The Turn of the 20th Century

L.H. Durant’s Airedales herding on his California ranch as pictured in Country Life in America dated September 01, 1911.

           According to “Dogs on a California Ranch” in Country Life in America, collies were not deep-rooted in the west at this time. L. H. Durant a large rancher from Los Angeles who used four different breeds on his California ranch and considered each one essential for its particular work including Airedales that he used to tend sheep. He said, “I find the Airedale terrier a practical and useful dog on the ranch.” They were very useful in working among sheep and goats, with little training.

See Airedale Terrier:

http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/airedale-terrier/

            He went on to say, “The Collie shown in one of the pictures is what we call an old-fashioned sheep-dog, of which there are comparatively few even in the West, yet, I believe that they are more useful than the present sharp-nosed, high-bred type. The Collie’s particular duty is to keep the livestock away from the yard, and especially at five o’clock every night to keep the hogs from the separator house. This work he takes great pride in, and allows none of the other dogs to interfere with it. He is wonderfully successful.”

See also Collie:

http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/collies-mcnabs-and-old-shep/

            By 1935, sheep raised in the United States were numbered at 51.8 million with 60 percent being raised in the western states. David Cook, who was the foreman for the Warren Livestock Company in Wyoming from 1920 to 1961, wrote, “From the time sheep were introduced into Wyoming, the dog has played an important role in the sheep industry. If not for the assistance of these faithful animals, herding large numbers of sheep would have been impossible. Many times the dog saved the lives of sheep and herders, especially in storms. When a storm suddenly appeared, the herder could not have gathered the herd and brought them to shelter had it not been for the dogs.”

            Raising good sheep dogs was a necessary part of any large sheep operation. It was customary to give each herder a pair of working dogs and a pup. That way, if anything happened to one of the dogs, he would have another to fall back on. After many years of using almost all breeds of sheep dogs including the old fashioned collies, Cook, said, “For our purpose, the small blue and white Australian, often with a so-called “glass eye”, became the most satisfactory dog we used.” The ranch acquired their first pair, named Maggie and Jiggs. “These dogs turned out to be the breeding stock which was used to produce our future generations of sheep dogs.”

            One of the main reasons the “little blue dogs” were preferred over Shepherds, the old fashioned collie was due to their staying power in the harsh western conditions of the open range. According to Cook, Old Shep was reliable, but lacked stamina for wide-spread sheep ranching.

            “It is an entirely different operation than it was when I got initiated back in the teens,” Cook remembered. “The long-accustomed way of having one man and his trusty dogs tend several thousand sheep (with feed to spare) was nearing an end.” By 1973 the number of sheep had declined to 17.7 million. Fewer ranch jobs were available to the dogs and more dogs were finding their way into urban and suburban homes.

Read about Sheep Ranching On the Open Range:

http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/sheep-ranching/

Copyright © 2013 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

http://lasrocosa.com/education.html

Importance of the Merino

A sketch of ‘Clermont,’ one of Livingston’s Merino sheep – published in Gentleman Farmer 1810

            After Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in 1808*1, the entire course of the American sheep industry changed with the arrival of the superfine-wooled Merino. The merino wool was considered the most desirable of all fleeces, with the lamb’s wool especially prized for luxurious fabrics. Presidents George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson were among the best-known sheep raisers. Along with Merinos, Thomas Jefferson imported native French shepherd dogs (chiens de plaine)*2, which he bought just as he was leaving France in 1789. Jefferson remarked in his correspondence about the wonderful sagacity of the sheep dogs, claiming they had no equal as herding or house dogs. He described them as “the most careful, intelligent dogs in the world, their sagacity is almost human and qualifies them to be taught anything you please.”

            Robert R. Livingston, who served in the Continental Congress, helped draft the Declaration of Independence, and worked with James Monroe on the details of the Louisiana Purchase, was appointed minister to France in 1801. During his tenure in Paris, Livingston arranged for the shipment of some of the first French Rambouillet Merinos to the United States. A year later Colonel David Humphreys, minister to Spain, bought a hundred head of Merino sheep and sent them back to the United States.

            Twenty years later, after France invaded Spain, William Jarvis, American consul to Portugal, was able to obtain some highly prized Merinos from the royal Escurial flock, which he shipped back to the United States. Ex-president Jefferson and President Madison each received a pair as a gift. After the second invasion of Napoleon and the subsequent confiscation and sale of four enormous Merino flocks, Jarvis was permitted to buy a large number. He employed shepherds and bought dogs to accompany the sheep.*3 With each shipment he was careful not to put too many animals in one vessel, allowing them plenty of air and providing an abundance of hay, barley, and fresh water. For every sheep that reached the United States in safety, he gave the captain 50 cents and the mate 25 cents; consequently he lost very few.

