Sweet Jeebus on a dinosaur [with Finals vids and Dewi Tweed goodness]

Because actual scientists are just big old snobs. jesus horses by wullagaru for threadless.

For decade after weary decade there have been chuckleheads claiming that working border collies aren't all that, and who needs a real stockdog nowadays, anyway, and oh — remember to buy a pup from my non-working kennel! It's such an unoriginal, predictable sort of background noise that by now most people with working stockdogs simply tune it out.

Retrieverman is the latest to troll these waters, with a post entitled, of all things, Intellectual honesty on the effects of trials and shows. [H/T: For the Pit Bulls.] The one bit of intellectual honesty you'll find in his post is this admission: "I know next to nothing about actual herding trials."

And I'll be darned if he doesn't proceed to write paragraph after paragraph demonstrating just how little he knows about working stockdogs and actual herding trials. Seriously, I can't wait for his "Don't know much about geology" post.

A few points. First: nice to know that the press coverage of the USBCHA Finals has made an impact. Working border collies are amazing dogs, and it can't be repeated often enough that the border collie's brains and biddability and athleticism are a direct result of rigorous selection for stockwork, as opposed to rigorous selection for a pronounced stop.

Point Two: if you think the following comment by BC Board moderator Eileen Stein is "the funniest bullshit [you've] ever seen," you might be as ignorant of working stockdogs as Retriever Man:

[Border collies] are like Alaskan Huskies in that they are bred to a working standard rather than an appearance standard, and they are a breed rather than a type in that they have been bred to that working standard long enough that they almost always meet that working standard better than any other kind of dog.
[...]
Alaskan Huskies don't have a registry and border collies do -- that's the only significant difference.

I think the part he missed is that working sheepdogs and racing huskies are bred for different purposes, but who the hell knows. And not that racing husky people concern themselves with bloodlines or anything like that.

Point Three: there is nothing esoteric about a USBCHA sheepdog trial. Any stockdog remotely deserving of the description should be able to gather stock, drive the stock to specific areas, and help sort and pen the stock. This isn't rocket science: I've seen Lhasa Apsos manage it in a small corral with tame sheep — which, I should emphasize, doesn't mean that Lhasa Apsos represent the gold standard of stock work, however proud of their efforts you may be. A really good stockdog will be able to accomplish those tasks in wide-open, unfamiliar terrain, in an efficient manner, with unfamiliar stock. That's what a USBCHA sheepdog trial tests, and if that's hard to understand, I'm Lady Gaga.

Finally, if you'd like to see some of the best stockdogs in North America demonstrating their prowess in September's 2010 National Sheepdog Finals [and I would dearly love to watch some of those runs again], head over to the Finals Web Cast page and sign up for their pay-per-view. As Heather Nadelman reports, "You can skip around in the video and watch it in chunks at your leisure — the clock only ticks against your purchased hours if you're logged into the player." At 400-some yards the Belle Grove trial field was smallish [to this westerner], but the sheep were plenty challenging and the best work was awesome. Yes, I'm looking at you, Riggs and Patrick Shanahan :~)))

*************

This isn't from our Finals, but what a nice vid it is: Richard Millichap's most awesome Dewi Tweed gathers sheep in the Welsh mountains. Enjoy! [For those interested in the border collie's "genetic bottleneck," Kinloch has a link to Tweed's pedigree, with the inbreeding coefficient numbers listed for his ISDS parents and grandparents.]

2010 National Sheepdog Finals

Now with live streaming video of the 40 semi-final runs on Saturday and the double-lift final on Sunday! Awesome.

Jenny Glen is providing great play-by play here, and Heather Nadelman is doing yeoman's work and much more here. Check out additional reports from top competitors Bev Lambert and Robin French.

Have I mentioned that the splendid border collies at the National Finals are the best working sheepdogs in North America? Slick-coated, rough-coated, wire-faced [Polly Matzinger's James ran in the Finals on Wednesday] — yet for all their diversity in appearance, how similar they are in their aptitude for the work! Eileen Stein explains:

[Border collies] are like Alaskan Huskies in that they are bred to a working standard rather than an appearance standard, and they are a breed rather than a type in that they have been bred to that working standard long enough that they almost always meet that working standard better than any other kind of dog[...] Alaskan Huskies don't have a registry and border collies do -- that's the only significant difference.

