About Us

Welcome to the Somerset based ‘All About Sheepdogs’ Website. Pleased to have you on board!

My Border Collie, Jaanci and I, Caroline Woolley, hope you find our pages interesting, full of information, fun and a jolly good read. I have set up these pages and training courses because I love the whole scenario of (wo)man and dog working together in the common aim of perpetuating the ancient craft of shepherding.In addition to the working collie courses we are introducing a new branch of training. Please read on if you have a Border collie but no sheep. This is called HERDING and designed for the Border collie owner who does not have access to sheep. Working with Diamond Dog Training s- www.diamond-dog-training.co.uk we plan to run a series of Assessments and then on-going training sessions at a venue not far from Junction 21 M5. It has to be emphasised that once the herding instinct is aroused then it must be sustained otherwise the dog could become depressed.

Background & Experience

For the last 10 years, I have been setting up sheepdog and handler courses throughout the south west of England - farmers, shepherds, small holders and hobby farmers. We have also identified many people with Border collies or other herding dogs who do not have the facilities to keep sheep and do not want to go Agility with their dog. Look in the Training section for mor informaiton about this activity known as 'Herding'

Adding to these words in the summer of 2011 we found that, although Mike Bacon and I were entusiastic about Herding, we could not find enough participants. This is a pity because the system could work with committmen from the handlers. Maybe we were a bit too ahead of the game!

So here we are in 2012, still getting enquiries and filtering them to Mike for assessment. But still no courses in view.

During these many years we have met over 1000 people from the south-west of England we have had many success stories – satisfied customers who now have a well trained work force to hand.

And some funny happenings like the 6 year old dog whose handler need him to better leap over the drystone walls of West Cornwall after the Manx Longthan sheep who kept getting out! We advised a newer model!

With all these participants taking part in working sheepdog handler training since setting up, writing for the International Sheepdog News and attending Sheepdog Trials it means that I have hundreds of contacts throughout the border collie world, particularly in the south west but I also have access to a world wide base.

Caroline interviewing a cow! We once made it to the Weekend section of the Daily Telegraph, but the picture published was me interviewing a cow! And this was quite a while ago now !

This site and the future

It’s our aim to use our knowledge, experience and contacts to create a complete Sheepdog Resource site that enables you to find everything about sheepdogs all in one place.

There are many different types of dog used in the UK to work sheep. The most popular is the Border Collie, referred to as the "Sheepdog", but there are also Bearded Collies, Welsh Collies, Kelpies and Huntaways – to name a few. The term "Sheep Dog" is used to cover all types of working Shepherding Dog. And as this site progresses reference to these other types of sheep dog will be included but for the most part all information given refers to the Border Collie sheepdog.

Here are some questions I have been asked many times, which first prompted me to set up this website. I’ve listed how the All About Sheepdogs Website will provide the answers:-

Qu. Why should I have a well trained working sheepdog and be training it myself?
- Ans. Because you will save time, frustration and have on hand a ‘member of staff’ who can help you take care of your sheep for little outlay - just its keep.
Qu. Why not get the dog trained by someone else?
- Ans. Good idea - if you can afford it. And sometimes this is the better option but you will still need to bond with it and to know how to give it the correct commands, so we have included information about Dog and Handler Trainers.
Qu. What if I need to know where trainers are in other parts of the Country or, in fact, other parts of the World.
- Ans. Look at our lists of trainers www.isds.org.uk
Qu. Supposing I want to buy some books and DVD’s about working sheepdogs
- Ans. See the links to other sites where purchases can be made.
Qu. I would like to buy another dog, where do I look?.
- Ans. Contact All About Sheepdogs
Qu. I have always wanted to ‘have a go’ at Sheepdog Trialling, where do I start?
- Ans. We have a link to the International Sheep Dog Society website who have lists of all the major Trials and there is information about the three Trialling clubs in the south west.
Qu. It's all very well for people who live in the country and can gain acces to sheep, what if I have no sheep and do not want to get involvedin Agility?

Herding is the answer!

Summary

Jaanci and I hope you will agree that this site is a “one stop shop” for everyone interested in working sheepdogs and that it provides a wealth of resources and information for the experienced and novice owner alike. And now we have included people who do not have sheep but would like to learn the skills of the shepherd.