Arrogante, a Spanish Sheep-Dog was imported from Spain with a flock of Merinos / Sheep husbandry by Henry Stephens Randall; C. M. Saxton & Co., 1856

A modern Spanish Sheep-Dog, Pastor Leonés, owned by Amadeo Alejandre, similar in type to Arrogante

            By mid-1811 nearly 25,000 Spanish Merinos had reached the Atlantic seaboard. Near the close of the 19th century, the Merino or its derivatives, the Rambouillet and Delaine, had spread through the entire country.

Notes:

*1. Before that time, the export of Merinos from Spain was a crime punishable by death.

*2. The chiens de plaine were likely the Briard/Beauceron: http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/briard-and-beauceron/

*3. Jarvis observed, “In Spain, the custom was to employ two shepherds, four dogs, and a pack-horse or mule for every thousand sheep.” He also pointed out, “The boundaries of the pastures are known to each shepherd, and are marked by stones. If a dog sees a sheep straying from its pasture, he walks leisurely along, heads the sheep and makes him return to his flock.”

Side Note: Interestingly, Colonel John Downie, a British Commissary, purchased 4,000 Merinos for the King of England, sent about 300 to the United States and the rest to Scotland, his native country. The Certificate and Passport noted he had purchased 3,945 sheep, 18 dogs, 5 shepherd ponies.

See also Herding Dogs in Colonial America:

http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/herding-dogs-in-early-america/

Copyright © 2009 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html

Peace in the Valley

Ty Taylor and Poco at Las Rocosa in Boulder – ©Copyright 2011 Hartnagle Archive

http://lasrocosa.com/education.html

Cane Toccatore

Also known as: Cane Paratore, Italian Wolfdog

Origin: Italy

Height at shoulder: 19–21.5 inches (50–55 cm)

Weight: 33–55 pounds (15–25 kg)

Coat: Medium length, varied textures

Color: Gray, brown, black or leopard

Ears: Erect to semi-erect

Tail: Long

            To learn more about training the Toccatore please refer to the book, Stockdog Savvy (Alpine Publications) by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor. Stockdog Savvy  is a practical and useful handbook for ranchers as well as the hobbyist. If you want to learn to train stockdogs for farm and ranch work in the real world or for competition, this is the book for you. Almost 300 pages illustrated with diagrams and how-to photographs galore!

            Stockdog Savvy  also gives trainers, clinicians and judges an overview of many different herding dogs and types of livestock. It is the quintessential guide to owning, training, trialing, working or caring for your stockdog.

Additionally, people who don’t have access to livestock can teach all the basic herding commands through play training. Herding skills taught in a game format are fun activities to keep dogs in the city mentally and physically fit.

The Table of Contents:

Frontispiece: Just a Stockdog Story
Preface
Foreword by Ernie Hartnagle
Introduction
1 – HERDING DOGS
2 – WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A HERDING DOG
3 – PREPARING YOUR PUPPY
4 – LAYING THE FOUNDATION
5 – GETTING STARTED
6 – INTRODUCING A DOG TO STOCK
7 – MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR DOG’S TALENT
8 – DEVELOPING A USEFUL DOG
9 – THE OUTRUN
10 – DRIVING SKILLS
11 – BALANCE AND PENNING
12 – FOCUS ON SORTING
13 – BOUNDARY TRAINING FOR TENDING DOGS
14 – BASIC STOCKMANSHIP
15 – WORKING LARGE FLOCKS AND HERDS
16 – THE RANCH DOG
17– TRAINING ANIMALS
18 – POULTRY
19 – SHEEP
20 – GOATS
21 – CATTLE
22 – KEEPING LIVESTOCK
23 – THE TRIAL DOG
24 – TRIAL PROGRAMS
25 – WHAT JUDGES LOOK FOR
26 – OTHER ELEMENTS OF WORKING STOCKDOGS
Appendix -– BREED PROFILES

For more information please visit:

http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html

Copyright © 2009 – 2010 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor.

All Rights Reserved.

Collies, McNabs and Old Shep

A type of rough collie once common in the British Countryside.

            After the Civil War, sheep raising continued to expand west. The type of sheep raised in the United States underwent development through importations of European breeds. Prosperous Americans imported British livestock and Collies. Soon, the breed was dominated by wealthy American patrons who imported Scotch Collies from England. They were first exhibited at Westminster in 1878 and the first sheep dog trial was held in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1880. As one author wrote, “Any benefit which might have resulted was lost because of the confusing interlude with the Show Collie family.” Sheep Dog trials were not reintroduced until the 1920s.

            In 1894, Lulu McNab wrote, The Collie in Mendocino published in the May issue of the Overland Monthly Magazine. “The Scotch collie is practically unknown to the majority of Americans, although some Eastern farmers associated the name with the family dog that makes a safe playmate for the children and brings in the cows at milking time, while the fancier, in turn, recalls the pride of the show bench, and one of his most devoted pets. What is, then, the real Scotch Collie and what is his mission? Briefly worded, he is the ideal shepherd. Among Scottish flocks he is the pride of Scottish owners, and is valued, both in the Old World and the New, as one of the best aids money can procure.”

