2018 May June

Stockdog Corner
Terry Martin • Bryan, Texas
More Dog, Less Training?
I
have been asked to write about the difference in the dogs from
back when the trials began (mid-1970s) to present. That is
kind of a big topic, because first it is necessary to understand
how trials have changed first. And they have changed a lot in
most cases. This will be Part 1 and will continue to the next issue.
When trials began, the majority of participants were farm and
ranch people who used dogs before there were trials for Aussies.
That does not mean all of them came from this background because
it was new to everyone who had Aussies, and many wanted to find
out if their dog would work stock. One thing that was far different
then was that most people with Aussies assumed they all would
work. After all, that was what the Australian Shepherd was. ASCA
had only been agricultural areas.
The original program right up to today had a Started Division
for a reason. Originally, started scores did not count toward a title
but were just for experience. That changed a year or two into the
program. It became obvious that the division was a place to start,
not only for the rancher but for the people who had no stock at all.
Many dogs and people entered the started division with a dog that
had never seen livestock before. The dog and handler would work as
a team, and if the handler had control (meaning just a stay or down
or even just a hesitate or a “come here”) and the dog had working
instinct the dog could qualify. Everyone knew they had to let the
dog do the majority of the work, but they could be fairly close by
which the rules then and now allow. Thus, trials were also a training
ground, because there were no clinics and no videos (videos not
invented yet). There were more dogs in the cattle classes at most
trials for several reasons. One was that the Aussie was used more
on cattle than on sheep on farms and ranches. Many people were
uneasy about putting their cow dog out there in public on sheep!
Back then it was very unusual for someone to have sheep just to
train a dog.
But part of the question was about the dogs. Everyone then
and now wanted to see talented stockdogs. There was no advanced
division for quite a few years and I am not sure when that was
added. There was no open handlers line at first either. The difference
between started and open was the center chute (only course A
then). One difference back then in my memory was that the dog
and handler were working more as a team. We all knew the less
we influenced the stock the better, but it was a different concept.
We were not showing off training because neither the dogs nor
the handlers really knew a lot about training. It was more about
getting the job done efficiently, which actually was more like
real life work than it is now. The farm/ranch dogs who had been
worked a lot knew they were part of a team because that was how
they worked at home. Since there really were very few trainers, the
dogs were working more on instinct and what they perceived the
handler wanted done. Even these days on farms and ranches when
someone who has never seen a trial, read a training book, seen a
video, works his dog it is a combination of instinct and experience
on stock doing chores.
I guess it is legitimate to mention dog’s names since they
are not only gone but falling off the right side of our pedigrees. I
remember dogs like Sorensen’s Cherry Brandy, Rowe’s Comanche
Warrior, King’s K Troy from the first couple of trials I went to.
Comanche had a certain amount of training because Colorado had
an all breed stockdog club before ASCA had trials. I remember
Las Rocosa Disney well from a fun trial in Colorado before the
first ASCA trials. They inspired me because I knew my ranch dogs
could do that. I think a lot of us did although when we got out there
in that arena, we quickly realized it was not as easy as we thought
it was going to be. Old Blue had figured out what we wanted done
at home and knew the layout, the gates, and the stock. Many of us
wondered, “what happened to my dog” at the early trials – thus,
the inspiration to do better.
I will tell a funny story that Orin Barnes, who owned Disney,
told me about two decades later. I told him how totally impressed I
was with the dog that day so long ago. He told me that Disney was
his constant companion for 15 years but until he was really old he
had hardly ever touched the dog. He said Disney did whatever he
wanted him to do almost with no words, but that day in Colorado
all he was thinking during the run was, “Will I be able to catch
him when it is over?” After 40 years I still remember he was an
amazing fancy worker, so he must have been just that!
I may have the exact decades where these dogs competed mixed
up a little because back then trials were few and far between. I
lived in Utah, which was a day’s drive at least to a trial in Colorado
or Arizona. The first really trained dogs I remember were Kathy
Warren’s Windsong’s Shennanigan and Windsong’s Troya on
cattle and Nick Davis' Apache Tears of Timberline on sheep. Keep
in mind I am remembering only the dogs I saw and who made a
lasting impression. This was 40 years ago. I remember well when
Cathy Jones showed up at Phoenix with Jones’ Reddy Teddy, and
the shocking thing to some of us was that the dog was very dark
red with no trim. Most of us had never seen a dog that color. Reds
of any kind were rare back then (I know that seems strange now).
86 AUSSIE TIMES May-June 2018