As many of you may know, herding dog training is a fun and exciting way to work with your dog. Herding training can be done with a number of different dog breeds, including; Border Collies, Rough Collies, Australian Cattle dogs, German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and many other breeds as well. We recently put together a short video of some herding that was taken during one of our lessons to give you an idea of what it’s all about.
Herding dog training builds a special relationship between dog and handler and also has many other benefits. Herding will help to build good communication and teaches the dog and handler to work well as a team to accomplish particular goals. Herding helps to build cinfidence in dogs as well as challenging them mentally. Herding dog training also challenges dogs physically; good herding dogs are true canine athletes.
Highland Canine Training offers herding dog classes and private lessons for those who would like to do herding work with their dogs, even if just for fun. Herding is a great way to spend quality time with your dog and is something you both will enjoy. We offer free evaluations to anyone wishing to do herding work with their dog. If you are interested in herding training or if you would like to schedule a free evaluation, please feel free to give us a call at 866.200.2208 or email us.
We have found that there are some groups out there who train search dogs the only way they know how because they have lack of funds, time, or simply following advice from someone else. We have seen what some groups claim to be certified dogs and/or handlers with no finished alert, no apparent rewards for the dog, and dogs with simply no drive at all. During the years that I have been conducting seminars and certifying Search and Rescue dogs, I have also seen a number of “search and rescue” dogs that were fear agressive, phobic of people, or were scared of vehicles, just ot name a few. The problem is those select groups who choose to train their own way, with little or no success, ruin things for those groups and individuals who work hard, attend classes, seminars, and receive updated information frequently to make sure handler and dog are up to par. I would like to add that if you are a volunteer in hopes of making a hero out of yourself and your dog…..please get out now! (ie. Sandra Anderson and Canine Eagle). Search and Rescue groups are about working as a team many times with people you don’t know very well. Making up excuses for why your dog was wrong or couldn’t pick up a scent (blaming others for your lack of training), sometimes you just have to say, we gave it a shot and did the best we could. There are many resources and certified trainers out there to assist search and rescue handlers and your dogs; you just have to take a look around. 
Some of the biggest reasons that people want to buy puppies for protection dogs are so that the pup will bond with them, so that the dog will “get along” with their children and so that the puppy can understand from an early age that this is their family and home and “naturally” become protective.
Huge congratulations to our past students Ruby and Shannon for winning First and Second Place at the Charlotte, NC A.K.C. Agility Trials held October 10th and 11th 2009. Ruby scored 100 out of 100 points and 91 out of 100 points which gave her 2 qualifying runs in Standard Course. Ruby took her first Agility Course this past spring at our Mooresville, NC location and continued on with agility training under the direction of Linda Taylor at our Matthews, NC location. From day one Ruby and her owner were special. Both were ready to learn and were extremely enthusiastic about working on their agility skills. Shannon watched and listened to instructions, Ruby, though, was quite a handful. She pulled on the leash and was running all over the place. The second lesson proved what she was made of. I asked for a volunteer to demonstrate the homework I had assigned during the previous agility class and Ruby and Shannon stepped up. I watched in awe as they did close to perfect front crosses and jumps. Ruby and her owner had really done their homework and worked as a team perfecting the jumps and hand signals. After a few classes Shannon told me she was going to enter Ruby in the upcoming Agility Trials. The Agility Class was just for fun, but with hard work and true dedication to the sport that fun can take you down a more challenging road.