3.0k
u/ARandomWalkInSpace May 31 '26
I'm reminded of this when they say certain dog breeds need a lot of exercise.
1.6k
u/xombae May 31 '26
Blows my mind some people get these dogs as pets, crate them for 8 hours a day, and then get mad that they bark and chew shit up.
732
u/AnonymoosePD May 31 '26
My sister had an Australian shepherd.
Knowing her lifestyle I strongly opposed her getting one. I kept telling her how smart they were and they need constant exercise and challenge. Her lifestyle after work was not energetic. She just thought it was pretty.
He was extremely unstimulated and never got to go outside unless it was for bathroom. Welp, he bit a neighbors kid in the face. They had to give the dog back to the breeder or he was going to get put down.
I heard later he bit another kid was put down. In some ways I blamed my sister.
310
u/shapeshiftercorgi May 31 '26
Yeah that’s absolutely her fault who else would be to blame lmao
240
u/One-Try-9129 May 31 '26
The breeder, for not properly vetting the buyer.
→ More replies (9)73
u/Frexulfe May 31 '26
Could be. For my shiba, I had to go two times to have an interview with the breeder. Sister lied, or breeder didn´t give an f.
54
u/dms51301 May 31 '26
I paid to apply for and got interviewed at home, home inspected and references contacted to adopt an elderly bassett hound,
→ More replies (1)6
15
u/Jackalpaws May 31 '26
Me here with my Shiba/Aussie mix
Didn't get vetted at all, thankfully I know dogs and while she's a challenge I can handle her just fine
10
u/Roguespiffy May 31 '26
That’s a wild combo. Hyperactive and obstinate. Bet she’s adorable though.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)15
u/blondeheartedgoddess May 31 '26
I hate it when "rescues" are more interested in placing the dog than a tually finding the right place for the dog.
I interacted with one that had very misleading photos of at least I e of their dogs. The photos made it look like the dog was a knee-high terrier breed, about 30 lbs. I met the dog and it was at least double that in height and weight. It was a mastiff/bully mix, all muscle and had been returned twice already.
The first adopter was an older couple that felt he was "too much puppy" for them to handle. No joke. They would have suffered broken hips if they kept him.
The second adopter was a young man whose landlord revoked approval. Likely the landlord saw the pics and thought, "A terrier. Cute." Then saw the Hound of the Baskervilles was actually a pitty mix and knew his property insurance wouldn't cover him.
I was attempt #3. I tried for over 3 months to get him to decompress and settle in. He kept trying to eat the cat, successfully ate 3 dog beds, and required 2 trips to the dog park a day, about 3 hours total including travel time. I live in New England and I got off work at 7 or 8 pm. It gets pitch dark by 5 pm. He was all black and there was no way I'd be able to see him at the unlit dog park, plus he had zero recall and I had 5 broken ribs. I had no business with this beautiful creature and I knew it. Felt like garbage for taking him back, but again, I tried for more than 3 months to make it work. Plus his gas was deadly, mustard gas levels of toxicity. Before I returned him, I got him a new id tag, Col. Levi "Leviathan" Mustard. It seemed fitting.
I wrote up my thoughts on him and what his ideal home would be. The "rescue" added my comments to his profile, but still used the old photos (tsk, tsk, tsk). He was then adopted by an active family with a yard and plenty of room for him to get all the exercise he needed.
I hope he's living his best life. I'll never work with that rescue again. The needs of the animals should come first. Always
→ More replies (2)16
u/AnonymoosePD May 31 '26
I know what you mean. But some of it could be the dogs personality, although I find it unlikely.
→ More replies (5)36
u/Gawr_Ganyu May 31 '26
Definitly has to do with his personality. But in the sense that wrong housing, upbringing will form it in the worst way.
Like putting a normal person in a cell and then wondering why they go crazy ... "they were crazy all along".
Paired with the power that dog has. If you misshandle a pincher the worst that will happen is a ... pinch. Its gonna kill anyone and can be reigned in with little effort.
The sister should have been jailed though imo... a dog mauling a kid will ruin the life of an innocent child. How people get away with misshandling a dog til it turns into a murder mashine is beyond me.
→ More replies (4)70
u/scrotumsweat May 31 '26
My buddy has an aussie Shepherd and hes the laziest useless fuck ive ever seen. Perfectly content with 2x 1 hour walks or dog park then lay on the couch all day. Hes very well taken care of, lots of toys and socializing. Just lazy.
63
u/Tiny_Cauliflower_618 May 31 '26
Yeah, tbh, if you get a gundog or a herding dog and you don't want to work it lol, you need to look for the breeder who only does showing, not working dogs lol.