[As you can imagine, this sort of talk gives conformation breeders apoplexy.]

Here's a lovely sheepdog trial photo, though there are no sheep in sight: this is Dennis Birchall with Mossie and Flash, the 2009 International Brace Champions. Yes, those are border collies. How I love slick-coats:


Dennis Birchall has won the Irish National six times, and is one of four most excellent judges at Belle Grove for our 2010 National Finals. Dennis, Mossie and Flash represented Ireland again this year at the International Supreme Championship in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, a county whose motto, fittingly enough, is "Through trial to triumph," but the triumph in brace this time went to Richard Hutchinson with Roy and Sweep. Michael Gallagher and Cap were 2010 International Supreme Champions — you can find more results at the ISDS website here.

Yes, I am insanely jealous of all the handlers, dog bloggers and others attending the Finals at Belle Grove. Thank god for that streaming video, is all I can say.

Related:

About the double lift

About the International shed

Great read: The Dog Wars by Donald McCaig
Zamora Hills [and some dog show]
This is not herding.

The most beautiful dogs in the world

On the left, Stuart Davidson's Jim, a mostly black slick-coat. All things [that is, working ability] being equal, this is the type I'll fall for every time. Just one of many terrific new photos at Kinloch Sheepdogs: check 'em out.

Via CleverColliesDeb over at the Border Collie Boards, here are two videos featuring Aled Owen and Roy, this year's winners of the World Trial. The first video is their semifinals run, on five sheep. The second video is their winning run in the double lift final. Roy is sent for two packets of ten sheep each, with five collared ewes to be shed and penned.

Season's end III

To the left: Richard Millichap's Taddymoor Cap trying to stop the last uncollared ewe. World Trial photo by Kinloch Sheepdogs — more here.

A few more wrap-ups: visit the Alta-Pete Farm Blog for a nice post on Scott Glen's Pleat, who is retiring after his win this year at Soldier Hollow.

Via Sheepdog News: keep an eye on Gene Sheninger's coverage of the World Trial.

Excellent photos [so green...!] and description of Nick and Nancy Obernier's fine run at the World Trial here.

Kinloch Sheepdogs has an interesting World Trial report on their blog, and as mentioned before, great photos, with more to come. [Check out Kinloch's just-for-fun recalculation of the team scores.]

Season's end

Bob O'Donnell setting sheep at the 2008 USBCHA Finals, Sturgis SD. Photo — I'm guessing — by Pearse Ward.

The USBCHA North American Sheepdog Finals were won by a Canadian team, Ian Zoerb and his Peg. Reserve Champions were Bev Lambert and Bill. I'll let Pearse Ward call it [and huge thanks to Pearse for blogging the Finals so well]:

Ian Zoerb [and Peg] are on the course now with a nice first gather, good line to the fetch gates and flawless turn back. They had a good lift but got a little off line in the long grass near the top. As soon as they came out of the long stuff, Ian wasted no time in putting the sheep back on line and they were on a good line all the way to the fetch gates. The drive had nice flow and except for a short stretch coming a little low was on line most of the way around. In the shedding ring there was some outstanding work. Anyone who works dogs knows how tough it is to stop a ewe going flat out with her head down but Peg, after 25 minutes of hard work, ran that ewe down and caught her not ten yards from the shed group and without gripping turned her and brought the single back into the shedding ring. As nice a piece of dog work as you will see. That was the same ewe that had broken back once already, causing Ian to regather and reshed with only two left to shed off. It was too bad that such nice work will not count for Best Shed because it is up there.

Ian Zoerb and Peg have taken the lead.

Read it all here. I can't begin to say how great it has been to have such excellent descriptions of the work. Huge thanks to Finals Trial Committee Members Laura Hicks, Rene LaBree, Sharon Norstog and Jamie Spring for organizing the 2008 Finals. California brags: Nursery Champions were Suzy Applegate and Buzz; Reserve Champions were Jennifer Clark-Ewers and Gunner; and Sandra Milberg [of Sonoma Wine Country Sheepdog Trial fame] and Quill were seventh in the Nursery Championship. Jennifer and Sweep took eleventh place in the double lift finals; Sandy Milberg and Drift qualified for the double lift but DQed.

