Vergil S. HollandHerding Dogs: Progressive Training

This book is a classic. Of the handful of books available dealing with the training of herding dogs, this one seems to be unique in offering an approach which can be generalized to all breeds of such dogs. Most of the books and videos on training herding dogs appear to be directed to working with Border Collies. That leaves those of us who do not own these strong-eyed superstars without a hint. Mr Holland does not take for granted that the reader wants to use a Border Collie, and offers a variety of approaches that will suit the instincts and personalities of all herding breeds.

I enjoyed reading the first half of this book. Fantastic book for anyone looking to train a dog in any field. It has helped me pick the type of personality for my Estate guardian dogs. It gave me a great insight on how herding dogs work. The second half of this book focuses on training your dog.

This book was very informative for the beginner. I bought the book because I started herding with my Border Collie. My instructor gave good directions but never explained the why. This book did that. It is not a how-to book but it gives the language and the basics.

My sister has been teaching me how to train our border collies. This book is no substitute for hands on work, but it is a great tool for learning the method, vocabulary, and has been a great help in understanding what makes a working dog tick. I'm still learning, and I refer back to the book often.

This book is very detailed and explains how and why the training should be done a certain way. I and my Border Collie, Lilly are in the early stages of learning and working as a team. We are being instructed by a long time herder who raises her own sheep and breads German Shepherds for herding. Her techniques and philosophy mirrors Virgil's who she has met. This book helps me understand our sessions with our instructor and helps me now what Lilly and I need to work on before working the sheep.

This doesn't have sections on various breeds as I was led to believe. I am new to herding and Mini Aussies and there is nothing specific to that breed. I suppose a lot is transferrable but I would have liked it to have specific information for breeds other than Border collies.

This is a wonderful book. I had recently acquired an adult male Australian Shepard. This book has been so helpful in working with him, just day to day things on the farm. He won't be herding the goats, but getting him to listen and behave around the farm animals is key. I highly recommend this book.

I have been taking my 2 borer collies sheep herding for fun. This book really helped me take it to the next level in getting a better understanding for my dog in general, and the activity. Love the diagrams and images. Great for any borer collie owner even if you don't herd.

Great book, lots of valuable information for a beginner.

Good book

I bought this hoping to work with my Bouvier, and was very disappointed. It's all about Border Collies.

Reading Herding Dongs by Vergil S. Holland you can benefit from his profound knowledge of the topic. Although mainly about Border Collies and sheep, the book also has chapters on other breeds and lifestock and is written from a perspective, which clearly allows an application of training exercises and practices on other breeds and jobs. It explains how to get your dog to work stock and how it is done.

good