Rescued Chihuahua Loves Herding Sheep

Nancy is a Chihuahua rescued from the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home when she was just a puppy. At her new home, the tiny dog picked up a new set of skills – skills usually reserved for Border Collies. Nancy may only weigh 2.5 pounds but she confidently herds sheep more than six times taller than her.

The story behind the video:

Nancy was three weeks old when she arrived at the shelter suffering from severe sarcoptic mange. She ended up being hand-reared by the animal charity’s Head of Canine Welfare Training Ali Taylor, who later adopted her. Ali frequently took the tiny dog on visits to farms.

Ali explained, “Nancy used to watch all her Border Collie friends herd the sheep and she seemed very interested in what was going on. One day I decided to give her a whirl in the ring and she picked it up straight away. I started in a very controlled environment but it quickly became evident that Nancy has natural ability and loves herding sheep.”

Farmer Geoff Temple has seen Nancy in action, and describes her as “amazing.”

“I’ve been herding for 17 years and I’ve never seen a Chihuahua work sheep”, he said. “I now train other people and their dogs and see about 15 people a week, and almost without exception they are all Border Collies. Nancy really is something special – she’s a fun-size sheep herder.”

Ali said she and Nancy only do the activity for fun and “to prove rescue dogs really can do anything.” She said, “At Battersea we rehome a lot of dogs to working homes, such as with farmers, in the armed forces and as assistance dogs. People sometimes underestimate rescue dogs, but they really are fantastic, and go on to do amazing things.”