Why This Massachusetts Farm Is Doing Things The Old Fashioned Way With Sheep Dogs

CBS Boston

February 18, 2025

A sheep farm in Massachusetts is doing things the old-fashioned way by herding dogs instead of ATVs.

It's at Little Brook Farm in Sunderland where 6-year-old sheepdog Bett does her job.

Bett patiently waits for her owner to give her a command/CBS Boston

"She's waiting for me to give that command that says 'go get the sheep,'" Farm owner Kristen Whittle says. Whittle says it's about the relationships that the dogs form, not only with the owner but also with the sheep.

One of Little Brook Farm's herding dogs stares at the sheep after she finished herding them into their pasture/CBS Boston

The dogs work by chasing the sheep in the direction they want them to go. Occasionally, the dogs will nip at stubborn sheep to get them to move/CBS Boston

Gaia is learning how to herd sheep just like her mother Bett/CBS Boston

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