Sheepdog Training and Trials: A Complete Guide for Border Collie Handlers and Enthusiasts Hardcover – October 1, 2010

Eight months ago, my wife and I decided to adopt a Border Collie puppy. I bought this book to learn how to train our puppy. The knowledge that is communicated in the book is well balanced across general concepts and specific instructions. It has a lot to say about psychology of dogs. It starts with showing the basic ground on which the communication with a dog should be established. It gives lots of examples and anecdotes to construct a general understanding. The last one third of the book is for professional training and trails which was far beyond of my league.In addition, this is a book that is specific to Border Collies. In some parts, it gets more general to dogs, in other parts whether or not we can generalize ideas and instructions to all dogs is out of the scope of the book.The author is very enthusiastic about Border Collies. He loves his job as a trainer. He defines values that every good trainer must respect and practice. He does not claim things that he does not know, and often cites other references as support of what he thinks is right. Although my career is very different from dog training, I have now some knowledge and much respect for dog training communities.I found the instructions and the insight in this book useful for training my own Border Collie, and recommend this book to all who are interested in Border Collies in particular and dogs in general

I recently acquired a beautiful red border collie from a neighboring rancher who was about to shoot her. He said she shows a great deal of natural herding ability however she is extremely shy and wouldnt come to him with out timeless coaxing,just terrified of everything running off back to the truck and would shutdown at the first sign of pressure or fear of failure. Well I fell in love with her immediately and had to have her. I brought her home she was so timid she would turn her head avoiding any eye contact with me, wouldn't eat from my hand or even if I was present. She showed all signs of being abused. Knowing that wasn't the case I was at a frenzy not sure what to do next.This book covered every issue I was dealing with and explained in detail these personality traits and how to deal with them. Understanding this breed is a must to having a successful relationship with your dog. With the help of this book l'm developing the skills of hopefully someday becoming a border collie handler l now have a forever bond with this special little dog that gives me unconditional love as she teaches me patience truly is a virtue!!

This is a great book for anyone interested in training a sheepdog. Good info on starting pups etc. It may be a little technical for those who are not familiar with Sheepdog Training "Teminology" but you will most certainly gain valuable knowledge from this wonderfully set out book. Having read a lot of this type of book I found this one has a lot of answers, but I would like to see a bit more problem solving.

Just about anyone can write a book about dog training but it takes a deeper connection to be able to combine practical training with spiritual sensitivity of dog psychology and personal development. Nij has been able to speak to those who want to be able to work with the dogs they already have versus buying and selling dogs until they feel they have found "the right one". He rightly points out that if you have to work with what you have it forces you to understand why the dogs are not performing to their potential and along this path of understanding you will be forced to develop your own personal skills of patience and confidence, becoming the team leader so as to maximize both your and your dog's potential. Although considered to be a training book, Sheepdog Training and Trials speaks more to the handler expressing the importance of developing an attitude of confidence in your own actions that will not only carry over to your training, but to every other aspect of your life.

Got the book very quickly, but was disappointed at the banged up condition since I paid for a new book.

This book is filled with information gained through hard work. The passion for the subject just leaps from the pages. If you were only a little interested in Herding and trails I am sure you will be more after you read this book. Attention to detail is shared in all of it. It is instructive and informative. I highly recommend it.

Obviously this book has lots of good information for working sheep, but it is also an indespensible resource for all dog owners. It clearly portrays the role of dog psychology in dog training and how you can 'think how a dog thinks' to make the whole training process better for you and your dog. It has good chapters on how to train your dog in the basics and more advanced training techniques - it uses a fresh approach that is both simple but also innovative. Buy this book!

Still good today! A very complete overall book for sheepdog training and trials. Nij gave more than I was expecting from the book... even the second time I read it.There were so many good tips, that I highlighted almost 75 passages.