Liz P Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Anyone else watching them? It's been very interesting for me to watch all the sheepdog trials in New Zealand and Australia on TV. These are supposed to be high level trials that required qualification to run in, maybe their Nationals? The last series was the Heading Dog trials, right now it is the Huntaway trials. The Huntaways are very different. Several of them clearly had excellent stock sense, others didn't look like they had much. There were times that a single tried to break away and was tucked back in without a command. Other times the run started to go bad (sheep wandering in multiple directions) and the dogs just stood there barking. Some showed good balance, others needed commands to be in the right place. Some were quite biddable, some just seemed to do their own thing and ignore most of the commands. Forgive me if I offend anyone, but aside from the barking, their working style reminded me more of Aussies than Border Collies, Kelpies or Heading Dogs. One thing that really struck me was how often the comment was made that the sheep were not cooperating and the dogs were given a new group. To me, it didn't look like the sheep were being all that bad, certainly not bad enough to earn a new group at any USBCHA trial I've been to. In most cases it was because they just stood there and didn't move when the dogs barked at them. They didn't stomp, charge or threaten the dog. The dogs were not coming in closer or seeming to try anything to get them moving aside from continuing to bark. In other cases the sheep drifted off the course (not bolting or running, but slowly drifting) and the dogs were given a new group because the first one "didn't cooperate." But then, isn't it the dog's job to make sure they go where the handler wants them to go? I would be curious to hear some input about Huntaways in general as well as allowing so many reruns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne Joy Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 The Huntaways are very different. Several of them clearly had excellent stock sense, others didn't look like they had much. There were times that a single tried to break away and was tucked back in without a command. Other times the run started to go bad (sheep wandering in multiple directions) and the dogs just stood there barking. Some showed good balance, others needed commands to be in the right place. Some were quite biddable, some just seemed to do their own thing and ignore most of the commands. Forgive me if I offend anyone, but aside from the barking, their working style reminded me more of Aussies than Border Collies, Kelpies or Heading Dogs. Liz, This page may be of interest to you: http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2010/01/03/nz-huntaway/ As always, jeanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted April 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Thanks Jeanne. I have seen similar descriptions online. What I am most curious about is the leniency allowed at the trials with giving them new sheep when their group supposedly was not cooperating. In real life we don't get new sheep. Our dogs need to get the job done, no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne Joy Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 I don't know, but maybe you could contact the New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Association: http://www.sheepdogtrials.co.nz/about-us-xidc38057.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smalahundur Posted April 2, 2012 Report Share Posted April 2, 2012 A pity I can´t watch those trials. Because of the nature of the work here in Iceland some people have been importing huntaways into the country, but have never actually seen one work. Traditionally Icelandic farmers prefer barking driving dogs, but the border collie is gaining popularity. There also has been some experimentation in crossbreeding border collies to huntaways, but I don´t know how that turned out, guess I´ll have to ask Gunnar next time I meet him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted April 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Yes, satellite TV has its perks, and RFDTV is one of them. Well, I have owned and know some Border Collies who will bark in certain situations while working, so maybe the Huntaway x BC crosses will turn out to be useful. I would love to see one of those on sheep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne Joy Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 If you haven't already seen it you might be interested in Sheep Station NZ by Dylan Winter: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjk05 Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 Well, I have owned and know some Border Collies who will bark in certain situations while working, so maybe the Huntaway x BC crosses will turn out to be useful. I would love to see one of those on sheep. That's the classical Kiwi "handy dog"- heading dog x huntaway. My father-in-law actually has a version of the "handy dog"- a border collie-huntaway cross. As far as I'm aware, they can vary depending on lines, but tend to be loose-eyed, good on a mob and in the yards, perhaps not great for a few sheep. Oakie (FIL's bitch) must be 14 or 15 now, still sound and working (has spent most of this week bringing in mobs for preg-testing). My brother-in-law's dog is a kelpie-huntaway cross, but from a yardy-type kelpie, and he's an excellent yard dog. We have a dog from a line of huntaway-kelpie mixes bred by a local sheepdog trialler- much more huntaway than kelpie, lots of bark, very free backing and yardy, no eye at all. He is used only in yards here, but his breeder has run his huntaways/huntaway/kelpies in our 3 sheep trials with a fair bit of success. And there's another local trialler who had a pretty nice kelpie-collie-huntaway mix that he used to trial, she looked and worked basically like a kelpie or collie, but would sometimes have a bit of a woof at critical moments. I love the huntaway nature and temperament, rock solid dogs, but I can't handle the barking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted April 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 Thanks for the input. I am fascinated by all the different working styles. I love the huntaway nature and temperament, rock solid dogs, but I can't handle the barking. In one of the trials they televised (yard type trial but for Huntaways) a handler turned around and screamed, "Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up for once!" I about died laughing because I was just thinking to myself that I would end up being driven mad by all the barking. I guess even Huntaway owners find the barking obnoxious from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia P Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 I am dog sitting a Huntaway and NZ heading dog right now. They both work on a 2300 ewe flock, which in Ontario is very large. All my friends ask...does she bark all the time...Fern (Huntaway) only barks when she is at work. We haven't put her on our sheep as our white dogs think she is the devil incarnate. The heading dog is quite small (and young too); They are shearing over at the farm right now and the shearers commented on how quiet it was without the Huntaway in the building. The border collies are getting more work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted April 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 I have a bitch who drew a really obnoxious ewe in her group at a trial. The ewe kept turning around, stomping and charging. Right after making the turn at the drive panels she turned to face my dog and refused to move. My dog held her ground but I was being very careful to hold her back so she wouldn't grip (which she would quite happily do at home). She stood up and walked forward, one foot at a time, but that ewe just kept charging. Finally she barked a couple of times, the ewe turned and the rest of the run went quite smoothly, including a flawless pen. Whatever works... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serena+Eluane B.C. Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 I'm so jealous!!!! I used to record the trials when I was on TimeWarner, but TimeWarner is so expensive (if you are a repeat subscriber) and after 3 years I was forced to switch providers and now my current provider doesn't have this channel Augh!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.