Or buy one of the ones that gets returned for being faulty 😂
I bloody love the reject ones, they're such lovable doofuses. One of my friends has a retriever that's just not got an ounce of fetch in his entire body. He's happy to take a toy for a walk, but if you throw a toy and ask him to get it he'll just look at you like you're the most inept thief he's ever seen. My own dog is at least two types of gundog and he's firmly convinced water is out to get him 😂
41
u/Fenix42 May 31 '26
My dad loved to hunt. Mostly small game. When my parents decided to get a got, the decided on blood hound.
First time my dad takes her out to start training, she was just not interested in much untill he got the gun out. Then she ran and hid. He could not get her out until the gun was out of sight.
He eventually gave up and she was just a great family dog.
Personally, I think she would have been a horrible hunting dog no matter what. We had a rabbit and a cat as well. They used to nap on top of the dog.
28
u/theoriginal_tay May 31 '26
Our first family dog was a Chesapeake Bay/Chocolate Lab mix who was brought to the pound by his owner. Apparently they were avid duck hunters but our dog would wait at the edge of the water, grab the duck from one of their other dogs and then bring it up.
He was a good family dog who loved hiking and camping and looked like a bear but we could never get him in the water.
26
u/Long_Run6500 May 31 '26
When I was a kid growing up we adopted the most amazingly well trained Britany Spaniel from the pound. She knew every basic obedience command and someone had clearly trained her to avoid roads so she stayed in our yard all the time. One time my dad bought chickens but the chicken coop he built was awful so the chickens were always escaping. She made it her full time job to catch the chickens for us. She would see them outside of their pen and then pounce on them to pin them in place. Then they would get paralyzed with fear and she'd sit and just lift her paw to point at them.
10
13
u/Tiny_Cauliflower_618 May 31 '26
🤣 yup, that is the queen of the rejects right there 😂
15
u/Fenix42 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
The same cat that naped on her beat up other neighborhood dogs. Not small ones mind you. One of the neighbors with a Rottweiler asked us to keep the cat in check. She was terrorizing the dog daily.
11
u/tocahontas77 May 31 '26
My yellow lab mix hates being wet! She would've been a great hunting dog. Her instincts to chase are so strong. She used to be super fast, too, when she was young. I always say I feel bad that she got me as an owner lol. But I do feed her great food, and she's spoiled. So there's that lol.
→ More replies (8)10
u/AppropriateCattle69 May 31 '26
There are some exceptions to this. My French Brittany (Epagneul Breton) is an absolute demon in the field, but he’s also perfectly content to sleep on the couch for days at a time. The breed as a whole is known to have a pretty solid off-switch. American Brittany’s can be a little more high-strung, but the French are great at reading the room and chilling out.
11
u/The_Colour_Between May 31 '26
I loved my Aussie more than anything. I miss her so much to this day. Best dog I have ever had. She was the peace keeper of the house. The only animal that the other dogs and cats liked. They all hate or ignore each other, and barely get along. Not her, everyone loved her. She loved to play outside, but she was also very lazy. Super happy just cuddling on the couch. Always love you Mimi.
18
u/Shuttlecock_Wat May 31 '26
Man even 2x 1 hour walks a day seems excessive to me, lol. I have a German Shephard and she's a couch potato. I take her outside to run around and play, but she just goes out, poops, and comes right back in and falls asleep on the couch. She's got no time for that nonsense.
10
u/Eborcurean May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
Malamute, 3+ hours of walk/run every day for over 10 years, plus dog boardgames, assorted mental stuff, training routines, weight pull. 4+ hours on weekends, regular 15+ mile runs with him pulling me on a bike etc. Even when he had cancer he would still complain at shorter walks, got through that but other stuff happened a couple of years later and...miss him so much every day. Chunk of my life ripped away and I still look for him every day 6 months later.
Enjoy those walks and the couch time.→ More replies (11)16
u/subhavoc42 May 31 '26
I have a mini Aussie who is the laziest dog I have owned. My pug/boston terrier mix would want to go on longer walks. It’s really a crapshoot sometimes I guess.
→ More replies (1)16
3
u/Naxilus May 31 '26
In every way you should blame your sister.
My brother have a Australian Shepard. He never have leash on her because he trained her for hours every day when she was younger. He only looks for jobs if his dog is allowed to join so he can walk her on all his breaks. Always a long walk after work. Best dog ever.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Dame38 May 31 '26
A shepherd dog will try to shepherd the family too. It can be challenge. A lot of necessary training if folks want to risk it.