*************

Over in Wales, Aled Owen and Roy won the World Trial by one point over Ron Snoeck and Nell from Netherlands. Here is an update [along with some terrific photos] from Kinloch Sheepdogs. Thanks so much to all who provided words and pictures for those of us back home.

From the Finals

Be sure to check out top hand Pearse Ward's daily posts from the USBCHA Sheepdog Finals in South Dakota. Hat tip to Sheepdog News, where Bev Lambert reports on a lost dog [now found, thank heaven], and more news from the World Trial in Wales.

What're they serving at Meeker? Also: Yay, Wales!

Whatever Bill Berhow and his dogs Pete and Mike had for breakfast Saturday morning must have been seasoned with Kryptonite. On the famously difficult sheep at Meeker, the night after mountain lions got into the flock [read Bev Lambert's blog post here] Bill and Mike scored an impressive 90 in the semifinals, while Pete's run got a 91. Only three other dogs in the semifinal group of thirty topped 80 points [out of 110].

But in Sunday's double lift final, Dennis Gellings and his dogs Jake and Jan were the ones with special powers. Jake took first with 125 points, Jan took second with 119; Scott Glenn and Pleat took third with 105; and fourth with 100 points went to Ian Zoerb and Peg. Out of a possible 170 — told you those Meeker ewes are tough. Full results are here. [The 1993 poster shows Bill Berhow with his great dog Nick.]

Over at the International in Wales, three of the top five winners, including the Champion and Reserve Champion, were — drum roll, please — Welsh! Yay home team! Supreme Championship went to Kevin Evans and Mirk, with Alan Jones and Bet just five points behind.

Conditions at times were cold and soaking wet, and visibility was... well, check out the photo from the ISDS site:


But livestock must be looked after no matter what the weather, so sheepdogs and their handlers carry on. Full results for this year's International are here, here and here. And now, on to the North American USBCHA Finals and the World Sheepdog Trials in, wait for it... Wales! World-wise, we'll be cheering for Rhyme, mother to Bill Fosher's young Fern. Good luck, Haley! Good luck, Donald! Good luck, all!

Biggies

Prompted by the most excellent Shoofly Farm blog, I've added a little section in the left sidebar with easier-to-find links to major trials of the season and a few handlers' blogs to keep an eye on. Busy times!

Soldier Hollow

Results from Monday's double lift final are here. Scott Glenn and Pleat won; Bev Lambert and Bill took second [see Bev's blog reports at Sheepdog News]; and Faansie Basson and Jan [all the way from South Africa] were third. There are lots of terrific photos and a number of videos in the Soldier Hollow 2008 thread on the Border Collie Boards, most courtesy of the splendid Jan [ShoresDog].

Gratuitous "six degrees of separation" comment: set out was managed by my trainer Anna Guthrie and her hard-working crew. That's Anna in the pink shirt, as Amanda Milliken's Clive [fourth place in Monday's final] lifts his sheep in an early run:




Bill Berhow and Pete were champions at Soldier Hollow last year. Bill is a great handler and Pete is a wonderful dog, but this year the stars lined up for others. Jan writes of Pete's Friday run: "This video starts when he is almost down the hill on the fetch. Unfortunately, he had one ewe who was a piece of work, and it took him too much time getting down the hill, so he times out at the end. Given his sheep, he still gets a lot done, and he got a 62."



And now the scene shifts to Meeker... and the North American Finals, and the International and the World...

Websites to watch during a season of great sheepdog trials

Before the gather. Photo from the English National Sheepdog Trials website.

For an ultimate insider's look at some of the great trials in North America, check out guest blogger Bev Lambert's updates over at Sheepdog News. Bev won't need any introduction to sheepdog folks. She's handled her border collies to multiple wins at Soldier Hollow and Meeker and will be blogging from both of those challenging, prestigious trials, and from the National Finals, where her dogs Lark and the legendary Pippa were Reserve Champions [Lark in 1997, Pippa in 2002 and 2006].

