How to Train Your Australian Cattle Dog; 3 Things You Should Know

Dogs are more than man’s best friend. They are loyal, intelligent, hardworking, forgiving, and above all, offer selfless friendship. They’re our playmates and protector. Their role however, takes a whole new different meaning when they’re a cattle dog. Australian cattle dogs for example, are extremely valuable assets to any cattle farm; they help ranchers through their daily work and at the end of the day, they come home and serve as our best friend.

While having a cattle dog is rewarding and valuable, there’s a huge gap that separates well-trained dog and a dog that causes a lot of frustrations when it comes to cattle work. Here are some basics on how to train your Australian cattle dog.

Build a Healthy Pet-Master Relationship

As descendants of wolves, dogs are social pack animals, and like wolves, they look up to their alpha. Before your dog can respect you, it should see you as the alpha in your relationship. Being an alpha means you’re the top dog, and that they should obey you to become your companion.

Dogs look for this kind of social hierarchy. Usually they don’t care where they are in the hierarchy, as long as they know who’s on top. However, if they’re uncertain who the leader is, they can be pesky as they will test you and push the boundaries until they figured out who they can dominate and who they cannot.

When establishing your alpha status in your relationship with your dog, never forget that this behavior of them is in no way malicious or vicious. They may seem aggressive, but it’s a necessary attempt for the animal to know the boundaries and where to settle in.

Hard and abusive handling, especially bullying will not establish your dominance over your pet. Rather, letting your dog know that you are in charge and leading them to what you want for them to do establish the pet-master relationship.

Here are some ways to establish yourself as the alpha.

Take Charge of the Food

Since food is highly desirable and necessary for your pet’s survival, it makes an excellent tool to teach your dog that you’re the alpha.

In the pack, the Alpha eats first and decides who eats next. By eating first and feeding your dog after you, you will show your dog that you control the food. Also, giving your dog small bites of your own good makes your pet recognize you as the source of food.

Once your pup knows basic commands, you can use food as reward for obedience and positive behavior. Take note, hand feeding your dog is the best way to show your control over the food.

When giving rewards, praise your dog and hand them the food. If they don’t, hold the food before trying again.

Take Charge of the Leash

You can do so many things by introducing your puppy to a leash. This will make supervision a lot easier and keep both of you out of trouble.

With the help of the leash, you can control your dog which direction to go. Should he/she try to lead you in one direction, simply turn and walk the other way. This way, you’re teaching your dog that you are the one who decides where to go.

Bottom Line

These are just two of the many ways to train your dog. Of course, training your Australian cattle dog to be a herding dog requires more training methods.

Repetition is key to training your dog. Thus, this means the most important thing is patience. If you think you don’t have the knowledge and experience to train your dog effectively, then your best option is to ask for professional help. You can take your dog to an obedience class and from there gradually elevate the training to herding.