Question:     I have recently purchased a female border collie that I will pick up as soon as she weans her pups. My question to you is. How would Bud and yourself go about fixing a dog that was way to aggressive on stock. Second question is how to rebuild her trust and respect in her handler. The previous owner  put a shock collar and a jerk line and had his way with her. Basically  destroying her because he was clueless on how to work a dog with the kind of strength.

Answer:       Have you read the material we have posted on our website?  Especially the things that were put on the site in July 2009.  This was where the first and most basic dog articles were put.  We’ve never had any problem with teaching a dog not to be too rough without taking away her ability to use the force that is sometimes necessary.  Be sure to take the time to read these things, then write back to me and let me know your situation.
 What kind of stock?
 How many?
 What size pen or pasture?
 
Comment:     I train cutters and will try to use her to gather anywhere from ten head of yearlings to eighty head of yearlings in a forty acre trap. I have just found your website and read almost all the stockdog post and was completely fascinated with all of it.  I love the concept of actually letting your dog use its intelligence to learn to read cattle as opposed to waiting for your every word.  I was taught  to train cutting horses like a trial dog and was on pens and needles the entire time. Not until the man shut his trap was I able to feel my horse and make the proper adjustments to get my horses worked.  By the time he saw a mistake, then yelled at me, then I heard it and reacted it was too late.  I’ve been watching a lot of dogs work in person and on you tube and it seems the same way with a lot of these dogs. I was just curious how you guys would have handled a dog like this. She was started by a good dog guy then he sold her as a started dog. The new owner tried to drive roping steers down the alley to rope and she went ballistic trying to eat the cattle. So he did what any “good” hand would do and put the shock collar on at full strength and a jerk line and jerked and shocked her until he ruined her.  I saw some video of her getting started and at one time she seemed to have a lot of potential.   I hope the additional info will help.

Answer:      80 head of yearlings in forty acres is just about  ideal.  Unless he has convinced her not to work at all, you have a good chance of making a good dog out of her.  Did you read how, when Bud changes directions, the dog must run to the lead to stop the animals?  This lets your dog burn up a lot of  energy without you having to get after your dog and without your dog abusing the stock.  When the dog starts to settle down and think he realizes that if he pushes the stock past you that he has to go bring them back.  They soon learn to ease up on their own and even work up the side to slow the cattle down so they stay behind you.

Let me know what she wants to do when you get her home.

Dear Eunice, I wanted to send you a note as I just the other day heard that Bud had passed away. Ironically, I was putting a rather wild heifer of mine in a rather rickety corral, that I might add was definitely Not designed by Bud. Right after I hollered “EASY” at my help. Doc . . . . said to me “you knew Bud passed away didn’t you”. I was in shock and as I was pulling the calf I was thinking back on what an influence Bud and yourself have been on my life. I will never forget the quality time that I had the privilege to have spent with you fine people. Although it seems like we have lost touch I think of Bud most every time im in a sticky situation  with cattle.

Bud lives on in the lives of the many people he has touched.

Question: . . .I have a year and a half old border collie.  When I started using him I was determined with this one to send and shut up and only push him to where I wanted him to go like Bud always said.  This has worked well and he responds good and really goes around to the other side and gets them going but as soon as they start moving that’s it.  He just sits there and watches.  I’ve tried just leaving him and once and a while he will move up but won’t push.  Somehow he is just confused about what I want him to do. 

  The other thing is that if I send him with another dog that knows what to do he is fantastic.  I love his style. He keeps his head up and watches all over and doesn’t get hung up on any one thing to long. Doesn’t even have to stick right by the other dog either just gets to work.  I just don’t want him to have to be dependent on another dog and maybe I started doing that too soon.
Answer:     I’m afraid that I’m not going to be any help with this question except to say that there’s nothing wrong with working him with another dog at this point.  Bud always liked to use two dogs on cattle.  The cattle responded better and neither of them had to be nearly as rough to get the job done.  We always had a lot of dogs.  Of course, Bud tried to make each dog as near perfect as he could, but he was always willing to “take what each dog could give him.” A year and a half isn’t that old.  I’d think that if you worked him with another dog, doing actual work (not just training sessions) for a while until he actually got it in his mind what the complete job was all about he would start to realize that “the idea is to put the cattle through the gate” or some such thing.  Sorry I couldn’t help more.
Comment: . . . . That was lots of help.  Just knowing Bud worked two dogs together will help a bunch.  I know Bud really loved dogs and I do to.  That video you sent and the things he has written are priceless.  If I can keep learning what he (you) was teaching I know things will work well.  Every part of our operation, dogs, cattle, marketing is affected every day by what you have done for us.  Hang in there and thanks again.

. . . . I built a new processing barn with a Bud Box.  We used to use a tub.  With the new setup, working cattle takes half the time.  We never yell or shock anything – and it’s fun!