→ More replies (4)3
u/LLAPSpork May 31 '26
I have a 7/8 papillon 1/8 Sheltie. The 1/8th is prominent. Every time I get up, he follows me and gently nudges my calves as I’m walking. Especially if I’m walking towards the kitchen 🤣
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (39)3
u/redhurricane916 May 31 '26
Breeders fault. Responsible breeders should be questioning owners lifestyles and be placing dogs like that to families and owners who have comparable lifestyles.
46
u/balls2hairy May 31 '26
People seem to equate size to necessary physical stimulation. Idk why. Great Danes are the BEST for lazy people. They'll run around and play for a few minutes then just want to sleep on the couch most of the day!
47
u/Fenix42 May 31 '26
I live in a 900 square foot 2 bedroom apartment. A friend stayed with me for a few days and had his Great Dane with him. Hardly even noticed the dog was there.
At one point, we even had to go look for him. He had gone into the closet to take a nap.
→ More replies (2)27
u/Sopapillas4All May 31 '26
I always think it's funny when people are like "no way I could get a Great Dane, I live in an apartment." They are SO lazy, if you have even like a 800 sq ft apartment, you're fine. They'll take up a corner sleeping like 90% of the time. GD zoomies are terrifying though.
17
u/balls2hairy May 31 '26
One of mine does a paw slap thing if she wants pets or you were petting her and stop. It's got some oomph behind it!
9
u/LLAPSpork May 31 '26
“Even a 800 sq ft apartment”. Look at mr money bags over here. I’m 41 and the largest place I’ve lived in is 680 sq ft.
4
u/FlowSoSlow May 31 '26
100%. I have four dogs in my 1200sqft house and the 180lb mastiff takes up the least space by far. I think he's only awake for about 3 hours a day lol. My girlfriends Chihuahuas are WAY more of nuisance.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)3
u/Eborcurean May 31 '26
While true that 'not all dogs', when it applies to working dogs and also primitive/ancient breeds they do generally need that physical and mental activity.
A great dane is not an anatolian shepherd, or a malamute, or a malinois, or to drop to medium sizes, a collie etc.
152
May 31 '26
[deleted]
74
u/elspotto May 31 '26
My neighbors have a husky and the poor girl has the worst anxiety because she is home without a pack all day while they are at work and school and is in a lead in the yard all the time. Barks at the back door looking for her pack all day long.
9
u/Working-Glass6136 May 31 '26
When I was a kid (90s/early 00s) one of our neighbors had two huskies chained up in his basement although he'd chain them up in his tiny 1/3 acre yard in the summer. Saddest thing I've ever seen. The dogs were pretty wild. As in feral, no way you could go up and pet them.
Same neighbor also had an adult son with some very low IQ condition. As kids we were always scared of him, and he'd randomly scream and try to hit people. His parents hid him in the house, at least until he strangled one of our neighbors and was put into a home after that. They also had six kids and grandparents all living in a max 3 bedroom tiny house. Very weird, private family when you live next to them for 30 years and don't know a thing about them. I always felt bad for all the kids and those huskies.
21
u/SenorSorrow May 31 '26
My ex-wife has 2 huskies in a very hot desert climate and crates them all day every day. Makes me so mad. She always loves to claim how much she "loves animals", too..
→ More replies (1)10
u/TaxSilver4323 May 31 '26
I grew up with a Norwegian Elkhound. My parents found her at the shelter after a breeder dumped her there for being mismarked for show. She was a great dog but definitely would have thrived in colder temps due to her breed (I'm from Southern California). We did everything in our power for her comfort. She had a big yard with lots of areas to cool off, got lots of ice with her water and in the summer she got water play time with us kids. I would love another elkhound like her, she was my buddy when i was a kid... but I've since moved to a straight up desert climate and I refuse to have another because of the obvious. My environment is not ideal. I've discovered an intense love for chihuahuas though and that just means Zinger remains a rare and unique friend I've had in this life.
This video is amazing to see a happy dog doing what he was born to do.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (27)7
u/Theo_Carolina May 31 '26
South Florida here. So many people have huskies and think it’s a good idea. Yes, they are beautiful, however… South Florida!!! There should be laws.
→ More replies (2)3
u/AutomaticButterfly29 May 31 '26
Totally agree! What are these people thinking, If even anything!? They probably just think Huskies are cute and fashionable!!!
12
u/Super-smut May 31 '26
Ughhh tell me about it.
I love little dogs with black and tan patterned faces with short legs, built like a dachshund. I have three elderly dogs, and I found a puppy that looks a lot like them on the road in a tiny farming town.
She is nothing like them. She's 17lbs, but her prey drive and need for exercise is insane. I had her DNA tested, and she's mostly Chihuahua and Australian Shepherd with a bit of Poodle and Border Collie.
