Herding with Bergamasco Sheepdogs – Our Experience

Herding with Bergamasco Sheepdogs – Our Experience

Breed History & Characteristics

The Bergamasco Sheepdog is a very ancient Alpine breed. In fact, Bergamascos are thought to be a 2,000-year-old breed. The ancestors of our modern Bergamasco arrived in Italy in the wake of migratory populations, spreading right over the flanks of the Alps. Through the centuries this breed remained virtually the same. With the advent of wide-scale agriculture, the Bergamasco Sheepdog evolved to become a flock drover, friendlier, with great intelligence and with the courage to confront wild animals that might prey on the flocks.

The name “Bergamasco Sheepdog” is a fairly recent moniker. The present name should not be attributed to its place of origin, as is commonly assumed, but is more linked to the history of the “traveling shepherds,” the “Bergamini.” These traveling shepherds, as indicated by their name, followed the migratory routes that took them from the high Swiss plains to the shores.

Friedrich von Tschudi mentions the annual migration of these Bergamasker sheep in his book Thierleben der Alpenwelt (1860). In Alpine Life, Tschudi states that the shepherds can leave most of the work along the way to their excellent dogs. In warm weather, the shepherds usually migrate in the evening or at night with their flocks, going to places where they often spend their entire life.

Once on the alp, the herd is split into four parts: the ewes with lactating lambs, castrated sheep for fattening and slaughter, the uncastrated rams and young ewes, and finally, the dairy sheep that no longer have young with a few uncastrated rams.

The dog here has the task of gradually driving the sheep to the entrance of the milk hut, and when they have been milked, to bring the sheep back into the field where they can graze. They also make sure that no danger appears. Passers-by are left undisturbed to what the dogs see at the end of their territory; however, if one goes in the direction of the sheep, the dogs sound the alarm and scare off the intruder by their loud barking and threatening. In the rare case of an approaching lynx or wolf, a great alarm is raised and the flock is circled at lightning speed until the sheep are closely packed. Should the aggressor not heed this warning, the Bergamascos would, if the interests of the herd demanded it, dare to fight. They meet aggression with whatever is needed to dissipate the situation.

Our Story

On a small farm in northern Virginia, we have two Bergamasco Sheepdogs, littermate females aged 2-3/4 with black coats. We also have a small herd of approximately 15 dairy goats, Alpines and Saanen, which is growing every year. The goats are milked daily for raw milk which is then used for making cheese and yogurt for our own consumption. We also have a smaller flock of sheep, mostly Gotland and Icelandic varieties, used for meat and wool. This flock is also growing slowly. There are also some Pilgrim geese wandering freely.

Herding on Our Farm

Our two Bergamasco Sheepdogs help to move the flocks from the barn to various grazing pastures in the neighborhood, up to 1/3 of a mile away. The goats are moved out to a pasture late morning or early afternoon, and then back to the barn at dusk for milking. The dogs are eager to do their jobs and remind us when it’s time. They have been herding since they were 11 months old, getting weekly lessons at Keepstone Farm. We have also attended clinics at other training facilities farther away. I also had previous herding and trialing experience with an Old English Sheepdog from the mid 1990s, which helped us get started herding with our Bergamascos.

Bergamasco Sheepdogs are well-rounded herders, able to be used for a number of livestock tasks, including driving, tending, and guardian work. Our dogs enjoy driving our livestock from one location to another, working at the rear of the flock to drive or push the flock, patrolling up the sides, and going to the head of the flock to slow them down and keep them together with us, if necessary. Then they return to the rear to continue driving and gathering up stragglers. Along the way, some of the flock, the goats more so than the sheep, can occasionally wander off course into nearby bushes to nibble, so the dogs often have to go in and drive them out to rejoin the flock.

They will also do some basic tending work as well, if we stop along the way to let the flock graze. Tending, at its simplest, is keeping them in a given area that is not enclosed with fencing. This is also useful when moving temporary fencing, such as electric netting. The dog becomes the fence, returning any livestock which have strayed to their allowed area. Driving and tending was learned fairly quickly, as it seems to be instinctive with them. They also naturally balance; when the shepherd is ahead and leading the flock, the dogs take a position opposite of the shepherd, with the flock between them, to keep the flock together with the shepherd.

Wide outruns for gathering and fetching livestock are not natural for our dogs. We have used various methods to get them to widen their outruns so as to not disturb the livestock they are gathering. We are making progress, but we need to continue this training.

Regarding training, Bergamasco Sheepdogs are quick to learn, and doing more work is the best reward. They are also very sensitive. Lots of positive reinforcement and praise works best with Bergamascos, and one must be very careful with using negative corrections. Corrections can help to teach a concept, but if given too frequently or harshly they can result in a Bergamasco which has shut down and will not work. One or two negative corrections given harshly can undermine a lot of training. This has happened with us when working both dogs simultaneously, which we primarily do. Corrections given to one dog were being received by the other dog and taken to heart, with the result being the dog who was not the target of the corrections being confused and ceasing to work at all. But putting the now reluctant dog in a small ring with some livestock and encouraging them to just have some fun herding seems to snap them out of their confusion and funk. Even bad herding behavior, as long as it isn’t risking the health and well-being of the livestock, is tolerated and not corrected, just long enough to regain the dog’s desire and enjoyment to herd.

Trialing With Bergamascos

We also trial with our Bergamascos. We are working through the ranks, with one dog earning her AKC Herding Started title on A Course. The other should have her started title soon. A Course is not a tending-oriented course (that would be C Course), but they are completely capable of succeeding on A Course. Just some extra work on widening outruns is needed, again, as it does not seem to be an instinctive behavior. Bergamasco Sheepdogs traditionally did a number of various kinds of jobs with livestock, including gathering, livestock guardian, and tending, so A Course is not beyond them.

A major challenge for us, however, with our dogs having black coats with the traditional flocks or dreadlocks, is that trial sheep are very nervous and flighty when they see our black Bergamascos. Do the sheep think they are bears or some unknown threat? I’m not sure. Even sheep which routinely are worked by our dogs are unusually skittish when our dogs are present. I have been told this can also be an issue with some other black-coated herding breeds. For now, we have switched to trialing on A Course with ducks to avoid that difficulty, but we plan to try again to trial with sheep. We also may try cattle at some point, as the dogs are very interested when they meet cattle. However, with cattle, there is a risk of getting injured as cattle will kick with their hind legs.

Conclusion

Bergamasco Sheepdogs are talented herders which can be used for various forms of herding livestock and trialing. Plenty of praise to reinforce good technique and behavior goes a long way with this breed. They are also excellent family dogs, with a unique personality… silly, loving, and ever watchful.