Over in the UK the English, Irish and Scottish Nationals are done and the Welsh National is yet to come, along with the International and the World Trial [both in Wales this year]. The Kinloch Sheepdogs website has news updates, a blog, photos of dogs at work, trials results and quite a bit more. Kelvin Broad and Angie Driscoll are the humans of Kinloch Sheepdogs, and their website is one to keep an eye on — they're in Wales, in the midst of things.

*************

Represent...! The young dog that placed fifth at the English Nationals, Derek Scrimgeour's Fleece, was bred right here in beautiful California by Dan and Geri Byrne. Geri is a top handler, a tireless advocate for the working sheepdog, and one of the organizers of the 2009 USBCHA National Sheepdog Finals. Yay Fleece!!

Bluegrass report is up at Shoofly Farm

Run over to Robin's blog for her report on the Bluegrass Trial. Tommy Wilson and Sly must have been ossum to watch — hope there will be photos posted on blogs and boards soon. Thanks, Robin!

The Bluegrass, and the 2008 National Cattledog Finals

Trial of the year, sheepdog trainer/handler Robin French calls the Bluegrass, and I won't argue — I've seen the run order. I dream of heading east some spring to watch those household names [to sheepdog people, anyway] and their terrific dogs.

Robin French of Shoofly Farm [also the name of Robin's blog, with useful posts on training and handling sheepdogs] is running Spottie, Zac and Moss at the Bluegrass this year, and has promised "a full trial report when we get home." Robin writes:

It's the best trial of the year, even if my dogs don't end up totally on their game. Lots of good dog work and it's a real SHEEP trial, where the fresh sheep mostly sort out the dogs, at least on the first round, before they get more dog broke. I love watching this kind of trial, where you get to see so much more of what's really in the dogs and it's less about who handles best. I'll be glued to the sidelines for the first round, that's for sure!

A number of handlers at this year's trial are also talented photographers, and I'll be keeping an eye out for their photos.

In Torrington, Wyoming, the National Cattledog Finals are winding up: final runs for both Open and Nursery are this Saturday, May 17. You can follow the results here. An up-and-down week for my trainer Anna Guthrie, but a miracle her good dog Tick was able to compete after the nightmare a year ago. [I believe Tikkle is eligible for next year's Nurseries as well.]

Good luck to all, and take lots of pictures! [That's Denise Wall's Kate in the photo above — Denise is running Kate in this year's Bluegrass.]

Zamora Hills 2008

Zamora: the lift. All sheepdog trial photos by Sharon.

So I'm home this weekend coughing up a lung, and when I tell my cousin [the nurse] that I'm sure I have West Nile virus, she says it's probably not just West Nile but West Nile exacerbated by the avian flu and E. coli, and I should take a Motrin. "Call the waaahmbulance," she says. Odd that such a hostile, unfeeling person works in health care, but the ibuprofen has provided some relief, and on I bravely blog.

I missed the Slavens' Zamora Hills trial this year [see lung, above], but the most excellent Sharon has sent along some terrific photos:

The set-out person on horseback in the distance is Anna Guthrie, my trainer.

The handler's post is out of sight to the right of the photo. It's a big course, and range ewes will be range ewes. You can see the drive panels under the tail of the windmill.

At the cross drive panels.

Out of the creek bed and into the shedding ring we go.

In the shedding ring -- or maybe on the way to the pen. I love them slick-coats.

"Uh, now what?" Sharon writes: "At one point, three of the five decided to make a break for it, and jumped the fence. Once over, they apparently realized they had a dozen border collies to contend with, as opposed to just one." Dammit, Marge, I told you this was a bad idea!

Next year, I hope.

Thanks again to Sharon for the great photos (and to my cousin [the nurse], who is actually a wonderful person whom I love dearly. But you knew that).

Zamora Hills [and some dog show]

UPDATE: Edited for syntax. Content unchanged.

Michael and Bridget Slaven, both from County Tyrone, Ireland, settled in the hills west of Zamora, CA in the 1800s. The ranch now belongs to their grandson Bill Slaven, host of the Zamora Hills Sheepdog Trial. Click on the photos to make 'em bigger.

