Hi from Scotland.

[old man mavic]

@dgw22 probably the biggest advantage the drone has over the dog ,is the amount of training it takes ,and the cost of vets bills and food,
i would think that a combination of drones ,and dogs working together ,would produce the best outcome ,but of course ,the next step would be training the sheep dog to fly the drone ,

 

[dgw22]

Thank you for getting back. My Wife and I recently watched a TV Special on how dogs work with sheep and cattle. The special showed many different dogs working. I know a dog enjoys "working" and it feels useful and fulfilled. I know I'm amorphizing human characteristics onto the dogs, but I know your dogs are not just dumb working dogs just doing "tricks" they are intelligent and make decisions on their own on how to control the sheep and they need the approval of their Alphas (owners).

When it showed the dogs being kept in the back of a pickup truck (ute) while the owners used drones to do the dogs job, the dogs were barking and whining to get out and get to work. These dogs cannot just be retired and I do not know what will happen to them if the owners decide to just go drones.

By the way, how many sheep do you run?

The sheep belong to my brother in law. The drone was an experiment which after a rocky start is beginning to pay off. I have gained much knowledge from this forum which I joined last November but hadn't posted 'til now.