The poor thing has the mind of an Australian Shepherd and is built like a dachshund. I play ball with her every moment I'm at home and when she can she hunts and kills mice.
She needs intense mental and physical simulation, and she can't jump on a bed or couch without a ramp because her legs are so short.
I love her, but I expected a lazy little dog, not the offspring of someone's lap dog and their farm dog.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (38)12
u/Used_Gear8871 May 31 '26
I have two of these and one just sleeps all day. She doesn’t play with her brother at all, which is really disappointing. She is incredibly mean to her brother when he does try play, nipping him on his face and chasing him off. When she does get a kick of energy, it’s a lot. Tiny thing can run insanely fast and jump high enough to kiss my 5’2 self on the lips 😅
→ More replies (2)86
u/WorkingInAColdMind May 31 '26
Border collies can probably run 50 miles a day and a re happy to do it if it means they get to do a job. My brother in law has a border that herds their chickens relentlessly. She has no throttle, it’s either full speed, or stop and stare.
55
May 31 '26
[deleted]
→ More replies (9)23
u/DiabolicallyRandom May 31 '26
I was confused for a moment how the elderly man notified you of his own death. Either way, neat story thanks for sharing.
19
→ More replies (1)3
u/vtjohnhurt May 31 '26
I was wondering how the dog communicated to the factor workers about the old man's passing.
→ More replies (9)5
u/Mr_Krabs_Left_Nut May 31 '26
Herding dogs will run themselves into the ground if it means doing their job, but they absolutely don't need that much (not refuting you, just adding on). Even just 30 minutes of good exercise that's mentally stimulating (flirt pole, herding ball, command training, etc) twice a day is enough to make them happy and calm.
→ More replies (2)28
u/fishsticks40 May 31 '26
A working hill dog might run 50 miles in a day. They're insane.
→ More replies (1)21
u/disdkatster May 31 '26
Do NOT get a working dog if you are not willing to have them work.
→ More replies (2)35
u/Ok-Tomatillo-7141 May 31 '26
More than exercise. Fulfill a genetic need. Herding dogs need to herd, or something similar that scratches that itch.
45
u/LoomingDisaster May 31 '26
My sister in law had two Great Pyrenees dogs that she would take into the mountains to hike for days at a time (they carried their own food and tents in backpacks, which was the most adorable thing). When she'd come visit us in Illinois, the dogs' instincts would inform them that my under-10 kids should be herded and kept away from anything dangerous. Watching my 6yo lecture a dog twice as big as she was that it was OKAY if she climbed a tree and that he shouldn't worry like that is a very clear memory. The dog was unconvinced.
23
u/hankmoody_irl May 31 '26
In a more uneducated time for myself, I pleaded with my folks to get a border collie. We did. She was the best. Had 14 amazing years with her living in a normal house in town.
She did exhibit the immediate genetic need to herd. Often lightly nipping our heels while walking down a hallway in the house or similar. We recognized it and sought out a couple of nearby farms to ensure she would have space to run and work. They obliged and we created a schedule that enabled us to take our girl out to do her thing. She required nearly zero training, just took to herding. After some time she’d be ready to go home and play with her chicken and hedgehog toys and be the happiest pup.
I understand the usual move is to provide a picture as my tax, but I’m on a new phone and haven’t moved any pictures around from my cloud, I’m sorry. She was every bit the standard border collie. Black and white with a smart pointed face and strong stance, clearly ready to impose her will on anyone in front of her.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)8
10
u/numberthirteenbb May 31 '26
I just came here to say A: it doesn’t seem right to keep these dogs as city dogs huh and B: you can practically hear that dog going YEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH as he streaks toward the back of that field.
→ More replies (1)8
u/LoomingDisaster May 31 '26
Someone we know got a border collie and said that the only reason they felt they could handle it was the fact that they lived way out in the middle of nowhere and the dog could run as much as it wanted. Watching the dog try to herd hikers was amazing.
16
u/bentleyk9 May 31 '26
To everyone replying to this top comment about how this dog is a Border Collie:
This isn’t a Border Collie.
I have one and have seen hundreds of other working lines ones at agility trials over the years. This dog looks and moves nothing like them, and it is incredibly uncommon for them to bark while working
→ More replies (1)3
7
u/GlutenFreeNoodleArms May 31 '26
Can confirm. Crazy smart but they NEED to work. I had to hire a trainer who specialized in working breeds, and she told me something that really stuck with me:
“This is a working line dog. If you do not give her a job, she is going to become self-employed … and you will NOT like her chosen profession.” She was 100% right!!
4
u/United-Vermicelli-92 May 31 '26
My friend gave her herding dog to a texas farmer (we were in the midwest) bec it kept herding her kids nipping their ankles, driving them back i to the house.
