Sheep and dogs! Help please

[Girlies' Mum]

I am about to get a very cute new Labrador retriever puppy who will be nine weeks old when she arrives. We don't have LGDs here in the UK as we don't have any serious predators, so it is not common for dogs to need to be left unsupervised with sheep. (Sheepdogs usually have their owner yelling at them).
My query is:
I have 4 beloved pet sheep and would love it if my new dog could settle in and be reliably safe to leave outside with the sheep e.g. while they are earning their keep mowing the "lawn" etc. in the summer. I guess you LGD owners must be complete experts at ensuring your LGDs are sheep/other livestock friendly, unless I am misunderstanding the way they work. Do you have any tips for me when I am training my new pup to make it as safe as possible for her to be with my sheep? My last beautiful dog (sadly passed recently) was generally quite good, but I never left them alone as a few times a year she would unexpectedly chase the littlest sheep round the yard, I think as a weird kind of doggie joke... Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Latestarter]

IMHO, you are dealing with a dog that is naturally born a retriever, not normally a high prey drive/chase type animal. They generally are working dogs that retrieve what you kill/shoot/throw for them, when YOU tell them to do so. Of course any/all dogs have the ability and can have the chase mentality. Normally this is more predominant with smaller animals like rabbits, squirrels, cats, etc. You'd have to ask the breeder you're getting the dog from about heritage and parentage and their experiences.

I grew up with black labs and german shepherds. I've owned several golden retrievers (as well as the GSDs) and they were great "family" pets. None of them were high prey drive, chase down and "play with/kill" other animals. The best way to stop any of this type behavior is to raise the new pup with the animals so it associates them as family. This is especially important as a new pup. When you go out to visit with your sheep, bring the pup with you so they can become familiar with each other. You will need to teach the sheep not to beat up on the pup as well as teach the pup that she shouldn't chase the sheep. Ideally you want the sheep to not be afraid of the dog (run away). You can have her on leash initially until you've trained her to come/sit/stay, and then on a long lead after that to give her some room to learn and experience but still have the ability to "reach out" and grab her to stop unwanted behavior.

I'm excited for you as I loved my golden retrievers (all my dogs actually)! Labs of all types are such awesome family/friendly dogs. Hope you'll share some pics when you get her Congrats!

 

[Southern by choice]

Obedience training... it really is that simple. Obedience training develops the strongest of bonds between human/dog. The dog in turn will do what is pleasing to you because the relationship is well developed.A well trained dog is a happy dog.

I am not a believer in replacement/redirection training.
Loathe training with treats or food. It is unnecessary.
Praise and relationship is reward.

My favorite trainer of all time is Winifred Strickland owner of the famous Wynthea Kennels.
One of her books has been reprinted many times and hopefully hasn't been altered from it's original. Original writing 1969! Has been revised over and over.

Search for-
Expert Obedience Training for Dogs by Winifred Gibson Strickland

 

[babsbag]

I hate training with treats too but I didn't know that when I starting training my Border Collies for agility. They would run the entire course watching for my hand to pull a treat out of the bag. Now they are so food driven it is literally annoying. And if I don't have a treat to give them they suddenly lose their ability to hear. I probably won't ever train another puppy but if I did it wouldn't be with treats.

 

[Baymule]

Labs are awesome dogs. We have a black Lab/Great Dane mix that is the best dog ever. He loves the sheep, but the Great Pyrenees would take his head off if he got near them LOL.

What Latestarter said. Take the pup with you, scold when necessary, praise a lot.

 

[Girlies' Mum]

Thanks so much everyone for your encouragement and good suggestions. Its kind of what I thought, which is why I posted before I even got her. She will be out helping me from day 1(well, she might still be in my arms, but she will meet them). Point taken also re treats - My last dog got very treat orientated (there were certain set places on walks where she simply stopped and demanded a treat, but she was 14 so I forgave her) and it would be nice not to have such a dependence on them. Will also try to find the book you mention. And the sheep will indeed have to learn too. They are not above a good head butt, if only out of curiosity.

 

[Girlies' Mum]

Obedience training... it really is that simple. Obedience training develops the strongest of bonds between human/dog. The dog in turn will do what is pleasing to you because the relationship is well developed.A well trained dog is a happy dog.

I am not a believer in replacement/redirection training.
Loathe training with treats or food. It is unnecessary.
Praise and relationship is reward.

My favorite trainer of all time is Winifred Strickland owner of the famous Wynthea Kennels.
One of her books has been reprinted many times and hopefully hasn't been altered from it's original. Original writing 1969! Has been revised over and over.

Search for-
Expert Obedience Training for Dogs by Winifred Gibson Strickland

Have ordered it from Amazon!

 

[Southern by choice]

Have ordered it from Amazon!

That's great.
Many years ago I had hoped to get one of her GSD's. It never happened, for me but I had a client who did.
She was a remarkable woman!

 

[OneFineAcre]

I have a lab mix that we had before we ever had goats she was around 3 years old when we got them
She has been with the bucks for years now
At our old place we put her with the bucks not so much as a LGD but more as a predator deterint
Now we have a GP male that she is in one of our buck fields with
Now he's the guardian and she is his companion
We thought we were going to retire her this year in she kind of struggled with heat and flies this summer but she was totally miserable in the house and missed Marvel so much
She is a great farm dog and doesn't really snap at the bucks even when they try to mount her when they are in rut
I agree with @Latestarter I think the retriever breeds do better with livestock than some other Non LGD breeds
They are just so smart and easy to train and very eager to please their human

 

[Girlies' Mum]

Thank you one fine acre - that is really encouraging.