Shepherd and His Sheep,
Charles Ceramano
Charles Ceramano
TENDING THE FLOCK
Many beautiful artworks portray the shepherd or
shepherdess and their flocks and shepherd dogs
by Linda Rorem
Many beautiful artworks portray the shepherd or
shepherdess and their flocks and shepherd dogs
by Linda Rorem
From the beginning of their domestication sheep have been watched over by shepherds or shepherdesses as they grazed. The animals were encouraged to feed in particular areas considered to be the most suitable, or on ground left to them after parts of the land were taken up for other uses; they were moved to fresh grazing grounds, and protected from predators. Over the centuries, dogs have aided in this work. Earlier on, dogs performed more of a guardian role rather than being actively involved in the controlling the movement of the sheep. Eventually, more active herding dogs were developed that played a more direct part in controlling the movements and placement of the flock. In some regions, a larger guardian dog continued to be used in conjunction with a smaller, more active herding dog. Tending livestock didn’t necessarily involve a dog. Children were often set to the task. But if Little Boy Blue had had a dog to help him, maybe the sheep wouldn’t have gotten into the meadow or the cows in the corn.
Sheep, goats, cattle, geese and pigs could be seen grazing in open areas under the supervision of their shepherd, goatherd, cowherd, gosherd or swineherd.
Sheep, goats, cattle, geese and pigs could be seen grazing in open areas under the supervision of their shepherd, goatherd, cowherd, gosherd or swineherd.
Herdsman with Cows, in the Distance, a Village,
Johann Friedrich Voltz, 19th century
Johann Friedrich Voltz, 19th century
Tending geese, by Otto Weber, 1832-1888
In his “The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture”, 1925, Capt. Max von Stephanitz wrote that in eastern Germany:
. . . they [shepherd dogs] are also used for tending large
flocks of geese. The dog for such work must be carefully
selected, for a goose is very short-tempered and has a very
good idea about how to use its beak, but it cannot stand any
grip. In former times when the geese in large flocks waddled
from Posen to the Berlin market, shepherd dogs generally
trotted along with them to drive them.
Some years ago when I was doing some training with my Shelties and ducks in a large open area on the Stanford University campus, a lady who was walking by stopped and asked me if I was training the dogs to herd sheep. When I answered that yes, I was, she related that when she was a young girl in Germany and spent a summer on a cousin's farm, one of her jobs had been to take the geese out to graze with two young shepherd dogs. The dogs were practicing for their future career as sheepdogs, and she said that they worked much like she saw my Shelties working.
Sheep and goats were often to be found in the same flock, and at times a mixed group would include other types of
farm animals as well.
Sheep and goats were often to be found in the same flock, and at times a mixed group would include other types of
farm animals as well.
Painting by Paulus Potter, 1651, Holland
Conditions weren’t the same in every region, nor were they static over time. Practices varied from region to region and in different periods as agricultural practices changed.
In continental Europe, it was common practice for the shepherd to lead the flock, as a traveler from England visiting France related in the Sporting Magazine in 1828:
Early in the morning, or in evening's dusk, you see la mere and her famille carelessly lounging at the head
of their flock, perhaps three hundred, and they trotting after in perfect order. She now and then turns round and
gives an inviting look, or a sort of chirp, and they scamper to the signal— Monsieur Le Chien bringing up the
rear with the skill of an Adjutant. In all France the sheep follow the shepherd, not he the sheep.
Travelers in Germany observed:
Every village has its geese-herd, swineherd and shepherd. Every morning these respective functionaries blow
their horns along the street, when geese, swine and sheep come running out of every gateway and alley, each to
join its kind, to be led on a common village pasture. Long lines of gabbling geese run through narrow fenceless
footpaths, without daring to touch a single blade not their own. The shepherds sometimes remain on the neighboring
hills for whole weeks. At night they commit their flocks to their dogs. These animals, not very unlike sheep in
color and hair, possess a remarkable intelligence and faithfulness. I have seen the shepherd walking carelessly
ahead of his flock, while the dogs would run guard on each side. The hungry sheep were tempted to browse
among the rank wayside grass, while the faithful dog would check the slightest attempt at depredation.
“Ramblings along the Rhine and in Switzerland,”
from The Guardian, publication of the Reformed
Church in the United States, Sept. 1875
A Scotch shepherd, with his dog, walks behind his flocks in removing them from one place to another; a Saxon
shepherd walks before his sheep; and these instinctively following, are kept together by the dog, which saunters
observingly in the rear.
