Having a Good Cow Dog On A Cattle Ranch Is Essential

Yes, having a good cow dog is essential when running a successful cattle operation. They can help push the cattle down the chute;  help to bring them in from the pasture; herd them to where you want them. Rowdy is a blue heeler/red heeler mix. Heelers are great cattle dogs! Rowdy is not that dog. He wants to be but, alas, he is not. Bless his heart.

He loves to work cattle with David but he has never been formally trained. You can call him off the cattle but sometimes he just gets so excited he is oblivious to what you are trying to get him to do.

Isn’t it amazing how animals have a natural instinct. Heelers have that natural instinct to get in there and nip the heels of the cattle. Border collies have that natural instinct to herd the animals. Dachshunds have that natural instinct to dig and get after what ever is in that hole.

When I am outside, Rowdy is right there on my left side wherever I go. Doesn’t matter if David is calling him. He doesn’t leave my side until David makes that one secret sound!

I was in the horse barn feeding and grooming my horses and Rowdy was in the alley, laying near the hay bales, just watching me. David was out in the north hay field herding the neighbors cattle into the lot. These cattle had been roaming around the place for about a week and this was the closest he had them to going into the lot. He was about 10 feet from the gate when he made that secret sound; that sound that Rowdy just can’t resist. It’s a loud “HEP HEP” which makes the cows move forward for some reason?!? That’s all it took, Rowdy was off like a flash to help “the man” move the cattle in–straight into the front of the herd! I’m back in the horse barn yelling “ROWDY!” at the top of my lungs; whistling with my fingers between my teeth (this is a very loud whistle, trust me.) He runs right to the front of the herd and scatters those cattle in every different direction. I could hear the frustration in David’s voice.  ”Get your DAMN DOG!”  ”He’s not MY dog he’s YOURS and you yelled HEP HEP! You know you’re not supposed to yell HEP HEP when he’s outside!” After the cattle were gone Rowdy came back to the horse barn, laid down near the hay bales with a loud sigh and watched me groom the horses.

Good boy!