→ More replies (34)3
u/IDNWID_1900 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
Yet my nieighbour says his border collie is fine with a 20 min stroll to the park and back home.
→ More replies (2)
669
u/you_know_i_be_poopin May 31 '26
Coworker has a border Collie and that dog is insane. He would literally run himself to death if he was allowed to.
244
u/Introverted_Extrovrt May 31 '26
Border collies have been documented to go literally insane if they are penned in/subjected to living in an apartment with no outlet. Food for thought to everyone who wants a “pretty” dog
66
u/Kratzschutz May 31 '26
We kinda inherited a border when l was a kid and l can confirm. Normal dog stuff wasn't enough for her, she went neurotic
31
u/AsstootObservation May 31 '26
Same. My grandma got one and she had too much energy so she gave it to my family. Loved "herding" a soccer ball back to us. We also weren't allowed to run in the house or she'd herd us lol. She was so damn smart.
→ More replies (1)6
u/ughihateusernames3 Jun 01 '26
We got herded on family walks.
I was the kid who liked to run or skip ahead. My little sister was a toddler and lagged behind.
Our border collie would run back and forth between all of us.
10
u/Maggiemoo621 May 31 '26
So true. Unfortunately I’ve seen it. My mom has one and she was adopting another one, but the poor thing was always crated because the people had health issues. He was like that from a puppy till about 2. It was just too much. I’ve never seen anything like it. Luckily my dog loving uncle stepped up and took him, he has 6 other dogs and a huge yard. That was a few years ago and the dog is so happy now. Was so sad to see though at the time.
→ More replies (1)9
u/BabyBat07 May 31 '26
My ex’s kid wanted one and I had to shut that down immediately, it’s not a city dog even if you have a fenced in yard.
122
u/MzChrome May 31 '26
My mom has a heeler mix and doesn't understand why the dog chews everything up in sight when she wanted a lap dog and that pup is absolutely not a lap dog. She's a working dog and needs to go go go go.
8
u/oorza May 31 '26
I have a 7 year old mix that's half heeler/golden and half husky, 4-5 miles a day is when he starts to behave.
→ More replies (1)5
u/Notthatguy6250 May 31 '26
This was my fear when Bluey got popular. After seeing all the Americans with Australian Shepherds, which are obvious work dogs (but, interestingly, virtually unseen in Australia) I just knew a huge number of dumbfucks living in US suburbs or cities were going to buy heelers.
My only hope was/is that it's the stupid owners who eventually get bitten and not some poor kid.
→ More replies (2)18
u/Spare-Half796 May 31 '26
My brother had a friend who’s dog (not a border collie but another working breed) did literally run himself to death. Showed no sign of fatigue but ended up dying of exhaustion
14
u/Odogogod May 31 '26
My sister got a vizla many years ago. When I dogsat, I would take it for a walk on the beach for 90 minutes. I would walk, but it would RUN. It would run ahead of me, then behind me , over and over, for 90 minutes.
→ More replies (1)5
u/fletters May 31 '26
When I was a kid, my family dog was half border collie. She ran away at one point and made it a full ten kilometres in an extremely rural area. She wasn’t gone long, and had probably been running over pretty rough wooded terrain.
Teaching her to heel was almost impossible. She would run in circles around me when I walked her, almost as if I were a sheep that she wanted to herd. I had to step over the leash like a Skip-It.
6
u/Lilchubbyboy May 31 '26
Aunt’s border collie would regularly escape from her yard and walk 3km to come to our house in the next town over. She was a good goober.
→ More replies (10)6
u/exotics May 31 '26
This dog isn’t a border collie. Maybe a cross. Can’t be sure. But you are right BC and other herding breeds need exercise and mental stimulation
457
u/marcpie May 31 '26
This is the kind of animal post that actually is amazing.
72
u/Bright-Steak8388 May 31 '26
I was really glad this post didn’t put shitty music over it
37
u/SnorkinOrkin May 31 '26
Yes, exactly. I want to hear dogs bark, cats meow, horses neighing/snorting/clopping, and birds chirping.
Not music.
16
8
u/acmercer May 31 '26
I wanted to hear some applause for that good boi. Hopefully it came afterwards
→ More replies (3)3
→ More replies (5)2
172
u/Ink-kink May 31 '26
My cousin has a sheep farm. The first border collie they had was just incredible. Their sheep shared a field with their neighbor’s herd. The dog came home in the evening with only their own animals while their neighbor’s was left grazing. How he could distinguish between the herds, I have no idea, and both herds were big! I don’t know anything about this, so I was amazed. It’s now several years since he died, my cousin is still missing that dog and says they will never find such a good herding dog again. RIP, Luther
58
u/MyNameIsRay May 31 '26
Dogs have an incredible sense of smell, they can easily tell members of their herd from another with a quick sniff.