From “Green Vaults of Dresden” (in Chambers’
Journal), Living Age, 1848
In continental Europe, it was common practice for the shepherd to lead the flock, as a traveler from England visiting France related in the Sporting Magazine in 1828:
Early in the morning, or in evening's dusk, you see la mere and her famille carelessly lounging at the head
of their flock, perhaps three hundred, and they trotting after in perfect order. She now and then turns round and
gives an inviting look, or a sort of chirp, and they scamper to the signal— Monsieur Le Chien bringing up the
rear with the skill of an Adjutant. In all France the sheep follow the shepherd, not he the sheep.
Travelers in Germany observed:
Every village has its geese-herd, swineherd and shepherd. Every morning these respective functionaries blow
their horns along the street, when geese, swine and sheep come running out of every gateway and alley, each to
join its kind, to be led on a common village pasture. Long lines of gabbling geese run through narrow fenceless
footpaths, without daring to touch a single blade not their own. The shepherds sometimes remain on the neighboring
hills for whole weeks. At night they commit their flocks to their dogs. These animals, not very unlike sheep in
color and hair, possess a remarkable intelligence and faithfulness. I have seen the shepherd walking carelessly
ahead of his flock, while the dogs would run guard on each side. The hungry sheep were tempted to browse
among the rank wayside grass, while the faithful dog would check the slightest attempt at depredation.
“Ramblings along the Rhine and in Switzerland,”
from The Guardian, publication of the Reformed
Church in the United States, Sept. 1875
A Scotch shepherd, with his dog, walks behind his flocks in removing them from one place to another; a Saxon
shepherd walks before his sheep; and these instinctively following, are kept together by the dog, which saunters
observingly in the rear.
From “Green Vaults of Dresden” (in Chambers’
Journal), Living Age, 1848
Return of the Flock,
Jean-François Millet, France |
A Shepherd and His Flock,
Armand Guéry, 1910, France |
On The Way Home,
Félix-Saturnin Brissot de Warville, France
Félix-Saturnin Brissot de Warville, France
Leading the flock was not an invariable continental practice, however, just as there were shepherds in Britain and the U.S. who led their sheep rather than driving them. Many European paintings show the shepherd beside or behind the flock. Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton in his Instructions Pour Les Bergers discussed both driving and leading the flock:
Q. How ought the shepherd to manage his flock, when driving it?
A. He ought to prevent any animal from separating from the flock, by running before, remaining behind, or
straying to the right or left.
Q. How can a shepherd do all that ?
A. By the aid of his whip, his crook, and his dogs; when he makes his flock go before him, he drives the
sheep behind, with his whip: the dog is before, and restrains the sheep from going forward too fast: the shepherd
menaces those that stray to the right or left, to make them return to the flock, or if he has a dog behind him,
he sends him after the sheep, which stray, to bring them back, or makes them return, by throwing a little dirt
at them, so as never to touch their bodies, which is improper.
Q. How does he set the flock forward again ?
A. He speaks to the dog, which is before, to let them advance, and then drives forward the hinder sheep;
he can make them go forward, or return by speaking to them in different tones, to which he accustoms them.
Q. Can a shepherd conduct his flock by going before ?
A. Yes, if he has at least one dog, on which he can depend, to prevent any part of the flock straying behind,
or on the sides. The flock follows the shepherd even better than the dog, but it is necessary he should have
regard to the sheep, behind.
Instructions Pour Les Bergers,
by Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, 1782
Von Stephanitz noted that practices varied according to local conditions, and that in Germany:
As a rule, the sheep there [Northern Germany] are always accompanied by two dogs at least, while to the
South of the Main one is generally sufficient. In this part, flocks of 200 sheep are already considered large, while
in the North the average flock numbers 300 head and sometimes from 5-600 head . . . in Southern Germany the
shepherd always goes ahead of his flock when on the road; while in the North, the shepherd always walks about
two-thirds of the way down the flock, so that he can oversee such a large number. This is very necessary, because
the pilfering sheep are easily tempted to loiter, and the shepherd dog (“halben-hund”) cannot be everywhere at
the same time. It is also necessary, because it would be only too easy, when driving through the narrow turnings
in a village, for a sheep to be stolen from the long procession.
From The German Shepherd Dog in Word and
Picture, by Capt. Max von Stephanitz, 1925
With the smaller flocks of the Low Countries, the shepherd often walked among, behind, or beside the sheep.
Q. How ought the shepherd to manage his flock, when driving it?
A. He ought to prevent any animal from separating from the flock, by running before, remaining behind, or
straying to the right or left.
Q. How can a shepherd do all that ?
A. By the aid of his whip, his crook, and his dogs; when he makes his flock go before him, he drives the
sheep behind, with his whip: the dog is before, and restrains the sheep from going forward too fast: the shepherd
menaces those that stray to the right or left, to make them return to the flock, or if he has a dog behind him,
he sends him after the sheep, which stray, to bring them back, or makes them return, by throwing a little dirt
at them, so as never to touch their bodies, which is improper.
