CJ Barrett Webboard User Reg: 04-19-2009
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Mara, that was awesome.
Becca was so intense. Incredible dog and I guess the handling wasn’t too shabby either – not that I had a clue what those whistles meant. It really did look like that was all dog.
Is that tan on her face common with border collies? I always assumed the purebreds were only black and white.
At the end when they were showing a bunch of action footage, at about the 13:46 mark there was a beautiful dog whose face reminded me a little of Missy.
Yes it was amazing. You have to be a champion whistler to handle these dogs.
CJ >> Just wanted to pull your leg on your statement "Is that tan on her face common with border collies? I always assumed the purebreds were only black and white." , You know CJ you can clearly identify the purebred collies by the way they herd sheep. Since Becca did great she ought be one
But Seriously, it is amazing to watch those dogs work. She is INTENSE.
The whistles you heard were all commands - they're used because they carry over long distance. They tell the dog which side to go to, when to slow down or stop. Even at that great distance, they were working as a team and the dog (though she was handling the sheep by herself) was responding to the handler in where to move them and when. And they made it look so.darn.easy.
Since working Border Collies are bred strictly to a standard of performance, you get lots of variation in the breed - size, coat, ear set can all vary greatly in purebred BCs. Tri color dogs are not at all uncommon. Reds pop up as do merles. My Kipp is actually a brindle/white dog, but you don't notice it unless you look close - he looks like a b/w dog with a touch of tan.
CJ Barrett Webboard User Reg: 04-19-2009
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Oh Ram, you’re so funny. No need to highlight my ignorance, my feet are planted firmly in my mouth on a daily basis.
I was just about to say… “Help! Where’s Mara?” and there she is with the perfect explanation.
And yeah, I knew those dogs aren’t working independently. It's just amazing what a few strategically placed whistles can accomplish.
I’ll bet at home, that guy sits in his lawn chair and instead of chugging back a bottle of water, relaxes with a beer, gives a few whistles and watches his sheep come into their paddocks for the evening.
you can clearly identify the purebred collies by the way they herd sheep. Since Becca did great she ought be one
Seriously - you are exactly right! The breed is truly all about the work/working style.
In the US the American Border Collie Association has a "register on merit" program. If a person can train a dog to a high level with sheepdog trialing and a couple of panels of expert handlers agree that the dog can handle the sheep at a high level in a Border Collie style, the ABCA will issues papers on the dog.
It is a tough process and only 3 or 4 dogs have been ROM'd. I know of one person who achieved it with her dog. Purebred dog, but they got her from an abusive situation and the papers had gotten lost somehow. And the dog ended up working incredibly well and she felt the dog could make a good contribution to the gene pool. So she took the dog through the ROM process. And passed. That dog ran at the national finals and some of her offspring have, too. So the process works.
What a great performance! Thanks for posting, Mara.
Do you know if the dogs are also used for RL herding or are they purely sport dogs?
While the focus of the top competitors is trialing, They keep sheep as well - usually a nice sized flock so they have plenty for training and sheep pay their way (and don't get over dogged)
So yes, most of them are used at home in a very real capacity.
If you read through the Sheep Dog Finals blog you'll see that many of the dogs that competed in the US National finals are also valuable partners in sheep/cattle operations
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