German Shepherd, Aiko von der Kleinen Wiese, herding dog in training on our sheep farm in Pennsylvania

Kleinen Wiese German Shepherds

Sheep Herding German Shepherds

Winter 2012 Portraits

Posted By on January 21, 2012

Today was the first day that we have had snow in January and the dogs just loved it.  It was very overcast and gray out, but nevertheless a beautiful day with the ground completely covered with the fluffy stuff.  It was very cold outside but that wasn’t stopping the dogs from enjoying the weather.

Here are just a few pictures of the Kleinen Wiese bunch!

Delta von der Kleinen Wiese

“Where are all my sticks and balls at now?”

Delta is one that just never stops playing and having fun.  She is non-stop until she is pooped out.  She’ll retrieve just about anything you can throw that she can fit in her mouth!  Delta also possess that natural herding ability that her mother and grandmother and great grandparents also possessed. She is extremely intelligent and so easy to teach just about anything to -I can show her something once or twice and she gets it.  She is my little ball of fire.

Arla von der Kleinen Wiese

Arla was out of our first breeding and she is one of the most obedient, biddable dogs I think I have ever owned.  She will spin on a dime for me when I call her and is just super dog with the sheep and lambs.

Aiko von der Kleinen Wiese, HGH

We are so proud of our boy Aiko as he received his HGH title this past Fall in 2011.    He is an absolute joy and has such a zest for life!  Aiko is one of the best dogs we have produced and we hope to someday have puppies out of this boy.

“Now let’s get back to some serious playtime!”

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Posted By on December 1, 2011

The holidays are upon us and we look forward to celebrating the coming of Christmas and the New Year.  We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with much hope, faith, love  and happiness for the coming year!  We know that we are blessed with such good family, friends, and our companions.

May the Spirit of Christmas be with you now and forever!

Aiko von der Kleinen Wiese, HGH (Diesel v. Schulmeister, SchHI X Hera v. Fafnerhaus)

“There is no doubt that the genuine and noblest vocation for the shepherd dog is tending flocks”
                                                                 – Max von Stephanitz

Aiko von der Kleinen Wiese, HGH

Posted By on October 16, 2011

Aiko von der Kleinen Wiese, HGH

Aiko von der Kleinen Wiese, HGH

 
We are so proud of our boy Aiko.  This past weekend we attended the HGH Club Northeast Trial under SV Judge Gerd Jahnke.  It was truly an honor to show under a real shepherd who knows sheep and dogs.  It really meant a lot showing under this judge as he took the time to watch the dogs and explain the elements and give a thorough evaluation.  It was Gerd Jahnke’s first trip to the US and we thoroughly enjoyed him and hope that he’ll come back in the future for judging assignments.  Thank you Judge Jahnke!
 
Here are some photos of Aiko’s HGH run.
 
Exit from the pen

Aiko stands for the exit from the pen.

 
Aiko's placement at the bridge.

Aiko's placement at the bridge.

 

Aiko working the wide graze.

Aiko working the wide graze.

 

Aiko recieved high marks for his narrow road work.

Aiko received high marks for his narrow road work.

 

Entering the narrow graze.

Entering the narrow graze.

 

Aiko makes room for the traffic to pass.

Aiko makes room for the traffic to pass.

 

We bring the flock home with the re-pen.

We bring the flock home with the re-pen.

Photos by Tom Rabon – Thank you Meghan and Tom!

Demi is Amazing in Agility!

Posted By on September 20, 2011

Demi von der Kleinen Wiese, AX, AXJ, NJ, U-AG1, U-AG2

Demi von der Kleinen is just soaring through her titles in Agility.  Demi is not only doing AKC trials, but also UKC trials.  She just recently finished her U-AG1 title with 2 first places (perfect scores of 200) and she also received her U-AG2 title with scores of 177 , 195, and 193 (two 2nd places and 1 first place).  Great Job Edie and Demi – I am so proud of this team!   Demi is sailing through her titles in Agility and while doing so, she is also working on her obedience training and tracking – I can’t wait to hear of her accomplishments!  These dogs are just super  in obedience and  they absolutely love to track!   We will be seeing more of this pup!   Best of luck and keep up the great work!

Demi was out of our Arla von der Kleinen Wiese and Hawk v. Eichenluft, SchHIII.  This breeding produced some outstanding athletic pups.  Their size and build make them perfect competition dogs for any dog sport/activity.  These dogs are extremely intelligent and easy to train, they love to please and their work ethic is fantastic!!  I don’t think you could ask for much more in a dog!