Q. How does he set the flock forward again ?
A. He speaks to the dog, which is before, to let them advance, and then drives forward the hinder sheep;
he can make them go forward, or return by speaking to them in different tones, to which he accustoms them.
Q. Can a shepherd conduct his flock by going before ?
A. Yes, if he has at least one dog, on which he can depend, to prevent any part of the flock straying behind,
or on the sides. The flock follows the shepherd even better than the dog, but it is necessary he should have
regard to the sheep, behind.
Instructions Pour Les Bergers,
by Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, 1782
Von Stephanitz noted that practices varied according to local conditions, and that in Germany:
As a rule, the sheep there [Northern Germany] are always accompanied by two dogs at least, while to the
South of the Main one is generally sufficient. In this part, flocks of 200 sheep are already considered large, while
in the North the average flock numbers 300 head and sometimes from 5-600 head . . . in Southern Germany the
shepherd always goes ahead of his flock when on the road; while in the North, the shepherd always walks about
two-thirds of the way down the flock, so that he can oversee such a large number. This is very necessary, because
the pilfering sheep are easily tempted to loiter, and the shepherd dog (“halben-hund”) cannot be everywhere at
the same time. It is also necessary, because it would be only too easy, when driving through the narrow turnings
in a village, for a sheep to be stolen from the long procession.
From The German Shepherd Dog in Word and
Picture, by Capt. Max von Stephanitz, 1925
With the smaller flocks of the Low Countries, the shepherd often walked among, behind, or beside the sheep.
Return of the Flock,
Anton Mauve, Holland |
Return of the Flock,
Cornelis van Leemputten, Belgium |
Shepherd and Flock,
Cornelis Westerbeek, Holland
Cornelis Westerbeek, Holland
A Shepherd With His Flock,
Frans de Beul, Belgium |
Anton Mauve, Holland
|
On the road to and from the grazing fields, the dog would keep the sheep on the path, working the sides, front, and rear. They did not merely escort the sheep, but actively controlled their movement, taking any position around the flock as the situation called for.
Q. How do dogs serve to direct the course of a flock?
A. When a shepherd drives his flock before him, he can greatly hasten its speed, and that of the sheep, which
remain behind; but he cannot prevent it from going too quick, nor the sheep from running forward too fast, or straying
to the right or left; it is necessary, he should have the aid of dogs, to place round the flock, to send forward, or to
restrain such as go too fast, to bring up those which remain behind, or stray to the right or left.
Q. How can a shepherd make his dog perform these different manoeuvres?
A. He must train them from their youth, and accustom them to obey his voice. The dog goes on all sides; before
the flock to stop it; behind it, to make it go forward; on the sides, to prevent it from straying: he remains at his post,
or returns to the shepherd, according to signs given him, which he understands.
Instructions Pour Les Bergers, by Louis-Jean-Marie
Daubenton, 1782
Q. How do dogs serve to direct the course of a flock?
A. When a shepherd drives his flock before him, he can greatly hasten its speed, and that of the sheep, which
remain behind; but he cannot prevent it from going too quick, nor the sheep from running forward too fast, or straying
to the right or left; it is necessary, he should have the aid of dogs, to place round the flock, to send forward, or to
restrain such as go too fast, to bring up those which remain behind, or stray to the right or left.
Q. How can a shepherd make his dog perform these different manoeuvres?
A. He must train them from their youth, and accustom them to obey his voice. The dog goes on all sides; before
the flock to stop it; behind it, to make it go forward; on the sides, to prevent it from straying: he remains at his post,
or returns to the shepherd, according to signs given him, which he understands.
Instructions Pour Les Bergers, by Louis-Jean-Marie
Daubenton, 1782
A Shepherd With a Flock of Sheep,
Charles-Emile Jacque, France
Charles-Emile Jacque, France
Jean-Henri Fabre wrote in Our Humble Helpers, 1918:
I should like above all things to have you see him on duty when the flock is on the road, going to market or
changing pastures. He walks behind, absorbed in his grave duties. Dogs from the neighboring farms come to
meet him, and they pay him the polite attentions customary at the meeting of comrades. 'Go away,' he seems
to say to them; 'you see that I have no time to exchange civilities with you.' And without glancing at them he
continues his watchful following of the flock. It is wise of him, for already some sheep have stopped to crop the
grass at the side of the road. To make them rejoin the flock takes but a minute. At this spot the hedge is open,
and through the gap a part of the flock reaches a field of green wheat. To follow these undisciplined ones by
the same breach would betray a lack of skill; the sheep, driven from behind, would only stray still farther into
the forbidden field. But the wily keeper will not commit this fault; he makes a rapid detour, jumps over the hedge
as best he can, and presents himself suddenly in front of the flock, which hastily retreats by the way it came, not
without leaving some tufts of wool on the bushes.
