Continental Herding Dogs

Dogs have long been of assistance to cattle drovers and shepherds, but only those adapted physically to the work required of them would have survived. They needed to be capable of living in a bleak climate and therefore a coat capable of resisting wet and cold was indispensable. The author regularly travels to Himalayan regions, marveling at the way dogs bring down sheep and goats from high altitude to locate grazing on lower pastures.

Sheep farms were very well managed in Belgium where there were many kinds of dog to work the sheep. All of them were prick eared and, according to early writers, bore some suggestion of the wolf in their general appearance, believing that the wolf had played a part in contributing to litters of bitches who tended sheep on outlying pastures. Although the sheepdogs in Holland closely resembled their Belgian cousins, they were reputed to have been less carefully bred although again divided into types according to coat, one variety having dropped ears. In France the early sheepdogs were the breeds we now know as the Briard and Beauceron, while in Italy the Maremma Sheepdog has been important for guarding flocks.

In Germany the best pastoral dogs were those still showing traces of wolf blood. These were bred with extreme care, not only for work among sheep, but also for competition in shows. Many sheepdogs in Germany were vaguely of spits type, an aspect which became more marked in the working dogs further north in Denmark, Norway and Sweden where there was difficulty in actually distinguishing sheepdogs from breeds such as the Elkhound and Samoyed.

The largest of all European shepherd dogs were to be found in Russia, standing as high as 79 cm (31 in).These were the South Russian Ovtcharkas, strong in proportion to their size as they had to guard flocks against predatory wolves.

Australian kelpies
Australia, with its vast flocks of sheep developed the Kelpie which, in appearance, resembled a cross between the Collie and Dingo but was more likely to have descended from dogs imported from Scotland. This breed has always been renowned for its great intelligence and if ever such a dog were taken away from its work would reputedly fret and pine away. With a good Kelpie, in a day a stockman could muster sheep running on thousands of acres, a task which would have taken four or five men a week or more. Today it is still fairly common to sec-Kelpies walking over the backs of penned sheep before cutting out a small group. This is deservedly a highly prized breed, and one which often works entirely on its own.

Sheepdogs in Britain
In Britain, the sheepdogs are generally smaller and less aggressive than dogs which perform similar duties in the rest of Europe, largely because they have not needed to contend with wolves and other equally dangerous predators. Individual breeds have been rather slow to develop because dogs have been crossed and mated together in order to produce the best dog for the task required, rather than for any aesthetic reason.

The Border Collie is the sheepdog currently best known in Britain although, like all dogs bred to work with livestock, strict and careful training is needed. The dogs must be given plenty of work to keep them occupied because bored animals can turn into sheep-chasers. Sheepdog trials have gained increasing popularity in Britain since their introduction in 1873. These are practical working tests for both dogs and shepherds, not just competition for amusement. The Old English sheepdog was developed primarily as a large driving and herding dog, one which was both hardy and tractable. Although larger than Britain's other shepherding breeds, the Old English can lope for long distances and can explore the countryside with frequent easy turns, although now this breed is more closely associated with the show ring or with the lifestyle of a household pet.

Of course throughout the world there are many different breeds used as herding dogs, not all of which can be mentioned in this section, but will be found under their respective breeds elsewhere in this book. Some times overlooked as herders by those who are not familiar with the breeds are the Cardigan and Pembroke Welsh Corgis. These long, low dogs are both tough and agile and over the years have proved excellent for the purposes of driving cattle in Wales, nipping at the heels of the cattle in order to keep them moving. The Corgi is also capable of quickly dropping down to avoid any backward kicks meted out by the cows.