by Lori Herbel Planning a herding trial involves club members bringing a lot of small details together to form a complete and total package. Planning starts months in advance to hopefully ensure that the event runs smoothly and according to plan. There are, of course, the most obvious items that need to be lined up […]

by Tammie Rogers I am amazed at a herding dog's courage. We often ask our dogs to control and pilot animals that can weigh hundreds of pounds more than they do. We ask them to manage ewes with baby lambs and cows with newborn calves. We ask them to move livestock that doesn't want to […]

by Lori Herbel   Wouldn't it be nice if you went to a trial and knew what the judge was looking for? Many times exhibitors go to a trial and have no clue what's important to that judge, that day. Of course they all judge by the rules and regulations in the orange book, but […]

by Lori Herbel Judging a herding trial is a tremendous responsibility. Consistency and fairness are the top priorities of the day, and the ability to comfortably make sensible split second decisions under pressure is a necessity. In order to help carry out this responsibility, a judge needs a trustworthy assistant by his side that he […]

by Joy Sebastian-Hall A factor that influences every facet of our daily lives is attitude. How well a thing is accomplished, how quickly it gets done, how a person feels about it, all boils down to attitude. Herding is a dog sport that can have radically different results depending on the attitude of a handler, […]

Clinic by Lori Herbel "My dog has become really pushy lately. We seem to be in constant battle all the time. I can't figure out why!" "I've never started a dog in herding before. I have no clue what to do. Help!!" "Why does my dog quit when I try to teach him new things? […]

By Joyce Norris I have been raising and leasing ducks for herding trials for about 6 years. Most judges and exhibitors say "They are the best ducks they have ever seen." This does take some work. My ducks work well in groups of 5. If a duck gets split off by a dog it will […]

(c) 2007 Ernest Hartnagle and Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor Some historians propose Basques and their sheepdogs from the Pyrenees played an insignificant role in the history of the Australian Shepherd breed. Secondly, Basques did not to go Australia with their "little blue dogs" and then come to the U.S. with boatloads of sheep. Thirdly, the Basque […]

Barking…chasing..rushing..splitting…gripping…overflanking…ignoring…not stopping…these are just a few of the negative things our dogs may exhibit on occasion during the training process. Running…hollering…pushing…repeating…allowing…grudging…Well, folks, these are just a few of the negatives things handlers may exhibit while in the training process! And, if you haven't guessed it by now, these things are, more often than not, closely […]

  Ohio police are mourning the loss of one of their K9 officers after a shootout during an attempted robbery. Saturday morning, police in Canton, Ohio, responded to a call of an alarm at a grocery story. When they arrived, the suspect opened fire, striking their K9 officer Jethro three or four times. The public […]