Tina & Richard McConnell have posted a good reminder of the steps needed to successfully wean and receive new cattle on their blog http://handnhandlivestocksolutions.com/blog/  Click on the “Comments” button at the end of the message for my 2-cents worth.

The stockmanship video has already paid for itself. I have always used horses and dogs to pen cattle. I had a man call about penning a cow and calf that was left when they sold the rest of the herd. In this instance I used to rope them because they have been messed with ( spoiled) and it has always been hard for me to drive a single or pair with no herd for security. I went to look the situation over and it was mostly open, so I walked out into the pasture and the cow and calf ran off as soon as I stepped out of the truck. I had been watching the stockmanship video and I decided to apply some of the principles and in about an hour I could get close to the pair and in another hour to an hour and a half I walked them into the catch pen that the owner and others had been trying to get them in for a couple of months. The owner didn’t believe it and still ask how I did it. He accused me of tranquilizing them. I think he thought this because the cow was so calm and quite.

This video is over two-hours long.  It shows Bud working 3 different horses. It is on 2-DVDs and sells for $200.

Click on the “Videos for Sale” button (on the left side of this page) for more information.

Over the years, many of our Stockmanship Students have asked us to up-date the Stockmanship video that we have had for sale since 1990 and include the videos of people working livestock that we used in our schools.   Bud and I had started work on this before his death in November of 2012.  I have since completed this project.

This will not be for the casual student. The old video that I took of his presentation at the 1990 Stockman Grass Farmer Grazing Conference will take care of that. This is for the serious student and for my peace of mind that we’ve done everything that we can to insure that as much of Bud’s knowledge as possible won’t be lost. 

I am putting absolutely every bit of video of any value that I have on it.  The basis is  a video of a 2-day Stockmanship School that we put on in Midland, Texas in May of 1996.  It will be broken up into segments like we did at the schools.

1. One Animal
2. Pulling Pens
3. Chutes and Alleys
4. Sorting
5. Pastures
6. Weaning and Receiving New Animals

In addition to each “school segment” I’ve added all of the newer video clips that we showed in later schools. Bud had narrated most of these clips. The ones that he hadn’t, I’ve been able to go over some audio tapes I have of some of the later schools and to patch that audio onto them.

This video is over 18 hours long (over 200GB) and is on an external hard-drive that will connect to your computer by a USB cord.  The price is $750.00. 

This price includes access to our Subscription Website (a $200.00 value).  This site has over 1,000 postings of Bud’s thoughts on various Stockmanship and Marketing subjects as well as his answers to questions from subscribers. 
 
I’m also willing to answer any subscriber questions that I can.

Just an update.   Taking on board what you said. We had boarder collie come visit us. “sneak”  our bitch changed to some degree. Even though the visiting dog had no stock skills. Sneak was very keen to get to the sheep.
She did not really push them but showed some push and bite on a few occasions. She did a good run with a nice outrun and cast to block them when the took off from one paddock to the next. Then pushed them trough a gate when we returned them. All with out a word except Go!
Thanks again.

Answer:   There is nothing wrong with you being in the middle of the flock when you’re working a dog.  Bud often did this for various reasons.  It does more harm than good for you to go to the back where Sneak is and help her move the sheep, but perhaps you can set something up with you in the middle of the flock, driving most of them so she is encouraged to bring the rest along . . .?  Just keep your eyes open and think creatively.

Question: . . . .I have read all of the info you have posted on the net. And I’m trying to use that to start the Collie (Sneak) she is about 12 months old.   The problem is she will not drive the sheep.

If they run she is right on to them, casting around the lead and blocking them up. As soon as they stop she stops.

I have confused her now by tring to get her to push them and I think I’m doing more damage than good.

The sheep are quite low energy and are last years lambs.

I think she wants to work she just does not know what I want her to do.

Answer:     I agree with you that she wants to work. One of the problems we often find with Border Collies is that they are very satisfied to just “hold” animals.

One of the ranches we worked on years ago had a little Border Collie that was left loose all the time. Queenie was a great little sheepdog, but not much help on cattle. I remember one time we were going out to gather cattle in one of the closer pastures and we didn’t notice that Queenie had followed us. We were calving some heifers and had lost a calf the previous night. Instead of taking the time to take Queenie back to the barn and tying her up, one of the cowboys “sent” her around the dead calf. We were gone at least 2 hours. When we got back with the cattle Queenie was still there, “holding” the dead calf. They called her off and we all went back to headquarters.

You have probably thought about working her on sheep that have more movement, or working her with another dog. If these things aren’t feasible, I’d try walking right into the middle of the sheep. If some split off, that’s great. She will probably go get them and put them back to the bunch, if not and you find yourself close to your dog you can “push” her around the flock. If, as you say you have read the material on our website, you should remember how important Bud thinks pushing your dog is and how to do it. Anything to get her “unstuck.” Above all, don’t say anything while you are doing this.