Who Herds Sheep Better: Frankie the Miniature Dachshund or Babe the Pig?

Forget Jordan or LeBron, this is the real debate. By Austin Cannon October 09, 2020 Advertisement Pin FB More Tweet Email Send Text Message Print
sheep chews on grass Credit: edelmar / Getty

We here at Daily Paws consider ourselves a thought-provoking publisher that considers some of the pressing issues of our time.

In that vein, today we ask: Who is better at herding sheep: Frankie the miniature dachshund or Babe the pig?  

Frankie the Mini Dachshund

Dachshunds are decidedly not herding dogs. They’re in the hound group, were first bred for hunting, and have teeny tiny legs that prevent them from moving very fast.  

These wiener dogs, however, are far from wallflowers. “They were bred to hunt badgers—this is not a timid little dog,” Brian Kilcommons tells Daily Paws in our breed guide. 

Maybe that’s why we get to enjoy this video of 6-year-old Frankie doing what appears to be an excellent job herding dozens of sheep into a paddock at his farm in Australia. 

“He loves the farm life,” his owner Charlie Rowlands says, according to the Daily Mail.

Frankie obviously has some sway around the farm, as some of the sheep nearly climb on top of each other to avoid him. The video is only 37 seconds long, so it appears that Frankie didn’t waste any time getting his sheep where they needed to be. 

Babe the Pig

The stakes were obviously higher for Babe, star of the 1995 movie aptly named, uh, Babe. The young swine was in a sheepdog competition, being watched by hundreds in the grandstands and more on television. 

The pig very calmly approaches his sheep and utters the “baa-ram-ewe” edict. About a minute later, he shepherds the six sheep through the gate, into the ring, and then into the paddock to raucous cheers.  

It was calm, orderly, and earned a perfect score from the judges. That’ll do, pig. 

The Verdict

There’s a lot to consider here. Frankie got his higher number of sheep into the paddock faster, but he was also in a confined space, which makes it easier. Babe, however, had an easy time getting his sheep to do harder things, including stand in a ring, walk in a two-column line, and go through a gate. 

Here’s the thing, though. Babe cheated. Before he herded the sheep, Rex the border collie ran out onto the field and told him the secret “baa-ram-ewe” password. That’s unfair, no? 

Therefore, we have no choice but to award the Best Sheep Herder Award to Frankie. Congrats to the wiener dog.