Herding Dogs & Rotational Grazing: Building Connection Over Control | with Seth Thompson

About this episode

This episode explores the partnership between a goat herder and his English Shepherd, emphasizing the importance of understanding a dog's natural instincts in herding.

Herding goats with a working dog isn't about force or control—it's about partnership, patience, and understanding what your dog was bred to do. In this episode, we meet a farmer who traded in his old life three years ago to become a goat herder in Wisconsin, bringing regenerative agriculture to his land with the help of his English Shepherd, Dutch. Their work together is a beautiful reminder of what happens when we honour a dog's natural instincts and let them do what they were born for. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why goats need a different kind of herding dog than sheep, and how "loose-eyed" breeds like English Shepherds work up close and personal with stubborn livestock What it takes to train a herding dog from scratch when you've never trained a dog before, including why you have to wait a full year before introducing a puppy to stock How rotational grazing with a working dog can heal degraded soil while producing high-quality goat milk for soap making The importance of always backing up your dog around livestock, even when things don't go to plan—and how discouragement can ruin a working dog's confidence What a typical day looks like moving goats from barn to pasture, and how farmer…

People in this episode

Host: Anke Herrmann

Guest: Seth Thompson

Topics covered

• herding dogs
• rotational grazing
• regenerative agriculture
• dog training
• livestock management
• partnership with dogs

Keywords

• herding dogs
• English Shepherd
• goat herding
• rotational grazing
• dog training
• livestock
• regenerative agriculture
• animal instincts

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: English Shepherd

Places: Wisconsin

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