Take along a pair of binoculars. The range ewes are set out on a ridge maybe 700 yards distant, and the sheepdog won't be able to see them as he walks with his handler to the post. The dog -- a working border collie -- will run more than half a mile to reach the top. The hills all around are vast and green and empty: it's beautiful countryside, not great for crops, but good for sheep and cattle.

The Slaven family's Zamora Hills Sheepdog Trial is one of the best-known in North America. The dog that wins won't earn points towards a title, since the USBCHA shuns such nonsense, but everyone at the trial will know what that dog is made of. The judge this year is Jack Knox, and with any luck I'll be there with bells on to watch part of it. [Probably Sunday, given the drive and all. Look for a pug.]

If you are going to be anywhere near Northern California from February 15th through the 18th, pack the folding chairs, sunblock and binoculars and follow the directions to Zamora Hills:

Directions to trial site: North on I-5, take Zamora exit, head west, 92B is about 1-1/2 miles from exit. Turn left and the ranch is the first place on the left. From Highway 505 – Take the Zamora exit and head east. Turn right on 92B (about 4 miles from exit).

First run is at 7:00 each morning -- Nursery and Pro-Novice dogs run on Monday. Food and drinks will be available at the trial site. There'll be fine handlers and dogs from as far away as Canada. Bill Berhow will be there: he and his good dog Pete won Soldier Hollow last year. Here are some shots from 2007.

The handler's post -- the Lombardi Tower -- is out of sight on the left. Sheep are set out on the far ridge, at about one o'clock from the orange post in the middle of the photo. There's a dry creek bed between the drive panels and the pen. Sheep are brought around the orange post (rather than around the handler's post) prior to the drive. The shedding ring is to the left of the pen.

The shedding ring is in the middle of the photo, marked with sawdust. The shed's done --- the dog is fetching the sheep to the pen. 2007 judge Bill Berhow is seated on the flatbed truck. The Lombardi Tower [named in honor of rancher Guido Lombardi, a long-time champion of the working border collie in California] is just to the right of the shedding ring.

Top young handler Haley Howard steps down from the tower as Diona [out of sight behind the sheep] brings the range ewes to the shedding ring. Legs at left belong to the judge -- I recognize the knee brace ;~)

End of the day, and Diona is about to put her sheep in the pen. The good ones make it look so easy.

***

Something else is coming up... oh, yeah. Westminster.

The announcer will say something about border collies being great sheepdogs. And smart. Tops in agility. He may say that this or that dog has an AKC "herding title," which means the dog was able to follow tame sheep down a fence line in a small arena. Three times! But the truth is that none of the border collies in the ring at Westminster can work stock. Not one is competitive in agility. Here, in a nutshell, is what the border collies at Westminster are bred for:

Head
The skull is broad and flat between the ears, slightly narrowing to the eye, with a pronounced stop [from Merriam-Webster: "the depression in the face of an animal at the junction of forehead and muzzle"], cheeks deep but not prominent. The muzzle tapering to the nose, is strong and the same length as the skull.

No, that isn't from the AKC standard, but it might as well be, since the conformation ring in the U.S. has all but surrendered to the Australia/New Zealand standard. [You can read more about the border collie and the AKC here.]

Breeding to the conformation standard of Oz means that a border collie pup without that pronounced stop will be sold to a pet home on a spay/neuter contract, no matter how excellent his health and how keen and biddable he may be. His good-looking littermate with the "perfect" stop -- the perhaps slightly more anxious, perhaps somewhat less intelligent pup with perhaps one or two very mild health issues -- is the one that will go on to win a championship, and he is the one that will stay in the gene pool. And so it goes, generation after generation. "This is the head I'm breeding for," I heard a woman at ringside announce the year border collies were "recognized." Her dogs won at Westminster.

Breeding to a conformation standard produces healthy, stable companion dogs by accident rather than design. This isn't meant to suggest that show breeders want to produce dogs with health issues and less-than-stellar temperaments, or that they don't take health and temperament into consideration. Of course they do. But the pronounced stop [among other characteristics described in the standard] is absolutely essential, because without it a border collie has no hope of success in the breed ring.

If the goal were simply to produce healthy, temperamentally sound companion dogs, breeders might take a page from guide dog experts and start crossing Labs with Goldens. They would breed pugs that don't need surgery in order to breath normally, and bulldogs that don't require C-sections to whelp. They would breed dachshunds and Bassets that don't develop back problems.

