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 regenerative agriculture practices. Three years ago, he left his previous life behind to work the land with his English Shepherd, Dutch, who helps move the herd from barn to pasture and back again. Seth is passionate about improving soil Health and sharing the peaceful, purposeful work of grazing with others.
CONNECT WITH SETH
Website: newplymouthfarm.com
Facebook: New Plymouth Farm
Special offer: Use code Soul10 for 10% off goat milk soap at newplymouthfarm.com. Sign up for emails to be notified when live herding videos launch this spring.
CONNECT WITH SOUL TOUCHED BY DOGS
To find out more about Soul Touched by Dogs, visit https://soultouchedbydogs.com
Anke Herrmann is the creator of Soul Touched by Dogs, a podcast, virtual event &
community platform to celebrate the human-canine connection and advocate for holistic
approaches to canine health and education.
She is on a mission to educate people to see dogs not just as pets, certainly not as fashion accessories, toys for the kids, or tools, but as soulful beings, finely tuned into your emotions, wise teachers worth our respect and care. In her ideal world, every dog has the loving home it deserves.
Originally from Germany, she lives in the south of Spain. When she's not talking about dogs,
she is a multi-passionate coach and online tech expert helping coaches and educators build
Boutique Businesses offering freedom and ease without scaling the soul out of it. She's the
author of Taming the Tech Monster.
Find her at soultouchedbydogs.com or ankeherrmann.com
