« Raven's ear | Home | Bago »

January 29, 2023

Herding dog at work

January 29, 2023 at 04:01 PM | Permalink


Comments

I was raised on a ranch. Beef cattle.

We tried everything we could think of to herd cattle: men on foot, horses, small tractors, pickups, and motorcycles. Only men on foot worked consistently well. Took eight men to herd.

After I left the ranch, I gave my father the gift of an Australian Shepherd pup. My father named him Adam.

That dog lived to herd. When he needed to bring up the herd, Daddy walked out and said, "Adam." Adam lifted his head and his tongue lolled out in happy anticipation. Then "Get 'em," and Adam took off in a blur of speed. While Daddy walked down to the penning lot and opened the gate, Adam flashed to the far corners of the ranch and rounded up the herd. After Adam brought all the cattle in, Daddy closed the gate and reached down to tousle his head. The dog loved it.

One dog and a man herded quicker and easier than any other method.

Posted by: antares | Jan 30, 2023 3:30:30 PM

Joe, fantastic post. You are incredible to search these things out and display them for free. I do not travel (too cheep) but I do on bookofjoe.com! Keep it up brother!

Posted by: friskypainter | Jan 29, 2023 10:38:23 PM

The comments to this entry are closed.