# Herding Dogs & Rotational Grazing: Building Connection Over Control | with Seth Thompson

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/soul-touched-by-dogs-6619614/herding-dogs-rotational-grazing-building-connection-over-control-with-seth-thompson
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/soul-touched-by-dogs-6619614/herding-dogs-rotational-grazing-building-connection-over-control-with-seth-thompson.md
Podcast: [Soul Touched by Dogs](https://stenobird.com/podcast/soul-touched-by-dogs-6619614)
Published: 2026-05-11T20:06:17+00:00
Episode link: https://soultouchedbydogs.transistor.fm/episodes/herding-dogs-rotational-grazing-building-connection-over-control-with-seth-thompson-d53db670-e772-4e89-b9ad-ff61843f8ebf
Audio file: https://p.podderapp.com/1495290720/media.transistor.fm/16d9a10f/b1e33dde.mp3
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Duration seconds: 1807

## Resource

Herding goats with a working dog isn't about force or control—it's about partnership, patience, and understanding what your dog was bred to do. In this episode, we meet a farmer who traded in his old life three years ago to become a goat herder in Wisconsin, bringing regenerative agriculture to his land with the help of his English Shepherd, Dutch. Their work together is a beautiful reminder of what happens when we honour a dog's natural instincts and let them do what they were born for. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why goats need a different kind of herding dog than sheep, and how "loose-eyed" breeds like English Shepherds work up close and personal with stubborn livestock What it takes to train a herding dog from scratch when you've never trained a dog before, including why you have to wait a full year before introducing a puppy to stock How rotational grazing with a working dog can heal degraded soil while producing high-quality goat milk for soap making The importance of always backing up your dog around livestock, even when things don't go to plan—and how discouragement can ruin a working dog's confidence What a typical day looks like moving goats from barn to pasture, and how farmer and dog work as a team to guide the herd How working dogs stay engaged during winter months when there's no grazing, and why skills like "steady" help a dog learn to respect the bubble of space around stock Why early socialisation between young dogs and livestock matters, and how encouragement builds a dog's ability to be the calm, confident leader of the herd A FAVOURITE MOMENT "I feel bad that I'm the only person here. I think more people should be able to see this." — Seth ABOUT SETH Seth is a farmer and goat herder at New Plymouth Farm in Wisconsin, where he produces goat milk soap using reg…

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