Who would come out on top? - Page 1

There is a programme on TV in the UK called "One Man and his Dog". Has there ever been a GSD on the programme? Was wondering who would win if a Border Collie went up against a GSD.(Assuming the same level of training etc.) Which is the best all round sheep herding dog? Is the GSD the main sheep herding dog in its native Germany? It would be interesting to see a "One Man and his Dog" European special where each country would pit thheir native sheep herding dog against one another to see who would win.

Never been anything but Collies on it to my knowledge.  I don't think there's much doubt that the Collie would generally win.

Shepherds can herd alright, but they're more of a "fence".  I'd love to see one compete on the programme though... bet the sheep don't challenge a Shepherd as often as they do Collies!

I believe it would have more to do with the individual than the breed.

Its sad that the German Shepherd Dog has been directed away from its original purpose for so long, but the same is true of the Border Collie.

TV sure is different around the world,  American TV has turned to crap.

I don't think the Collie is a shoe in.

I don't think it would be an entirely fair contest - Border Collies and German Shepherds (if you are talking about the ones in Germany) are trained in an entirely different way. In fact, GSD's the way you see them in Europe, are essentially tending rather than herding, working very closely with the shepherd to contain the flock within a certain boundary.  VERY little in the way of voice commands or whistles, sometimes it's just a hand gesture. (Leerburg has a great DVD of the 1990 HGH (SV) Championship if you want to see some great - and not so great - GSD's in action. The winner, with 98 pts. out of 100 was Karl Fuller (Kirschental.)

However, assuming apples to apples that both dogs were trained in excactly the same way, i.e. not to the German/European standard but the way you (I assume, I haven't seen this program) see them on TV, I would guess that the Border Collie would win. Not hands down perhaps, but win nonetheless. 

The border collie has a distinct advantage in speed and agility regarding the movement of sheep or goats. The marked advantage of the GSD will show if there is an aggressive ram in the herd as the GSD is of sufficient size to present a true challenge to the ram.

But all things considered I think the border collie does a better job herding animals whereas the GSD does a better job of tending and protecting animals.

Best Regards,

Bob-O

I have looked for GSDs herding in Germany and have never seen one outside of competition. The last two times I was in Germany I was staying near the Rhine River. This is an area with a lot of sheep herding and a lot of great tracking. Every day I would look for GSDs herding and NEVER saw one. Most of the dogs being used were obvious collie mixes. They sort of looked like Australian Shepherds.

 

I started asking my friend that live in the area and they all said they had never seen a GSD doing real life herding either. So with that experience and some research I have come to a conclusion. The only GSDs that are doing any type of herding are doing it in competition. I know of a few herders that use GSDs but these same guys are also using their dogs in competition and I would be willing to bet that they are making more money of their dogs than their sheep.

 

Remember that this breed was created from herding dogs because the number of sheep herds was diminishing and the dogs needed a new job.

 

The collie is the best herding dog in the world bar none. I have seen them everywhere in the world where I saw sheep.  

 

As AnjaBlue stated...totally different styles.  Shepherds are tending dogs and Border Collies are gathering/fetching dogs used for different purposes.  The German Shepherd (and other tending breeds) work with the Shepherd to move the flock into pastures during the day which may be beside fields with crops.  The dog acts as the boundry (working along a natural border) keeping the sheep in the area they should graze in and not go into the neighbors fields.  When the graze is eaten down the sheep are lead to another pasture.  The dog(s) also work with the Shepherd to keep the flock contained while moving to the next grazing area.  That may require moving along roads where the dog needs to work between the car and sheep moving them to the side of the road for traffic to pass.  If you are interested in more information about tending sheep visit Ulf Kintzel's web site which has many articles (and pictures) about tending...  www.whitecloversheepfarm.com

I have only done herding (and competed in the HGH here in the US) with my GSDs, so I will leave the comments on the  gathering/fetching style of the Border Collie to those more knowledgable.

Susan