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The border collies, Welsh corgi and other herding dogs were happy as they kept groups of sheep moving through an obstacle course Wednesday. But they seemed downright ecstatic after they got done with a trial and got to lay down in the cool water of a kid's swimming pool.
Despite the heat, dog handlers and onlookers gathered at Park Ridge Ranch near Minneopa Cemetery on the Fourth for the American Herding Breed Association sheep herding trials.
Jennifer Thompson, who hosted the trials and tests, got into herding a few years ago. She had taken her horses to a friend's ranch in South Dakota to help in herding cattle.
"The cattle would dodge off into woods or a bog where you couldn't get a horse in easy and I'd think, it would be great to have a dog doing this."
Four years ago she bought a border collie -- one of the easiest breeds to train. "I didn't do enough research and found out he wasn't that interested in herding," Thompson said.
She then bought a female pup from a long line of herding champions. "She's only 34 pounds but she's really a firecracker and powerful."
Participants in the events came from across the state. The trials were sanctioned by the American Herding Breed Association.
Breeds competing included border collie, Rottweiler, Welsh corgi, Australian kelpie, Australian cattle dog and German shepherd.
There are different classes of trials with three levels in each class. Handlers can earn titles for their dog if they get qualifying scores under two different judges. They can then continue on to try to earn championship titles.
"People aren't doing this for a living or anything. It's just personal satisfaction and getting a title for your dog. It's just for fun," Thompson said.
Bill Currie, of Savage, has been participating in herding trials for 18 months with his two border collies. "It's more for me to get the experience. The dogs know what to do instinctively, I'm the one that lets them down."
Some of the dog breeds may not seem closely tied to herding, but can be trained for just about anything, said Judy Petersen of Kasota. "I have border collies now, but I had a Doberman who herded. Dobermans are utility dogs, they'll do whatever you want."
Tanya Wheeler, of Thunder Bay, Ontario, was judging the event and said the overall goal for the dogs and handlers is calm, steady herding.
"You want them to move the sheep in a straight line that puts the least amount of stress on the livestock."
In each trial the dog and handler start out with a certain number of points -- 80 to 100 -- and points are deducted for mistakes made along the course.
Handlers and dog line up on one end of the course with the group of sheep on the other end. The dog makes a wide arc around and behind the sheep and then moves them through and around markers on the course until getting the sheep into a pen on the other end.
A series of voice commands guide the dogs: "outrun" means to make the wide initial sweep, "away' means the dog circles around the sheep counterclockwise while "come back" means to circle clockwise, "lie down" warns the dog to crouch down and slow or stop so the sheep aren't pushed too fast.
The heat kept some of the contestants away and organizers took extra precautions to protect livestock and dogs. The sheep were kept in shaded pens and different groups of sheep were used on each run. And the dogs were kept at a slower pace than they would have normally worked.
Local News
Related Photos
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Roxie Eaton, of Madison Lake, works her border collie during the American Herding Breed Association sheep herding trials, held Wednesday at Park Ridge Ranch near Minneopa Cemetery. John Cross
Sheep herding trials an instinctive joy for dogs
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