Heading dogs run circles around livestock because they are always chasing the head, which is always turning away from them.

Heel - Just like heading dogs, there are "heeling dogs" that work the heels of the livestock. Dogs like this are typically things like your Corgi, which is built low to the ground to work heels in stockyards (they fit under the bars of the pens in chutes and keep the cattle moving). The tend to follow stock, rather than run circles around it. Dogs of all breeds can do both heading and heeling, but one comes more naturally usually.

Fetch - This is what your heading dog will learn first to do - because that's what comes naturally to it. They will go out, seek out livestock, bunch it, and then bring it to their handler in a . . . you guessed it, fetch.

Drive - This is what your heeling dog learns first - follow the stock and keep them moving. Our Aussies learn this after they master the fetch.

Flight zone - This is the space around the handler and the dog that the sheep avoid staying in for any length of time. Imagine a Hula Hoop around you and your dog. The sheep are usually calm or not moving at all until the Hula Hoop touches them (their personal space bubble). If it touches them lightly and calmly, they move lightly and calmly. If it touches them fast and heavy, they move . . . you guessed it, fast and heavy. Flight zone is rough to learn for people - we are used to working with just our dogs, and not with another sentient being in the mix. You may work your dog's flight zone, but you fail on working your own. That's how I broke my first stockdog, Rippa's mom.

That should get you started, I think.