Demi just turned two years of age this past June of 2011 and already she has accomplished so much – we look forward to see her compete around the country!  I am blessed to have such great owners for my dogs – thank you Edie and Vicki!

Delta Herding – Growing in Confidence and Experience

Posted By on August 27, 2011

Delta von der Kleinen Wiese

Delta has come along way in her training and it is due somewhat to maturity and also having different experiences with the sheep.  In order for the dog’s confidence to increase, you want them to have positive experiences with the sheep and that may mean that the handler intervenes at some point to help the dog when needed.  When you have a  young dog, you don’t want them to encounter situations that could be dangerous or where the dog’s confidence could really be in jeopardy.

Delta coming around the corner to push the lambs back out of the brush.

There are certain instances where sheep may face a dog head on and this might be very intimidating for a young dog, or possibly the sheep could charge the dog and you could have a face off; so the idea is to avoid that type of situation from happening by being close by and encouraging the dog to move by the sheep instead of stopping right in front of it.  There are just things you have to watch out for that involve sheep “sense” and knowing how sheep will act.  Herding not only involves the training of the dog and the handler, but also being able to read the sheep and know their behaviors.  Much of this experience I have from owning my own small flock of sheep and watching them, but over time, when training your own dog,  the handler can really pick up on sheep behavior by watching the flock and how the sheep react to different situations.  The idea is not to have your dog put into a situation that it can’t handle until it has experience and maturity on it’s side to know what to do.  Believe me, there are problem sheep in every flock and the smart sheep will try and get away with as much as the dog will let them.  I also think that sometimes you have to let a dog experience problems, so that the dog can problem solve and try different things because sheep certainly aren’t all going to cooperate.

Watching over the sheep.

Little by little the dog learns by using their posture, their movement and body language, how to push the sheep back, how to move them and this all takes time.  The dog needs to have lots of experiences with the sheep to learn this and to be able to handle more difficult situations that you will see with a large flock.   A very large flock of sheep can be very intimidating at times for a young dog that is unsure of what to do or how to handle certain pressures.    You can teach a dog lots of obedience exercises, but to have the dog work independently and handle the pressures of a large flock take time and experience.  This of course is mostly referring to the training of a young dog that hasn’t reached maturity.  Our male dog, Aiko, never had an issue with not being able to handle the sheep as he had a natural grip and was a take charge kind of dog with the sheep.  He is commanding in our barn with our sheep as well as confident with the large flock of sheep and has no problem putting sheep in their place if they deserve it.  Aiko was already mature in age and confident around sheep when he started his training.

Moving along the top of the graze.

When Delta first started her training, she was just about a year old and  she was unsure of what she was allowed to do and how much force she could use to push the sheep back from the boundary.  Delta’s first exposure to sheep was exciting to see as she was very turned on by being near the sheep and she showed alot of exuberance and so some of that had to be harnessed into productive work.  She definitely showed that she was ready to learn, but she was just a bit much for her own good and just needed to learn to work quietly and calmly.

Delta learned that it was acceptable for the sheep to graze closely to the boundary and that she didn’t need to disturb them.  These are lessons that are learned over time and that the dog becomes comfortable with over time.  They learn to work where the pressure is, but also to relax when there is no work.  A dog that is constantly running around the boundary when the sheep are laying down is just a dog wasting energy.   Sometimes when sheep are satisfied and relaxing, there is no work for the dog and handler doesn’t need to constantly command the dog to move this way or that way; the dog should relax and they can just watch.

One thing I am learning is that I can trust my dog and the less I say, the less I watch her, the better she is able to work independently and make decisions without me having to make them for her.  I like to see this independence develop as you want a dog who is intelligent and who can think on it’s own and doesn’t need to be constantly commanded to watch the flock.

The other day she was herding some older lambs and ewes is a fairly packed graze and there was plenty of work for her and movement of the flock back and forth through the graze.  Delta was in her glory as she had real work to do and she was really learning by experience to move quickly and to use her body to push the sheep back in the graze.  She even got to chase a few little critters back into the graze that were being rather bold.  Lambs can certainly be a challenge as it takes them longer to figure out the rules and they just don’t pay attention like older, wiser ewes do when the dogs are working.  Delta did really well and really had the chance to step it up a notch with the flock and show her power at keeping them in line.  I think it was one of her best lessons at the end that she really got to work hard at keeping the flock in one small area while so much movement was going on.  I really enjoyed watching her grow and seeing her enjoy herself.   She still has much to learn, but she is really coming along.

Delta coming up the hill to go around the post.