See The Collie:

http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2010/01/27/the-collie/ 

and also, The McNab:

http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/mcnab/

            By the turn of the century, the American Collie was in a state of continued development. The breed continued to do well in England and many of England’s finest show dogs were imported to the United States. The Collie Club of America held its first show in 1894, which was the same year the Border Collie was birthed on the Scottish/English border.

             However, this also marked the beginning of the decline of old-fashioned farm collies, sometimes better known as farm shepherds AKA Old Shep. The intelligent, broad-headed, short-nosed dogs with a kind eye were quickly fading away.

The Scotch Collie – 1910

Herding Dogs in the Westward Sheep Movement:

http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/estward-sheep-movement/

Copyright © 2009 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html

Three Basic Commands

            There are three basic commands you’ll need to communicate with your dog. The first and most important command that needs to be taught is the “Come here.” Training can start as early as six weeks of age. This is an ideal time to start teaching a pup because a pup’s mind is open and ready to learn. It is amazing what you can teach a young dog in a few minutes with praise and a tidbit of food. Each time you feed the pup is the easiest and most natural way to train the pup to come when called. Every time he/she comes to you, label the behavior with the command “Come here.” The pup learns to associate “Come here” with something pleasant. Eventually, you replace the food reward with praise (except of course at dinner time).

            Next, your dog needs to learn to stop on command – either a “Lie down” (an absolute stop) or a “Stand” – to bring your dog to a standstill (like the whoa on your horse). Once your dog has learned to stop when asked, it’s helpful to be able to instruct him to remain at a standstill with “Stay there.” For more on training please refer to the book,  Stockdog Savvy.

Teaching the “Stand,” “Stay.”

            Stockdog Savvy  is a practical and useful handbook for ranchers as well as the hobbyist. If you want to learn to train stockdogs for farm and ranch work in the real world or for competition, this is the bookfor you. Almost 300 pages illustrated with diagrams and how-to photographs galore!

            Stockdog Savvy  also gives trainers, clinicians and judges an overview of many different herding dogs and types of livestock. It is the quintessential guide to owning, training, trialing, working or caring for your stockdog.

            Additionally, people who don’t have access to livestock can teach all the basic herding commands through play training. Herding skills taught in a game format are fun activities to keep dogs in the city mentally and physically fit.

The Table of Contents:

Frontispiece: Just a Stockdog Story
Preface
Foreword by Ernie Hartnagle
Introduction
1 – HERDING DOGS
2 – WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A HERDING DOG
3 – PREPARING YOUR PUPPY
4 – LAYING THE FOUNDATION
5 – GETTING STARTED
6 – INTRODUCING A DOG TO STOCK
7 – MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR DOG’S TALENT
8 – DEVELOPING A USEFUL DOG
9 – THE OUTRUN
10 – DRIVING SKILLS
11 – BALANCE AND PENNING
12 – FOCUS ON SORTING
13 – BOUNDARY TRAINING FOR TENDING DOGS
14 – BASIC STOCKMANSHIP
15 – WORKING LARGE FLOCKS AND HERDS
16 – THE RANCH DOG
17– TRAINING ANIMALS
18 – POULTRY
19 – SHEEP
20 – GOATS
21 – CATTLE
22 – KEEPING LIVESTOCK
23 – THE TRIAL DOG
24 – TRIAL PROGRAMS
25 – WHAT JUDGES LOOK FOR
26 – OTHER ELEMENTS OF WORKING STOCKDOGS
Appendix -– BREED PROFILES

For more information please visit:

http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html

Copyright © 2009 – 2010 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor.

All Rights Reserved.

Herding Dogs and the Westward Sheep Movement

            During the California Gold Rush Spanish sheep were trailed out of the New Mexico territories by the thousands to meet the huge demand for meat in the mining camps. Others were imported on the hoof from the Middle West. Thomas Flint and his two cousins had been merchants in the Gold fields and saw an opportunity to make some money. They returned to their home in Main and then took a train to Indiana, Illinois and Iowa where they purchased 2,000 sheep to drive overland to California. While sheepdogs were becoming commonplace in the east, they were difficult to acquire in the primitive farming communities of the Midwest which Flint noted in his diary: California to Main and return, 1851 – 1855. Flint had been trying to hold a mid-western farm flock on the prairie near Bloomfield, Illinois by himself from the back of a horse without the help of a dog. Two days before heading out on the journey to California he was more than relieved to finally acquire one.

             Stockmen, like Henry More who ran sheep on 25,000 acres in Webster County Virginia sent to Switzerland for two sheep dogs. – The Journal of Agriculture, Vol. 3 (1860)

Sheepdogs in the Ohio Valley:

 http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/sheepdogs-in-the-ohio-valley/

Herding Dogs in Colonial America:

http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/herding-dogs-in-early-america/

Copyright © 2009 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html