European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 21, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                God s perfect slaves 8y Sid Moody associated press i he sheep dogs of Australia Don t drink Beer advertise airlines make Crocodile movies walk on the wrong Side of the Road sail yachts Wear Slouch hats or come to work Hung Over on monday morning. They do what their families raised them to do Herd. Sheep that they do with the amazing brilliance of a mind Reader the endurance of an olympic athlete and the doggedness of Winston Churchhill they also sit when they re told. My old dog Here Broc can Herd 4,000 sheep at a time. I can to says Geoffrey blight a contract sheepherder from Highbury in the Outback of the southwestern Comer of Australia. They re god s perfect slaves the sheep doge what else do they get Lor working All their lives but a touch of your hand. Broc who has herded 10 million sheep in his 15 years is retired now. Bright had brought him to the australian National dog trials at the Mureski Institute of agriculture i Northam. While Broc lazed in a pen with five baby lambs his working kind were worrying sheep through a series of gales and pens. They were limed and rated for their performance. Sheep dog trials Are a showcase for breeders. One was watching intently As the dogs went through their paces at their owners commands  coma  push  they re not Pels. They re not toys. They re tools says the breeder Jens amb erg Pedersen trom Mara Courle in South Australia. World agriculture is having to Cut Down on costs. Therefore we re More dependent than Ever on dogs to a at tap dog do Matt Hla charges into a pen to Northam Australia. Apply Rio be efficient. Dogs can do things 10 farmhands can t because they have a natural reaction to  the australian sheep dogs Are called Kelpie. The Breed based on scottish Border collies came to Australia in the 1840s. Sheep men still argue whether someone May have crossbred the collies with dingoes the wild native dog. Whatever the result is a Mutty looking Mack or Brown animal usually with seme while on is ii Tellugen face. Ii is Short hatred and a Little Over half the size of a Fleecy sheep. Rather than the fenced pastures of Emerald Green England stockmen in Australia were confronted with a huge arid continent where sheep had to roam Over vast distances to find food and water Kelpie originally was the name scots gave to working bitches in 1872 a female dog named Kelpie gave such an outstanding performance at the first sheep dog trial Ever held in new South Wales that the name became synonymous with the Breed. Kelpie can Herd almost anything water Buffalo cattle goats wild. Pigs. Laplander even use them to Herd Reindeer working sheep is a game of blurt to the dog Pedersen says. The sheep react As to a predator. Actually sheep Are highly intelligent. They react out of fear. They have a Hock mentality. When threatened. They put their Heads together. The predator will Lake one sheep but not the Hock. Human beings exploit the Dag s instinct to not single out one sheep but to bring the whole Herd  a sheep dog was Barking at the 24 animals he was herding in a simulated pen. We actually Breed for tone of bark. Not a frustration bark but a working bark Pederson says Barking dogs Ere Best in Iho Yard the open Range. In the paddock you want an Eye dog. Watch this one. He has a Good  the dog was in a Crouch staring intently at a sheep As ii to mesmerize it. He catches an animal s Eye. The sheep sees Wolf or the like and turns the dog la up and running to steer the flock As his Mussler commands. A really Good dog can Herd sheep Miles from its master s voice. "11 was pouring one night and about to  Bright says. Broc went out and brought 4.000 sheep Home. Over 125.000 sheep drowned that  you can train a dog in a Loren get if you want to says Carl Carton president of the Kelpie association of Australia Bui you run the risk of Boring the dog. Normally we take up to a year to break a dog  customarily a sheep dog is kept out of the House he is not a Pel in the Normal sense of the word. But the relation of dog and master s tar beyond just business. Bright is not highly Scho Tod bul he wrote an account App Pic australian Shee Hertter Geoffrey Bright plays with his sheep off Broc who has herded some 10 Mil lion troop in Hla 15 Yean. Of How he brought his father s old dog to hi3 bedside As he was dying of cancer. It is impose bite to read it without the eyes watering. A new dog was introduced at the trial held under lights on a grass held you could land a Small plane on. Six sheep were Lei out at the far end. Al a word from his master the dog was off like a shot. He corralled the sheep while circling and  across the i eff. One sheep broke away. The clog widened his Circle at Lank Speed and hurried him in. He drove them to a Circle of White stones and kept Ham inside it. The knowledgeable crowd applauded. Then the dog herded them into a pen with 18 other sheep. Jumping on their backs or  underneath them to nip at their heels to  the sheep into a Chute and through a . Ii Ivas a time for Barking. Then he drove six released sheep to a re a gain in the Middle of the yield. It was a time for eyeing All the while. The master was Barking commands cd his own. A dog either has it or it does to pad Ciscili says you can Tell right off. Dogs have always been with humans Al the Hunt in War. As pets toys even status symbols. The dog views he sheep As a toy. And its Mai Hunting ins incl is still there. He s bluffing them  As dogs do to each other. The most important thing in Breeding is ins Mcl logo to the head of a mob and Lurn them ii Hal instinct is not there you can t train the dog then there s temperament. You want a dog rial s non aggressive but boisterous. A dog s no Good i in goes to his head and he bites. You want intelligence. Not the intelligence to work out math problems bul quickness to learn to adapt. Lastly you want association behaviour dogs have a pecking order. I want Hal dog to accept me because i am his  s no Good it you have Many chiefs and no indians suburban pets get into trouble Pedfrsen says because their position in the household is Uncertain. Don t be cruel bul be irm. The dog has to find his position on the family ladder a rung below the kids but above Iho garbage Man. You can Lei him in the House bul Tell him Here s your part of the Carpel or  Tho master also has to know himself. You have to be Consi Lenl. You have to Al the dog pm