Start with a fence between sheep and pet
Introduce a Dorper sheep to a resident pet through a fence, because a prey animal's first meeting should never happen at touching distance. Let the two see, hear, and smell each other across a solid barrier for several short sessions spread over days. Dorpers are a hardy, relatively calm breed, and a settled sheep will graze near the fence or watch the pet with mild interest — both good signs. End each session while things are still boring; the goal of the fence stage is two animals who find each other unremarkable.
Read the resident pet, because that is the risk
The resident pet's behaviour decides the pace of a Dorper introduction, not the sheep's calm. A dog who can glance at the sheep, then turn back to you for a cue or a treat, is processing the new animal safely. A dog who fixates with a hard stare, crouches into a stalk, whines with frustration, or lunges at the fence is showing prey drive that a shared-space meeting will not fix, and that dog may never be safe loose with sheep. Honest assessment at the fence stage protects the Dorper from the most common introduction disaster: enthusiasm mistaken for friendliness.
The first shared-space meeting
Hold the first shared-space meeting in the sheep's familiar area, with the resident pet on a lead held by a calm handler and a second person watching the Dorper. Give the sheep an open escape route to its flockmates or shelter, because a cornered sheep panics and a panicking sheep triggers chase. Keep the meeting short, let the pet observe from a distance where it can still respond to its handler, and leave before either animal tires. Repeat at gradually shorter distances over days rather than forcing one long decisive encounter.
Sheep-specific details that change the plan
A Dorper sheep reads the world as a flock animal, so a lone sheep separated for introductions is already stressed before the pet appears. Keep flockmates visible nearby, and introduce the pet to the group setting gradually rather than isolating one sheep as a test subject. Rams and protective ewes with lambs deserve extra distance and a slower schedule, since hormones change a sheep's tolerance entirely. Also mind the resident pet's health status and recent vaccinations before close contact, and wash hands between animals during the staged meetings.
Knowing when to stop the experiment
Stop and reassess if the Dorper stops eating, paces the fence line, or calls constantly after sessions, because that is stress accumulating rather than settling. Stop permanently if the resident pet's fixation does not soften across several fence sessions, and manage the two species apart with secure fencing instead — many good farm dogs admire sheep through wire for life, and that is a workable outcome. If both animals relax through the stages, still supervise shared time for weeks before trusting it. Assigning each introduction stage and its outcome in KinsLe Care Teams, marked complete as sessions happen, stops one handler from skipping ahead to a loose meeting the sheep is not ready for.