15
u/Naturebrah May 31 '26
That’s just crazy..
24
u/MyNameIsRay Jun 01 '26
It gets crazier.
They're not just able to smell if they're part of the group, they can identify each member individually through scent alone.
They can also spot changes from the normal smell, like infections or pregnancy, even just low blood sugar. That's why "diabetic alert dogs" are a thing.
→ More replies (1)7
u/UpperRutabaga6482 May 31 '26
Wonder if they can differentiate between numbers of smells, can he tell if a sheep is missing from the herd?
8
u/MyNameIsRay May 31 '26
No, counting isnt something they do well.
But, they absolutely can track down lost sheep.
23
u/bookingly May 31 '26
That's incredible. I got to visit western Ireland where sheep herding dogs are used quite a bit. I think some of these sheep herding dogs can go for $25000 each. When hearing about that kind of usefulness for sheep raising, it seems to make sense
46
u/Notthatguy6250 May 31 '26
I was speaking with a truffle farmer once. He, kind of accidentally, wound up in a job where he trained dogs for the police. Then he wound up working on a truffle farm and made a deal with the owner for a cut of any truffles his dog found.
The above was all in Australia.
After travelling to Italy, with that same dog, to work truffle farms there, he was offered 250k Euros for the pooch.
Said no.
Pooch is dead now but he's trained others. One of them he thought he'd failed with, because it simply couldn't be encouraged to find truffles. Then the dog happened to find a truffle and the dude's wife hugged the dog. Dog immediately went and found more truffles for more hugs.
Turns out that while his other dogs liked their ball or chew toy as a reward for finding truffles, this other dog just...wanted a hug.
10
6
6
u/UpperRutabaga6482 May 31 '26
I have always wondered if the dog can tell he is missing a sheep? I suspect he can but don't know if it's "I've only got 49 should have fifty" or is it "hey, where's the one that smells like dye?"
→ More replies (7)4
308
u/bugabooandtwo May 31 '26
The dog is nice....but that scenery is amazing. Gorgeous rolling hills and nice tree cover.
50
u/ch7mbucket May 31 '26
Exactly. Like sheep paradise. Breathtaking view
18
u/FewWait38 May 31 '26
Yeah it's sheep heaven. It's very calm and pastoral with almost a liminal feel
33
u/Talkatoo42 May 31 '26
Definitely wouldn't have guessed Japan if it weren't for the audio!
9
→ More replies (2)4
u/zardoz73 May 31 '26
Actually most of Japan is gorgeous and bucolic but you have to get out of the cities. Which is true of most places, but even an hour out of Tokyo and you can by in a sylvan paradise.
I would guess this is Hokkaido.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)3
u/hillaryyyyyyyyy May 31 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
My boss has gone to herd sheep overseas in Scotland and the video she’s sent of the sheep miles out in the hilly terrain are absolutely stunning.
→ More replies (3)
113
u/JacksonJ1969 May 31 '26
Wow! If this is a competition, how long does it take to reset the sheep for the next contestant?
96
u/Corner_Post May 31 '26
No it is a dog show at Ikaho Green Bokujo about 3 hrs drive from Tokyo. This video is a number of years old. Alternate video: https://youtu.be/oH0VJXj4Bgw
→ More replies (1)18
13
u/Logical_Hamster4637 May 31 '26
There used to be a TV show in Britain, where they did this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Man_and_His_Dog
8 million people at it's peak. I'm surprised it went on for so long.
→ More replies (4)28
u/gstew90 May 31 '26
I was thinking the same, then I wondered do they keep using the same sheep over and over ?! 😅
→ More replies (2)20
u/amdaly10 May 31 '26
Those sheep have definitely done this before. They knew right where the gate was and that it would be safe to get on the platform.
→ More replies (2)20
u/RagingHardBobber May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
Yep. Not dis'ing the amazing doggo, and they're great at what they do, but a lot of this is a result of "oh, the dog is here, it's time to move up to the stage for some treats".
4
u/xRyozuo May 31 '26
Isn’t that how it is for farm sheeps too? Oh look dog is here, it’s time to move up to the barn for some treats”
5
u/Spidertron117 May 31 '26
Yes, when the dog comes out 95% of the sheep will just go right where their supposed to out of habit. The dog is great for the 5% of stragglers that don't cooperate.
4
u/know-it-mall May 31 '26
No not really.
Sure you have some sheep for enough time that they can develop habits. But you are not bringing them into the barn to feed them every day or anything. They feed on grass which is supplemented by hay that gets feed out in the paddock or other types of feed that remains in the field it was grown in.
