I was so impressed with the following message about some Gt. Swiss that live near Toronto, Ontario, thought you might like to hear about it. The owners also breed Norwegian fjord horses as well as Amstaffs
"I can honestly say that I have had experience with these dogs moving horses. Both of my dogs have the most amazing natural droving abilities & both have very different techniques. My bitch is a calm drover, she swings back & forth behind the animals (up to 6 horses at a time when we are leading them to & from fields) & keeps them moving forward in a tight group. She acts like a 25+ ft extension of my arm, I signal to her & she'll move out or in depending on where the horses we are trying to catch or move are. My male, on the other hand will work much the same way, but if a horse falls out of the group (his circle), he will bark. He works very close to their hocks (too close to get kicked), with the occasional woof to keep them moving forward. Once the horse gets his point, he continues driving them silently. I was truly amazed at how they took to this on their own. My male had his first experience working on his own with horses at 8 months old. My two fillies got loose & I took him alone to see how he'd deal with them (every other time he was working with my older bitch). When I pointed out the two loose youngsters, he ran to them, they went back to the horse yard & stopped. He stopped quietly beside them. I led one of them & he worked the other filly (she's totally untrained) in beside the one I was leading. He barked at her hocks until she was right beside the one I was leading. He then quietly drove them (close at their hocks) until they were right up against the gate & they both walked back in calmly. It was remarkable. What I find interesting is how the horses respect these dogs. They stay calm & calm down when the dog dictates it. I've never seen such a confident natural drover. This is the added bonus of this breed when you live on a farm!" Coral. .
