Page 48 - The Pembroke & Cardigan Welsh Corgi Worldwide Magazine

A good owner and handler cares for the mental The point of balance is usually at the animal's
and physical well-being of dogs and livestock. shoulder, and the animal's wide-angle vision
determines it. All livestock species will move
A good handler has expectations that can
INFORMATIVE practice and patience will bring a great They will back up if the dog is in front of the
forward if the dog is behind the point of balance.
be achieved by the dog and knows that
point of balance. The position taken by the dog,
result. Herding is a magical partnership
well back from the stock, enables the dog to
between three species and is one of the
most challenging human-dog activities to
control the direction of the stock and cover any
master.

Flight and Pressure Zones: Cattle/ sheep have a
„It’s important in any breed to maintain what attempts by the stock to break away.
they were intended to do." All the breeds have flight zone, which is surrounded by a pressure
their specific characteristics which they own zone (zone of awareness). Tame animals will
because they were selected for a purpose. If we have a very narrow flight zone. Herd animals,
ignore this, their unique breed characteristics which are not often handled, will have a much
will be lost, and they will be different dogs with larger flight zone.
the same or similar looks.

BASICS IN

MOVING ANIMALS Treowecorgi team

To understand how to handle livestock,
it is essential to know what flight zone, The blind spot is directly behind the herd animal,
balance point, pressure zone and blind where they can’t notice the dog or handler.
spot mean.
Tiny dogs doing a big job

An animal's flight zone is the area Corgis, being heelers and bred to work cattle,
surrounding an animal that, if encroached had to work close to them and sometimes nip
upon by a potential predator or threat, at the larger animals' heels to keep them on the
including humans, will cause alarm and move and guide them in the right direction. One
escape behaviour. In other words, the of the reasons why corgis like to be right behind
flight zone is the distance within which a the animals they herd, that sometimes it is a real
person/dog can approach an animal before challenge to convince them to work from a more
it moves away. Herd animals usually turn considerable distance while moving sheep on
and face a potential threat when outside the field. Cattle can kick hard, but corgis are low
of their flight zone, but when they enter to the ground, so they can easily escape them;
the flight zone, the animal turns and if they lower their neck, the hoof goes over the
moves away. top of their head, where a taller dog could get
kicked.

48 | The Pembroke & Cardigan Welsh Corgi Worldwide Magazine