HERDING WITH WHITE SHEPHERDS

This article appeared in the Sept-Oct 2000 issue of Bloodlines magazine

Highlights from the Conformation Ring
The UWSC is proud to announce their 1st White Shepherd Grand Champion, U-AGII, GR CH CRYSTAL'S LADY IN RED "KYRA." Hot on Kyra's hocks are Shadow with four wins, Samson, Sage, and Isaac with three each, and Max and Polo with one. Soon we'll have a Grand Champions Class to be proud of. Way to go guys!

We also want to thank the Illowa Kennel Club in Davenport Iowa for including us in their show. Their friendliness and hospitality were wonderful. We arrived in a heavy downpour and one of the club members waved us into the parking lot and came to the car with an umbrella to see us in. You can't beat that!

In the last issue we announced eleven Champions, and want to add eleven more. Call names of the new Champs are Spring, Samson, Kobalt, Jack, Jill, Luna, Sassy, Schultz, Bella, Tundra, and Super. 

White Shepherds in Herding
Most of us are aware that our White Shepherds are herding dogs and in Multi-Breed Shows, they are part of the "Herding Group." What may not be so obvious is the high drive to herd that many of our dogs have retained. The White Shepherd Club of Canada includes Herding Instinct Tests at their National Specialty and 80% or more pass this test. For many White Shepherd owners, the instinct test is the first and last time their dog is encouraged to herd. The reasons their dogs do not herd are varied. There often is a lack of awareness of the many opportunities to become involved in training and trials, although there are at least three registries offering trials and titles. There may be a lack of access to herding instructors and livestock. And, there may also be a lack of time and/or commitment to spend the time and money necessary for training their dog for trials. When we do get involved it is for a variety of reasons. 

Material about herding is available on the Internet, in books, and by writing to the American Herding Breed Association, the American Kennel Club or the Australian Sheepdog Club of America. The purpose of this article will be to share how four individual White Shepherds and their owners became involved in what they were bred to do.

We'll begin with the novice of the group, my girl, Kyra. She passed herding with sheep in Indiana when she was 7 months of age, and then the following summer, she passed with ducks. It wasn't until she
passed with Texas Longhorns that I was convinced I needed to pursue herding with her. The "test" she passed with the Longhorns is not one I would recommend you try. She saw them next door, crashed her
X-pen, went under the neighbor's electric fence and proceeded to herd a bull and three females for almost an hour before I could get her out

Within a few days I had herding instructions set up for her within a half-hour's drive from our home and have been taking her once or twice each week since then. If she is ready, she will enter her first level trial at the GSDCA National Specialty in November.

The first herding picture is of a puppy named Sierra who is owned by Rochelle Stanford and Bob Dias in Southern California. In this picture, Sierra is about three months old and is working with several sheep. Sierra's owners are experienced with herding dogs. Their first White German Shepherd Dog, Sam, took High in Trial at a GSDCA National Specialty. In a recent e-mail to me, Bob said of Sierra, "She has been out in the field four times this week (which would normally be seven if it were in the middle of the fall or spring trials) and has been excellent. My goal for Sierra is simple I want to take her to a Herding Championship as well as making her competitive at Border Collie trials."

The next picture shows Stephen Ware in the arena with Nancy DeGarmo's U.K.C. CH Third Time's Acharm Von Jamin, "Schultz" at a herding trial. Stephen trains and trials Schultz for Nancy. He worked the rodeo circuit and trained and owned one of the best known Australian Cattle Dogs, Yogi. He has been breeding Australian Cattle Dogs for ranch and rodeo for around 15 years. He has also been involved in Conformation, and in training obedience, agility, and bird dogs. He will be serving as the Herding Chairman for Performance Dog Club. Nancy is extremely fortunate to have someone with Stephen's background working with her dogs. He was more than willing to comment on Schultz and our White Shepherds. I enjoyed his comments so much that I thought I'd pass them along to you verbatim.

"I am sitting here looking at pictures from a trial not so long ago of a big white dog I have come to love. When I saw him for the first time, I said to myself, 'Now there is a Shepherd that looks like he can still walk, I wonder if he can work too.' After the first time in the round pen, I knew that if I could get him over being a 'Momma's Boy' I could REALLY work with this dog. Another six or seven times in the pen and we were at our first trial. It was a nice and easy, no pressure situation to be entered at the test level for I knew this dog was more than up to the task at hand.

"The instinct and natural balance as well as the 'stock sense' I discovered in this big boy was a wonderful eye opener. I have instinct tested many shepherds and was never really blown away as I was with this white dog. And, the white bitch, Sassy, owned by the same person (bred by Denise Mencke), man, I wanted to get my hands on her too. For the first time in my many years in herding dogs, I agreed to train and trial this white dog in exchange for a puppy yet to be conceived.

