Herding Dogs
Las Rocosa Scooter of TTT – Courtesy Hartnagle Archive
Herding dogs have existed among people since the domestication of livestock. It appears that dogs made the transition from hunting to herding about the same time in history. It is not hard to imagine how two species, both needing to hunt cooperatively in groups, could have come into contact in such a way that they found one another useful allies. Both humans and canines have unique abilities that may easily have benefited one another, such as the human’s ability to plan and think ahead combined with the canine’s ability to run and outmaneuver prey. Through time, dogs learned how to help humans and refrain from killing.
Both species can be territorial, and once the dog identified with the human pack, it was only reasonable that the dog would also protect what belonged to the pack—including the animals that man domesticated. Early dogs watched over the herdsmen and their livestock to protect them from predators, such as bears and wolves, and from human thieves. With strength and stamina, some of these courageous dogs not only guarded the flocks against wild animals but also were instrumental in keeping the sheep and goats grouped together.
This brings us to three different kinds of shepherd’s dogs. There are those that protect what is identified as belonging to them, those who employ their stalking skills to manage the herds, and an intermediate type.
Found, Shepherd’s Call or Rescue of a Lost Friend by Albrecht Schenck (or Walter Hunt)
The types of livestock, the region, terrain, predators, and food sources are some of the variables that would have distinguished the needs of the herdsmen and what they looked for in their dogs. These desirable qualities are what set the foundations of what we call breeds.
Copyright © 2010 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html
Breed History and Development
Until the 19th century, standardized dog breeds as we know them today didn’t exist. Prior to that time, breeders selected and developed local strains in specific geographic areas for a particular function, herding or guarding. However, it was not until the introduction of dog shows in the 1800s that written descriptions or breed standards defined local strains or subvarieties based on appearance rather than on performance or original function.
Knowing the origin and history of each breed helps us better understand its character today. The history of the herding dogs and the sheep and wool industry are closely linked. Wool was to the economy of centuries past what oil is to our modern world. It was the basis of world wealth and power and wool weaving was one of the first basic collective industries established in Europe.
Tracing breed history is often problematic, though, because the nomenclature has evolved. In the 1800s, for example, the term “colley,” a Gaelic word meaning “useful,” applied to sheepdogs in general; the modern spelling of “collie” only emerged as the breed itself was established. Colley was also exchanged with shepherd or shepherd dog.
“Rough-coated,” bob-tailed “Collie” – The Illustrated Book of the Dog by Vero Shaw
Points of reference have also changed through the years. A breed described as rough-coated could range from the harsh, wiry coat of a terrier to the shaggy appearance of a Bearded Collie to the profuse coat of the Rough Collie. What was once considered a long coat may be classified medium or short by today’s standards.
With the influence of dog shows firmly established, very particular standards made distinctions between what might have once been described only in the general terms of useful. What we call a Collie, Border Collie, Bearded Collie or Sheltie is very different in the specifics and working styles, though they may have—and probably did—come from common roots.
Links to pictures of herding breeds are located on the right. When you click on the breed’s name it will take you to the blog archive listing related post topics. Just click on the post title (not the post tags) and it will take you to the page referenced. Otherwise, you can click on the blog title: Stockdog Savvy at the top of the page and scroll down through the blog posts:
http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/
Copyright © 2010 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html
Extinct Breeds and Breeds in Recovery
Mongolean Herdsman Dog from Northern China
The origin and history of the herding dogs and the sheep and wool industry are closely linked. The migration of sheep and dogs in history was as much a world event as it was a local one. Boundaries and even maps changed to reflect cultural and economic changes within the sheep industry.
Wool or “white gold” as it was referred to was the basis of world power and wealth. It was to the economy of centuries past what oil is to our modern world. Many breeds that once flourished in their homelands have vanished with the decline of the agraian way of life. Native races of dogs that existed in the Pyrenean and sub-Pyrenean regions such as the LaBrit, for example, have almost died out or have been absorbed by other regional strains or foreign breeds. The Scandinavian Lapphund became almost obsolete with the arrival of the snowmobile. The Manx sheepdog (Coill) on the Isle of Man, Old Welsh Bobtail along with the Irish Bobtail, an Iberian strain have all but disappeared. The Leuvenaar, a Flemish sheepdog and ancestor of the Schipperke, is long gone. The list goes on and on including the Pomeranian Sheepdog (probably an intermediate type) that once herded and guarded in the region of historical Pomerania on the lowlands of the North European Plain between Germany and Poland.
Pomeranian Sheepdog
A Pomeranian Sheepdog that once worked in the region of historical Pomerania on the lowlands of the North European Plain between Germany and Poland by Kamerad Hund
Most of the breeds and subspecies that have survived have done so thanks to the formation of breed clubs and dog sports. Throughout the world, rare working breeds are in the process of being recovered; breeders are gathering and redeveloping remnants of old strains. Sometimes breeds nearing extinction emerge as a new breed, but they are often bred for a new purpose, such as for the show ring, for companionship, or for police duty. Generally they are not being bred for herding, and this greatly alters the original breed’s character.
However, with the arrival of the American Herding Breed Association (AHBA), the Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) Stockdog Program, the American Kennel Club (AKC) and other herding activities, breeders are trying to bring back the herding characteristics buried deep within the genes of these dogs. Careful selection, can actually re-create instinctive herding ability. Other breeds such as the Lapphunds or the Samoyed, who have retained their herding instinct, now test their ability on domestic farm animals instead of reindeer and can be trained to herd other types of livestock just as they once drove caribou.
Copyright © 2010 by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and Ty Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html
To learn more about herding breeds and stockdog training 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
To order Stockdog Savvy or the companion series Herding I, II and III on DVD
please visit our website:
http://www.lasrocosa.com/education.html
or go to Alpine Publications:
http://www.alpinepub.com/stockdog_savvy.html
For information about herding organizations please visit:
