Herding Dogs in Early America
As elsewhere in the world, the introduction of herding dogs in America is closely connected to the growth of the sheep industry. The first sheep (Churras, a meat- and milk-producing breed) came to the Americas with the Spaniards as a source of food. They not only survived in their new environment, they flourished and multiplied. Sheep can survive on land with very little vegetation that is too arid to support other types of stock. The sheepdogs, the pastor leonés along with the Spanish Mastiff, a livestock guardian that came over with them were hardy individuals, too, toughened by exposure and capable of withstanding many hardships in the rough, dangerous, and uncharted lands of the Southwest during Spanish colonization.
By 1776, when the eastern colonies declared their independence from England, thousands of sheep had been driven from Mexico into the Spanish colonies in the Southwest and California. Spanish Pastor Dogs abounded throughout the sheep-raising the land that is now Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. One early journalist described an immense herd numbering 17,000, guarded only by a few men and many remarkable dogs keeping the sheep together. The dogs continually moved around the outer edge of the flock and returned strays to the group.
Herding Dogs in the Eastern Colonies
When the English colonists settled Virginia and Massachusetts, they brought a small number of sheep with them. Dutch and Swedish settlers also brought sheep to New York and New Jersey for food and fiber. There was a difference between sheepdogs in New England and those along the Atlantic Seaboard; early accounts and old paintings indicate there were rough-coated dogs, similar to Old English Sheepdogs (although much different from the modern OES), in the colonies before 1700. These were intelligent, strong-framed, short-tailed animals, quite distinct from the “colley.” They were used principally for cattle but readily trained for sheep. To control the sheep, the dog would take hold of the fleece on the side of the animal’s neck or cheek, releasing it when the sheep turned in the direction the dog wanted.
The Importance of the Merino
After Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in 1808*, 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 herding dogs (Briards), which he bought just as he was leaving France in 1789. Jefferson remarked in his correspondence about the wonderful sagacity of the 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. 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 sheepdog brought to the Eastern Seaboard from Spain with a flock of Merinos.
By mid-1811 nearly 25,000 Spanish Merinos had reached the Atlantic seaboard. By the close of the 19th century, the Merino or its derivatives, the Rambouillet and Delaine, had spread through the entire country.
* Note: Before that time, the export of Merinos from Spain was a crime punishable by death.
Copyright © 2009 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html
