Herding 101 With Jim Eyring

Joseph Tucci, Managing Editor

Assistant Director of the Environmental Center James Eyring demonstrated how he uses his dogs to herd sheep–and one goat–, and to drive away unwanted creatures, on April 16.

Pace has been plagued for some 15 years with Canadian geese, who excrete all over campus.

The issue was costing the school $300,000 to $400,000 a year in lost students during open houses. It also cost the departure of the New York Giants, who used to train at Pace but left because of how disgusting it was.

Pace tried different approaches to solve this, including fencing the pond –which did not work because geese can fly-, Terror Eyes –scary-looking balloons with eyes-, and noise makers that made the sounds of birds and cannon fire to try and scare away the geese.

Bringing Border collie dogs to control the birds ultimately solved the geese problem, and in this way no harm was done to the animals.

“By the time I suggested working the geese with the Border collies, people were looking at me, like, ‘it’s Jim from the farm, he’s kind of a nut job,’” Eyring said. “But I had read about a group that uses Border Collins in North Carolina on golf courses, and I thought that was a humane solution.”

What makes Border collies effective for herding is the way they move, with a stalking-like motion. Flock animals –like, sheep, geese, and cows– universally understand this stalking movement.

“We read body language much better then we think we do. You walk to a little kid [with that stalking motion], the next thing they will do is give you their hand,” Eyring said.

In order to train Border collies, the trainer has to keep them mentally fit with complicated tasks, for example making the dog run around a thrown ball instead of simply bringing it back. This helps this them train for when they heard livestock by circling them. These exercises should only be done for five to 10 minutes twice a day. The training process could take around 5 years.

The dogs only feel comfortable herding in certain formations. In the case of Eyring’s dogs, the formation is a circle with the dog on the outside hovering over the sheep and shepherd in the middle.

They also can quickly learn command words like “come by,” “away,” and “hit” –which means bite-, among others.

“When I got [one of the dogs], I put a little fence around a small area, I had a lease, and I would walk her around the flock. And as I walked her around the fence this I way, I would say ‘come by’ and when I went the other way I would say ‘away.’ Those are the traditional herding words, along with that ‘that will do, dog,’” Eyring said.

Eyring currently uses two Border collies, named Emma and Dot, for herding.

Emma is the “good dog.” She is 10 years old, is experienced in listening to commands and can execute them well. She understands around as many English words as a two-year-old child would. She has been trained to heard livestock by going clock and counterclockwise around the sheep, to draw them towards Eyring.

Dot is a bit more difficult; she was bred for her looks, rather then for her skill. Her brain doesn’t function at the level a well-bred one like Emma does, so she has many issues listening to Eyring’s commands, and he has to give them all in a gentle voice. Even though she is difficult, Eyring is adamant about keeping and training her.

“When I get perfect, I’ll look for the perfect dog. It hasn’t happened yet. So I’m going to make the best dog, I’ll make the best Dot I can make,” Eyring said.

The herding event was part of Earth month at Pace, during which the university is celebrating with various events that teach students how to protect the environment through green solutions.