They might even give up the conceit that breeding for pronounced stops has no effect on working ability. The truth is that breeding for appearance eats working ability for breakfast. A good stockdog needs a finely calibrated set of tools to get the job done. A pronounced depression at the junction of the forehead and the muzzle ain't one of them.

Conformation-bred border collies are beautiful dogs, and no doubt fine companions, but the cookie-cutter structure, the matching fluffy coats and those pronounced stops have come at a considerable price. If you are lucky enough to be at the Zamora Hills trial next weekend, you'll see what the border collies at Westminster have lost.

The soft bigotry of low expectations suits the BCSA just fine

Action at an AKC "herding trial." There's a dog back there in that dust cloud, and this run earned a qualifying score: one leg towards an AKC "herding title." Identities protected, because honestly.

Back in 2006 the parent club of the AKC border collie announced a new title: Stockdog of Distinction. To qualify for this honor, an AKC-registered border collie had to earn herding championships from the AKC and either ASCA or the AHBA, as well as five points accumulated by placing in the top 20% at USBCHA Open trials. [That last requirement was quickly amended to read "an ISDS-style trial."]

From a BCSA Board Announcement dated January 14, 2008:

In the last few weeks, several questions have been raised about BCSA’s Stockdog Of Distinction (SOD) and SOD-Excellent awards; as well as on BCSA’s support of some USBCHA-sanctioned open field trials. A few members have contacted the BCSA board to express concern over or disagreement with these policies, and we are aware that there has been recent conversation on some email discussion lists about this topic.

Read the whole announcement here. Tragicomical gems:

3. What is the purpose of the SOD and SOD-X Award?
Because one of BCSA’s primary missions is to preserve the working heritage of our breed, the SOD award system is intended to highlight excellence in this area. It is meant to inspire BCSA members get out and compete in herding trials, which are a good metric to compare your breeding stock with that developed by other breeders. For many centuries, dog breeders have used shows and trials as a means for evaluating breeding stock and sharing knowledge.

4. Why does the SOD award require placement in Open classes at ISDS-style trials?
It was important that one component of the award be to require that a dog is proven in the open field, versus only competing in arena trials. The Border Collie is a highly developed working dog for this particular purpose, and the skill and instinct required to control livestock in a large area without the benefit of a fence line is very different from working in a small farm arena. Though AKC offers such style of work in the B course, AKC B courses are still relatively few and far between, and very small in scale as compared to ISDS-style trials. So, they are still not the best test of good Border Collie-style work. Thus, it was felt that to declare a dog truly a “Stockdog of Distinction”, it must prove its mettle in the traditional forum in which Border Collies have been tested for more than 100 years, the ISDS-style trial.

The fact that any of this has to be spelled out for members of a border collie club says more than I ever could about the AKC worldview. Ay Chihuahua.

More BCSA insights:

6. I’m concerned that BCSA is “promoting” USBCHA by encouraging members to compete in ISDS-style trials, when some prominent USBCHA members have expressed “anti-AKC” sentiments. Should BCSA be supporting an organization that does not offer reciprocal support back to us?
It is true that some USBCHA members are not supportive of our organization and do not feel that we share the same goals. But we beg to differ, we feel that the goals of both organizations are the same—to preserve and protect our breed, and to inspire Border Collie breeders to continue to develop excellence in the field, and sound, healthy, well-constructed dogs. And, not all USBCHA members and competitors are in disagreement with our club. So, it’s not fair to stigmatize an entire organization’s membership based upon a few outspoken individuals, and declare that we won’t cooperate with any of them.

No, no... go right ahead, stigmatize! All the USBCHA members I know think the AKC is worse than useless. And here, let me fix that for you: The goals of both organizations are the same??!!

Here are the objectives of the USBCHA:

to collect and preserve the history of the Border Collie dog, to promote the breed through obtaining, maintaining and disseminating information pertaining to their breeding and training as working dogs; to promote dog trials, exhibitions, publicity for the breed, and to work specifically for the improvement and preservation of Border Collies as working dogs.