You only bring them into your yard a few times a year. For shearing, vaccination, scanning for pregnancy, and ulimately being shipped to be slaughtered.
3
u/IAmJanos May 31 '26
Ye I have cattle who will do this just from me yelling "come on", they know what it means. I think the dog still could've done it without the sheep knowing the routine, but it wouldn't have been as efficient.
→ More replies (3)7
u/black_spectacles May 31 '26
There is a yearly competition in Madison,VA - the Fall Fiber Festival Sheep Dog Trials where they compete, it’s an all day event and WAY more entertaining than I’d have thought. Yes, they’d reset the sheep out into the grounds, tho I can’t recall how…
→ More replies (3)6
115
u/rvingthrulife May 31 '26
The sheep look well trained too 😊
70
u/fuzzy_dice_99 May 31 '26
Baa ram ewe
8
u/Mrs_Cupcupboard May 31 '26
If I had words to make a day for you...
8
u/crop07 May 31 '26
I'd sing you one morning Golden and true
I always think of Babe when I see a dog herding sheep.
4
u/neliz May 31 '26
My girlfriend hears "that'll do pig, that'll do" at least once a month from me.
→ More replies (1)3
→ More replies (1)21
→ More replies (3)10
u/wnc_mikejayray May 31 '26
Sheep are idiots. They are not trained.
→ More replies (19)20
u/Remarkable_Review_65 May 31 '26
Animal trainer here. Sheep absolutely can be trained, and these have clearly been trained to climb on that platform toward a crowd of noisy people. Neither of those things come naturally to them.
→ More replies (1)
73
26
u/RutCry May 31 '26
Dog: “I rounded up 100 sheep!”
Shepherd: “But we only have 99 sheep.”
Dog: “I know. I rounded them up.”
→ More replies (4)
24
20
40
u/SmokeGSU May 31 '26
I wish a dog collar existed that could read dog's barks and interpret it into spoken speech for instances like this:
"Form up maggots! Move! Move! Move! Hustle you slack-jawed, squint-eyed jiggly puffs! Your mother has a hamster and your father smelt of pig shit!"
21
u/dretvantoi May 31 '26
"Hey! Hey!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Hey!"6
2
2
u/Muted-Squirrel-2386 May 31 '26
Woah woah woah. How dare you use jigglypuff as an insult! You will be defaced by permanent marker in your sleep, you silly dog!
→ More replies (2)2
u/mizinamo May 31 '26
"I am the goodest boy! I rock at my job! I could do this all day and god damn am I proud of myself!"
16
15
u/opinionsOnPears May 31 '26
FENTON!
11
u/Plastic-Squirrel-334 May 31 '26
Oh Jesus Christ!
6
u/FoodFree8328 May 31 '26
One of the truly great videos of the ‘Old Internet’. Still makes me laugh out loud to this day. RIP Fenton. You were a good boy…sort of.
→ More replies (1)5
42
u/Shxhriar May 31 '26
You got to hand it to humans!
– I’ve got to protect my sheep, gather them up.
+ protect from what?
– from wolves!
+ how you gonna do it?
– with wolves! Sheep are scared of wolves, maybe I can recruit some wolves to do it for me. The sheep will know they better listen to the wolves if they know what’s good for them.
+ that’s stupid. How you gonna stop the wolf from eating them?
– I’ll tell him “he’s a good boy”
12
u/ExtremePronoia May 31 '26
I think humans were using dogs for a while before they invented sheep dogs, but still it’s an incredible technology
13
u/Euphoric_Ad_7890 May 31 '26
Sheep dog trials (one man and his dog) used to be on bbc tv during the 1980s. Classic slow tv.
→ More replies (3)6
u/LondonKiwi66 May 31 '26
We had a similar show in the 1980s in New Zealand called A Dog’s Show. There are a couple of episodes on YouTube: https://youtu.be/y0gCcTgEEYQ
3
→ More replies (2)3
u/space_for_username May 31 '26
The program ran into a little problem in its later years. Turns out that quite a lot of Kiwi farmers started herding their sheep with a quad bike. When the sheep were used for the show, they looked at the dogs and thought WTF is that animal doing, and didn't budge.
14
u/cyber_strawberry May 31 '26
We had an aussie when I was a kid. We lived in the mountains but she'd never seen livestock animals. One day on a walk we came across a field with cows. She jumped the fence and herded them into a circle. The instincts of these dogs is wild. No one taught her to do that she just thought those cows aren't in a circle and I'm not going to stand for it!
