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Herding Dogs

Breeds

Bred to control a variety of livestock, Herding dogs have been developed to be well suited for their special functions. Lowslung Corgis and Swedish Vallhunds work as “heelers,” nipping at the heels of cattle to move them. Drovers, such as the Old English Sheepdog and Bouvier des Flandres, were employed to drive livestock to market. Briards and German Shepherd Dogs patrolled the boundaries of pastures to keep their charges contained, while breeds such as the Puli and Bearded Collie went in search of grazing sheep to round them up and bring them in.

Activity level

Always on the move in pursuit of their duties, Herding dogs are virtually tireless canines that crave action. Agility is their middle name.

Size

Herding breeds go from medium-small to medium-large. Short-legged Corgis and Vallhunds are approximately 30 centimeters (a foot) high. Larger dogs in the group include the Belgian Shepherd, Collie, Bouvier, Briard and German Shepherd.

Trainability

Problem-solving, independent thinking and the ability to instantly obey orders has resulted in many of the Herding breeds being among the most trainable of all canines. The popular Shetland Sheepdog always ranks high in obedience competition and the German Shepherd’s versatility has seen it used as a guide for the blind or an assistance dog for the handicapped, and in drug and explosives detection, search and rescue and police work.

Characteristics

Intelligence, the desire to please, an action-oriented nature and a knack for rounding up anything from cattle to kids are hallmarks of the Herding breeds.

Appenzeller Sennenhunde

The Appenzeller Sennenhunde originates in the Appenzell region of north-eastern Switzerland and is one of four regional breeds of Sennenhund or Swiss mountain dog, all of which are characterised by a distinctive tricolour coat.

Australian Cattle Dog

This intelligent cattle dog was developed in Australia by stockmen who needed a steady, silent worker able to control livestock in wide-open spaces as well as in the stockyard.

Australian Kelpie

‘Kelpie’ was the name bestowed on a pup from the mating of two black-and-tan Smooth Collies imported to Australia.

Australian Shepherd

Spain and Andorra are where this popular herding dog had its beginning. But many of the Basque herders left that land to seek fortunes elsewhere, and took their dogs with them.

Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog

The Stumpy Tail shares its early history with the Australian Cattle Dog – both were developed by 19th-century Australian farmers to protect, herd and drive livestock over long distances.

Bearded Collie

Records dating back to the 16th century show that Polish Lowland Sheepdogs were brought into Scotland, and it’s believed that they were crossed with local farm collies to create the breed now known as the Bearded Collie.

Beauceron

The Berger de Beauce or Beauceron was originally used for hunting wild boar but turned to herding and livestock guarding. In more recent times, the breed has been employed for military and police work.

Belgian Shepherd Dog

The breed name Belgian Shepherd Dog, in Canada, includes four varieties that are similar in size and body outline, differing only in length and type of coat.

Bergamasco Shepherd

The Bergamasco Shepherd is a medium-sized rustic breed that originated in the northern Italian and Swiss Alpine regions characterized by its flocked coat, which looks like felts of sheep wool. 

Berger des Pyrenees

The Berger des Pyrenees, also known as the Pyrenean Shepherd Dog, is the smallest of the French herding breeds and possesses great vigour and alertness as well as speed.

Berger Picard

“A coated breed without coat problems” is a description often applied to this ancient French herding breed, also called the Picardy Shepherd.

Border Collie

The Border Collie has a long history of usefulness to man.

Bouvier des Flandres

The Bouvier, of Franco-Belgian origin, is a big, intelligent dog measuring upwards of 27-1/2 inches (70 cm) at the shoulder.

Briard

A shaggy-coated French sheepdog of ancient lineage, the Briard served his country with valour during World War I as a Red Cross dog and ammunition carrier.

Cardigan Welsh Corgi

Both the Cardigan and Pembroke Welsh Corgis are thought to descend from the Swedish Vallhund, a short-legged breed that was brought to Wales by the Vikings in the 9th century.

Finnish Lapphund

Also known as Lapinkoira (Lapland dog), the Finnish Lapphund traces back to the historic hunting, and later herding dog of the Sami people who lived in regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia above the Arctic Circle.

German Shepherd Dog

He’s valued around the world as sentry, police dog, tracker, drug dog, search-and-rescue dog and guide dog for the blind.

Iceland Sheepdog

This lively, affectionate Nordic Spitz breed is a descendant of the small herding dogs that accompanied the Vikings in AD 880 when they colonized Iceland.

Miniature American Shepherd

The Miniature American Shepherd is the result of a breeding program that began in the 1960s to produce a scaled-down version of the Australian Shepherd.

Mudi

Before the middle of the 19th century, Hungarian sheepdogs were simply divided into two categories: large and small.

Norwegian Buhund

While its exact origin has not been pinpointed, this member of the Spitz family of Nordic dogs has been known in Scandinavia even prior to the days of the Vikings.

Old English Sheepdog

Known in its native Britain for over 200 years, the ‘bobtail’ is thought to descend from a variety of European herding breeds and was developed by sheep farmers in the English West country to herd and drive sheep to market.

Pembroke Welsh Corgi

The Pembroke Corgi is thought to be a further development of the Cardigan variety.

Polish Lowland Sheepdog

The Polish Lowland Sheepdog or Polish Owczarek Nizinny (the latter, affectionately abbreviated as PON) is an ancient herding breed of Poland that has changed little over the centuries.

Portuguese Sheepdog

The history of the Portuguese Sheepdog is not entirely known.

Puli

Believed to have originated in central Asia, the Puli was brought to Hungary by the Magyars about 1,000 years ago.

Rough Collie

The ‘Lassie’ dog is a native of Scotland believed to have descended from herding dogs brought to Britain at the time of the Roman invasion.

Schapendoes

The Schapendoes was established in the 1800s and could be found in the heathlands of the Netherlands wherever there were flocks of sheep.

Shetland Sheepdog

This breed was the farm dog whose work place was the unfriendly terrain of the Shetland Islands that lie off the north-east coast of Scotland.

Smooth Collie

Identical in all respects except coat length, the Smooth Collie is of the same lineage as the Rough variety.

Spanish Water Dog

Likely of the same origin as other European water dogs, this rustic multi-purpose breed has been used for centuries in the Andalusian region of southern Spain to assist in herding, hunting and fishing.

Swedish Vallhund

Although one of the most recent breeds to gain full Canadian Kennel Club accreditation (June 13, 1995), the Vallhund has long been treasured in its homeland for its cattle-herding ability, strength and stamina.