"Will I take this fine specimen to the AKC GSD National Specialty for herding? You bet! Will I walk into the arena proud to be working with him? YOU BET! Will I own, train, and trial one of his fine sons or daughters? YOU BET! Oh, by the way, does he have his UKC Championship? You bet. Twice! Once as a German Shepherd Dog and more recently as a White Shepherd. Does he hold Obedience Titles? You Bet! He is a beautiful dog who is intelligent, talented and versatile with the temperament of a saint. He is just what the farmer ordered.

"I have been VERY pleased and pleasantly surprised by the amount of natural ability in all of the White Shepherd dogs I have tested. I was glad to see U.K.C. recognize the separation of the wonderful White Shepherd with its MANY good points that the AKC breed ring has foregone. I have a sneaking suspicion that when the folks who liked the white went back in the bloodlines to maintain or retrieve the white gene, they also found more of the soundness, true body type, and working ability, as well as the instinct that made the GSD a true farm dog…. I also hope the white does not go the way of the colored dog with the over-angulation. These dogs were bred to do a FULL days work in BIG fields, not run once around the ring on their hocks. The 'flying trot' has its place but is not the only gait. To properly do the job of a farm dog, they must be able to run and to walk. Until recently, I felt all German Shepherd Dogs should be removed from the herding group. I am pleased to see that some working dogs remain. I hope herding catches on and maybe breeding a sound dog will be popular again. The whites I have seen seem to be built better and have a stronger rear. In the colored dogs, the slope of the topline has been taken too far and has produced a dog that is weak."

I asked Stephen how he would tell White Shepherd owners to get started on herding. He said, "Find a trainer who is knowledgeable in ALL BREED, one who is willing to work a nice dog even if it is not a Border Collie." I mentioned that I had seen an increase in confidence and maturity in Kyra since she began herding. He replied, "I use livestock to draw out more introverted rescue dogs than any other form of therapy. The confidence and self-gratification felt by you is only exceeded by what your dog feels." Stephen also recommends clinics as a way to learn more about herding. In fact, it's possible we could entice him to come to Michigan to do a Clinic for us. If you would be interested, give me a call or e-mail me and I will start making arrangements.

The final dog we'll look at is Tumbledown's Romy of Exloo. This is a working dog as you can see by the picture. Romy lives in Holland and tends sheep for Shepherd, Tinus Kaspers. I'd like to give you a little background about the events leading up to Ronda Beaupre finding a job for Romy.

Ronda Beaupre, Regalwise White Shepherds in Kansas has 17 U.K.C. registered dogs living with her. There are seven more she registered that either were sold or died. Add on 44 permanently registered puppies whose change from GSD to White Shepherd is in progress now and it is clear Ronda is involved with the United Kennel Club. 

On one of Ronda's trips to Europe where she is active with White Shepherd Clubs, her White Shepherd, U.K.C. Champion pointed, WGS CH Regalwise Jeromeo "Romeo" took an unscheduled sightseeing tour for several days in the Netherlands countryside. The townspeople of Exloo were extremely helpful with their reports of sighting him and going out of their way to help Ronda find him. Ronda wanted to thank them somehow. She learned that Tinus Kaspers, the Shepherd that kept the flock of sheep for the town was interested in training a white German Shepherd, instead of his Border Collies, to herd the town's sheep. Rob Swart, President of the White Shepherd Club of Holland, suggested that Ronda donate a puppy to the town to be used for this purpose.

Romeo's (the roaming dog) first litter had just been born and it seemed appropriate that one of them should be the "thank you" gift puppy to go back to Holland to live permanently. The town named her Tumbledown's Romy of Exloo (Romy rhymes with foamy). Romy is almost four years old now and has taken to herding like a natural. She was very easy to train. She normally works a flock of several hundred sheep on a daily basis. They take them out to graze the boulevards and other grassy areas around the town rather than mowing them. 

Romy put on a herding demonstration at the International White Shepherd Show in Exloo on October 3, 1998. The picture shown was taken after Tinus and Romy walked the sheep several miles from their home to the show site on the date of the demonstration. There were approximately 150 sheep in the flock. The sheep were brought up to the huge horse arena where the show was held. They grazed on the grass surrounding the building for an hour or two while Ronda visited with Tinus. Romy kept them together and prevented them from wandering away. She is very energetic and enthusiastic about her job.

Here's hoping you found this interesting and intriguing enough to want to get your White Shepherd involved in herding. 

Questions or Comments
As always, I'm available, as are the other UWSC officers, to answer any questions you might have. President, Denise Mencke, (516) 698-3803; our Secretary, Diana Updike (734) 542-9521, our Public Relations Chair/Vice-President, Judy Huston (517) 546-3046 judyh@ismi.net., or our Treasurer, Christine Maluzhinsky at (517) 354-4861 elroymal@aol.com.