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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 2/18/2010 12:05:34 PM
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| Mine, as ironicly as it seems is a 3 pound chihuahua. My chick is about as big and likes to chase her around. She is really good and would rather follow you around. She is afraid to even mess with the other chickens.
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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 9/23/2009 11:24:57 AM
Posts: 2,
Visits: 7
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Some comments on the topic . . .
1. Corgis are indeed a herding breed, they were bred to be all-purpose small-farm dogs--originally. The corgis available in the US are long-removed from selection for herding traits. That doesn't mean they can't do it, just that it is now very much of a crapshoot getting one that does. I had corgis for many years. Some worked some didn't. The disadvantage of the corgi is that the modern ones have legs so very short that they will have a hard time in an open field outrunning a sheep or a cow who isn't being with the program. Still excellent ratters though!
2. Animal shelters are a very mixed bag, politically. Many have been infiltrated by Animal Rights people, whose agenda is quite secretive actually. Not all of them though--the advice to do your homework before dealing with them is excellent. Some links about what they are really up to are here: http://www.workingaussiesource.com/links.html#8
3. Lots of unlikely dogs will herd. It is an innate set of behaviors. The dogs that went into the making of dobermans, for example, were mainly farm dogs--rottweilers for example. But if you need a useful farm dog, it is a lot more likely you will get one if you buy a pup from proven working parents.
4. Some good small-farm breeds of herding dogs include working-bred Aussies and English Shepherds. Both of these breeds should be shopped for carefully, to make sure their parents really work.
I recently started a yahoo group called agrariandog: the practical ranch and farm dog: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/agrariandog/ Title pretty much describes it. Besides the Aussie, English Shepherd, Kelpie, and Border Collie people you might expect, there are also people who use Shelties, Hangin Tree Cowdogs, Bearded Collies, Belgian Terverens, Welsh Sheepdogs, and even an Airedale on their farms and ranches.
Kay Spencer
http://www.workingaussiesource.com
"Stupidity got us into this mess, why can't it get us out?" --Will Rogers
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