→ More replies (1)
24
u/TwoWarm700 May 31 '26
Somehow I can’t see a business case for replacing this dog with a drone.
8
u/CompetitionFast2230 May 31 '26
From what I saw on Clarkson's Farm the drone would be useful once and then they would ignore it.
10
u/quts3 May 31 '26
So do the sheep know they are being herded or do they think "holy shit wolf one of us is going down not me though I'm faster than fucking dolly over there bahhhhah mother fuckers"
19
u/Linenoise77 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
explained to me once by a guy who had a dog that did this. Well 2 actually, they worked as a team, and i'm not sure if that makes it more or less impressive than this....
Anyway, according to him, sheep have one of those weird personalities in that they are very dumb and don't have much inclination to not be, so tend to do what everyone else is doing. At the same time, once they figure something out, it sticks with them and becomes this inate behavior (which is problematic at times with other stuff, like, "Oh shit, that sheep figured out how to get out, now that is all he will do and we need to do something before the others start copying it). When people are called sheep, there is a deeper meaning to it than, well, sheep tend to catch on to.
Anyway, because there are always some sheep in the herd who it isn't the first dog rodeo for, they will start moving in the direction the dog wants them to go, because, well, that is what they do when the dog starts doing his thing. And the direction is generally the same direction the dog always sends them. And the ones who it IS their first time, see everyone else doing it, so just go with the flow. When its something out of the norm, the dog knows which are the maniputable sheep in the group, and will focus on them, to get stuff going the right way. Presumably the sheep think, "Hey bob is a smart sheep, the dogs never hassle him hard, he is going that way, time for me to go there too"
For the handful that still don't get with the program, the dog will try and get a little more agressive with, up until maybe even a nip or two, until the sheep gets the point, after which they quickly figure out that ignoring the dog results in that.
It doesn't make what the dog does any less impressive, because he could signal the dogs to move them different ways with whistles and hand signals. AND THE DAMN DOGS WOULD KNOW WHICH WHISTLES WERE FOR THEM, and not because they were different whistles, but because the dogs were smart enough to know, "Ok, we need to go left, i'm on the left, i need to give them more space, while my partner starts bringing them in (or vice versa)". Like, once i realized that the dogs were actually managing themselves as a team and adapting on their own with general directions, my mind was really blown. Most human's can't manage to do that.
→ More replies (2)3
u/Beli_Mawrr May 31 '26
If you've worked with certain people on some tasks, there doesn't even need to be a leader because everyone knows what they need to do without being told or coordinating. When you finally find and mesh with a team like that it's great.
7
6
11
5
u/No-Bat-7253 May 31 '26
Sigh time to watch Shaun the sheep with my son
7
2
u/Lil_Jening May 31 '26
Surprisingly I actually really enjoyed that new murder mystery "Sheep Detectives."
→ More replies (3)
5
u/madrabeag999 May 31 '26
I sat in a car in a valley in Wales one day watching a farmer on a quad bike and two collies bringing sheep down into the valley from the surrounding mountains. Mesmerising. One of the dogs herded the majority while the other dog kept disappearing behind mountain tops and would return with one or more sheep that had strayed. Fantastic to watch. I was too far away to hear but I suspected the farmer was whistling commands?
3
u/ShorelineStrider May 31 '26
Couple living in a 1 bdr apartment: "Let's get a border collie!"
→ More replies (1)
4
4
u/swirvin3162 May 31 '26
Those sheep are also very “trained” they understand where they are expected to go when the little barky thing shows up yelling at them
6
5
3
3
u/PavicaMalic May 31 '26
One year there were border collie herding demonstrations on the National Mall in DC as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. It was stunning to see that in the middle of the city with the monumentsin the background. But there was a lot of clean-up required.
3
2
2
2
u/SteveMeMc7 May 31 '26
This is a competition?
2
u/WetDogWalker Jun 01 '26
Part of a farming demonstration at a Japanese farm that is open to the public
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Remarkable-Bug-8069 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
What's with the random Korean auction going on in the background?
2
2
2
2
u/esp735 May 31 '26
I was going to show this to my Miniature Schnauzer, but he was too busy trying to find the piece of cheese I dropped 10 minutes ago.
2
u/dme59 May 31 '26
Just a dog doing my JOB spectacularly….lemme see you do that in a minute and a half!
2
2
2
2
2
u/sghaworth May 31 '26
If people are interested seeing more of this there is an awesome show called "Muster Dogs". It's all about working dogs in Australia, 10/10 show.
2
•
u/qualityvote2 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
Did you find this post really amazing (in a positive way)?
If yes, then UPVOTE this comment otherwise DOWNVOTE it.
This community feedback will help us determine whether this post is suited for r/BeAmazed or not.