The dog most
favoured by handlers is the Border Collie. Having originated along
the borders of Scotland and England prior to the twentieth century,
this dog is the elite. They have the best stock sense in the world
when it comes to handling livestock.
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Though they are called sheepdogs, these dogs are
used to heard cattle and other livestock as well.
They exhibit what is known as the “eye”, the ability
to hold and control sheep with only the force of
their feet planted and fixed stare. |
Border Collies are prized for their skill
in driving, gathering, penning, singling, and shedding sheep
(separating out from a flock).
Since the farms in the
borderlands of England and Scotland were small, they could not
support more than the immediate family in most cases. The land is so
rugged that a man on foot or motorized vehicle is of no use, so dogs
are used to harvest their crop of sheep and other livestock. Anyone
who has tried to run stock down on foot can appreciate a good dog,
they can literally replace several men when working on moving stock.
The sport of Sheepdog Trailing has been refined from the everyday
life of the working Border Collie. The tasks facing a Border Collie
in its daily work on the farm are the same ones tested in sheep dog
trials.