The BCSA, on the other hand, promotes "a spirit of encouragement and learning for the membership in all Border Collie activities, including but not limited to: herding, obedience, agility, conformation, tracking, companion dogs, flyball, and therapy dogs," with "support and education offered to all in their equally worthy endeavors" -- which is lovely, but as different from the USBCHA's goals as chalk from cheese.

Either people breed their dogs for stockwork or they don't, and if they don't, you are going to have to keep the bar lower than dirt and keep your "herding trials" dumbed way down and make titles possible for dogs that aren't interested in stock unless you rub peanut butter on the ewes' tails, and yes, that's been done.

Doesn't perseverance count for anything? Isn't it terribly unfair to demand such a high level of, well, actual ability?

No. There won't always be fences.

The fetch

Porterville Spring Trial, Montgomery Ranch, CA. [Click on photo for larger view.]

Another photo with my good girl as a tiny speck.

I loved the Montgomery Ranch: it was a beautiful place for a sheepdog trial. The first time we ran there Bracken took what seemed like ages to find her sheep, but after that she seldom lost a point on her outrun.

Bracken was whippet-fast and had a fine, confident outrun that owed not a thing to my novice handling skillz. She'd leave my feet and run somewhat tight -- maybe 100-200 yards off the fetch line, keeping a keen eye out -- and at the right moment in relation to her sheep, she would cast out wide in a move I always, always loved to watch. Her speed and the angle of the cast made it rather dramatic. [I timed her outrun once, on this course. She reached the top in a bit less than a minute, exactly half the time it took the good dog whose run preceded hers.] Bracken had a quiet, steady lift and a lovely feel for her sheep: she could work close without rattling them. I've known religious people with less faith in their deities than the faith I had in Bracken.

This photo of her was taken at Mission San Antonio de Padua in Central California. Bracken is gone now -- she died in 2004, almost sixteen -- and the last time I visited the mission, the sign was gone, too.

The big picture: why sheepdog trial photos make me kind of insane [and how to fix that]

Back in the day: my Bracken at the drive gates. Porterville Spring Trial, Montgomery Ranch, CA. [Click on the photo for a larger view.]

Michael McAdoo is a photographer with a good eye for dogs, as you can see by visiting his sheepdog trials galleries at this link. This week he posted a few of his photos on the Border Collie Boards, where you can also see the work of talented photographers like Denise Wall, Laura Hicks, Christine Henry, Melanie Chang, Mark Billadeau and others. In his first post to the Border Collie Boards, Mike wrote:

I've been looking through the posts here and see some fine quality photos, so am asking as "trialers" and working dog owners, what shots do you prefer and which shots have you frankly seen enough of? I understand that some shots which work for me artistically may not convey the action you want conveyed or the sense of why this form of competition/exhibition is enjoyable to you.

I love working-dog photos. What drives me nuts is that a perfect close-up of a great USBCHA Open dog -- for example, a terrific photograph like this by Denise Wall of Bev Lambert's Bill --


isn't always that easy to distinguish from a carefully-cropped photo of a dog that couldn't herd lemmings off a cliff.

Which is why I love shots like this:


This photo [another great one by Denise Wall] shows Alasdair MacRae and Star on the crossdrive of the International course at the 2005 Bluegrass. The dog is just a speck, but you can by God tell this is a real sheepdog trial and not the sort of event where dogs are given titles for following tame sheep down the fence in a small arena.

After all [as I've said a million times], any responsive dog with sufficient prey drive can be trained to move tame stock in a controlled setting. Look at the snaps of American Pit Bull Terrier Dread, who earned ASCA titles on sheep and ducks:



My dogs can do more challenging work than this. So please, photographers, let me see the big picture.

I love the beautiful close-ups of intense dogs at work, and I love the arty through-the-fence shots, and I especially love the photos with both sheep and dog in the frame. If it were my dog, I'd want to purchase them all.

But let me see at least one photo of the 800 yard, uphill outrun or the 200 yard crossdrive -- even if my dog is a just black speck. If I can afford to buy only one photo, that's the one I'll purchase. I can take portrait snaps of my dog at home, but a photo of my dog and me on a course like Edgeworth or the Bluegrass...? Just about priceless.