Kleinen Wiese German Shepherds

Posted By Sandy Wilson 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!”

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Tags: Aiko vd. Kleinen Wiese, Arla vd Kleinen Wiese, Delta von der Kleinen Wiese, German Shepherd

Posted By Sandy Wilson on October 16, 2011

Aiko von der Kleinen Wiese, HGH

Aiko stands for the exit from the pen.

Aiko's placement at the bridge.

Aiko working the wide graze.

Aiko received high marks for his narrow road work.

Entering the narrow graze.

Aiko makes room for the traffic to pass.

We bring the flock home with the re-pen.

Photos by Tom Rabon – Thank you Meghan and Tom!

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Tags: Aiko, Aiko vd. Kleinen Wiese, German Shepherd, Herding - HGH, Sheep Herding

Posted By Sandy Wilson 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.

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Tags: D-Litter, Delta, German Shepherd, Herding - HGH, Sheep Herding, Wide Graze

Posted By Sandy Wilson on August 15, 2011

Aiko von der Kleinen Wiese

Aiko is really coming along in his herding  training.   My husband and Aiko are really a wonderful team together and I think it all adds up to a great relationship with you and your dog.  I think it really makes all the difference when you watch a handler and dog who have a great working partnership – their work together just seems to flow effortlessly.

Here are just a few pictures that were taken recently of our boy working!  These pictures were taken by M. Rabon – thank you Meghan for some beautiful shots of our boy Aiko!

Here is Aiko in action moving along the flock during road work.

I love this picture as the sheep are returning to the pen; Aiko is watching his flock as they move past him to finish out his run.

Just one final picture of Aiko moving along the sheep.  He is most attentive to his flock. 

Aiko’s grandfather, Alf von Fafnerhaus, would be so proud of his grandson.  Aiko loves to work the sheep just as his grandfather Nicky had done before him.  Last Summer Aiko was lucky enough to have worked with a son of Nicky’s, Luki  (Dux von Fafnerhaus), in the Catskills of New York tending over 300 sheep.  It was such a beautiful sight to see these two dogs working together side by side, in harmony, tending to a flock of sheep together as a team.  When you see these dogs working together without commands, it is truly a sight to behold.

Luki and Aiko working together in the Catskills of NY! “2010″

Hopefully I’ll have some pictures coming up of Delta working the flock.  She is coming along nicely in her training and is starting to learn the road work.  Certainly sheep herding is something that takes time to train both the dog and handler!   Certainly learning to be a good handler as well as training the dog is a challenge, but one that is very gratifying when it all comes together.

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Tags: A-Litter, Aiko, Aiko vd. Kleinen Wiese, Dux v. Fafnerhaus "Luki", Herding - HGH, Sheep Herding

Posted By Sandy Wilson on March 31, 2011

Delta moving along tire track boundary.

Although Spring is here, it certainly doesn’t feel like it.  It has been unseasonably cold here in PA, 30-40 degrees F by day and in the 20′s overnight.  The temperatures don’t seem to be rising very quickly over these past few weeks, and April will be here soon.  In spite of the cold though, at least there is some grass growth and so there is some forage for the sheep to nibble on and the dogs now  have some work to do herding.

Right now I am working with Delta on gaining more independence from my direction.  She is starting to work more on her own, but I am still a big part of her focus.  During this time, I have been doing dry runs with her at home in a field with boundaries cut out and some posts around the corners.  She has been great about not cutting corners and I am also working with her on the placement aspect.  I have her stop along the boundary and then I call her in a few steps at a time with stays in between.  Once she has done that successfully, I then direct her out of the graze back onto the boundary to go around again and work the boundary as she would if there were sheep in the graze.

I do like training the obedience part with the dog as a dry run without sheep at times, as then there is no other distractions for the dogs to deal with and also you can correct or help the dog without having to worry about disrupting a flock.  Delta does very well with this and she is so easy to teach and direct.  At first when I would call her in, she would come in so quickly, as she was excited that I called her into the graze, but now she slowly takes a few steps and I am using my crook to signal her also, so she has put that together and is doing very well with that.

We are also working on having her stand while the sheep are moving past her and so far she is doing pretty good with that.  Although I must say I have been close to her at this point, but we are just starting this, so I am sure over time, she will get that training down and I’ll be able to work farther and farther from her.

Moving along the back boundary.

The boundary work is coming along well and now we are also working on moving the flock.  In the beginning, Delta didn’t want to move far away from me to cover the flock, but each week, I can see she is doing better and better and she is getting the idea.  I think one of the things that is the hardest about moving the flock in the beginning, especially when your new to learning this, is directing  your dog so that you don’t confuse them, but also staying in front of the flock and being clear to the sheep and the dog.  I think sometimes your so concerned about what your dog is doing, you loose sight of what your doing.  A mistake everyone makes in the very beginning, but I know it will get better.  I never realized how difficult it was to walk in front of the sheep and direct your dog, as you have to use your crook also to direct the dog in the beginning.  I think once the dog knows what to do and your comfortable about what your doing, then you can relax more and things go more smoothly, but that’s training – things are always a bit rocky when your first learning and putting all the moves together to make things look polished just takes time.  I am a long way from that!

Working calmly along the boundary watching her sheep.

Pictures taken by Meghan Rabon; thanks Meghan!

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Tags: D-Litter, Delta, Sheep Herding