Now the flock meets another. A mixing up, a confusion of mine and thine, must be prevented. The dog
thoroughly understands the gravity of the situation. Along the flanks of the two bleating flocks he maneuvers
busily, running from one end to the other, back and forth, to check at the outset any attempt at desertion from
one to the other flock.
I should like above all things to have you see him on duty when the flock is on the road, going to market or
changing pastures. He walks behind, absorbed in his grave duties. Dogs from the neighboring farms come to
meet him, and they pay him the polite attentions customary at the meeting of comrades. 'Go away,' he seems
to say to them; 'you see that I have no time to exchange civilities with you.' And without glancing at them he
continues his watchful following of the flock. It is wise of him, for already some sheep have stopped to crop the
grass at the side of the road. To make them rejoin the flock takes but a minute. At this spot the hedge is open,
and through the gap a part of the flock reaches a field of green wheat. To follow these undisciplined ones by
the same breach would betray a lack of skill; the sheep, driven from behind, would only stray still farther into
the forbidden field. But the wily keeper will not commit this fault; he makes a rapid detour, jumps over the hedge
as best he can, and presents himself suddenly in front of the flock, which hastily retreats by the way it came, not
without leaving some tufts of wool on the bushes.
Now the flock meets another. A mixing up, a confusion of mine and thine, must be prevented. The dog
thoroughly understands the gravity of the situation. Along the flanks of the two bleating flocks he maneuvers
busily, running from one end to the other, back and forth, to check at the outset any attempt at desertion from
one to the other flock.
Beauceron moving alongside the flock
Going down a road; from the magazine Le Bas Rouge, Sept. 1988 |
Beauceron moving at the rear of
the flock crossing a field; from Le Bas Rouge, Sept. 1988 |
Out on the pasture, local conditions determined the kind of work the dog might be required to perform. In the mountain regions and other less populated areas, it was desirable for the sheep to spread out more while grazing. There was less danger of the sheep trespassing on crops than was the case in more cultivated areas, although the dog would keep the sheep in a particular area as needed. The dog needed to be alert to control the flock, but often remained fairly stationary, watching the flock from a position near the shepherd or some other vantage point.
The Shepherd,
Julien Dupré, France
Julien Dupré, France
Engraving by J. Gauchard Brunier,
1876 or earlier, France |
Shepherds on stilts in the marshy Landes region
of France, 1891; while watching over their flocks, they knitted |
Le Berger et la Mer, 1885, France
Where large flocks were grazed in more cultivated areas, active work was required. One of the dog’s most important jobs was to keep the sheep from trespassing on neighboring crops. Frequently more than one dog was used, with the more experienced dog working the side of the flock farther away from the shepherd, another dog remaining closer to the shepherd. Initiative and independence were needed for the dog to be efficient in covering the side of the flock where the sheep might try to step out of bounds.
The Way Side Meeting,
Cornelis van Leemputten, Belgium
Cornelis van Leemputten, Belgium
Chicoré dans la Plaine de Chailly,
Jean-Ferdinand Chaigneau le père, France
Jean-Ferdinand Chaigneau le père, France
On the plains of France, boundary work was customary and frequently noted in travel accounts:
Soon after leaving Paris, our traveler, for the first time, saw a shepherd, with his flock. Between the center of
the main roads, in France, and the fields usually is a grass-plot, some two rods wide, upon which the sheep feed.
The intelligence of the shepherds’ dogs, which tend them, is surprising. A dog will allow the sheep to nibble within
a yard of the grain, but the instant anything like trespass appears, he will, of his own accord, drive off the meek-eyed
intruder by a good-natured snap. Cattle are also similarly watched by these dogs, which are of a peculiar breed.
“An American in France,” in Travels and Adventure
of Celebrated Travellers, by Henry Howe, 1854
Soon after leaving Paris, our traveler, for the first time, saw a shepherd, with his flock. Between the center of
the main roads, in France, and the fields usually is a grass-plot, some two rods wide, upon which the sheep feed.
The intelligence of the shepherds’ dogs, which tend them, is surprising. A dog will allow the sheep to nibble within
a yard of the grain, but the instant anything like trespass appears, he will, of his own accord, drive off the meek-eyed
intruder by a good-natured snap. Cattle are also similarly watched by these dogs, which are of a peculiar breed.
“An American in France,” in Travels and Adventure
of Celebrated Travellers, by Henry Howe, 1854
Often a field would be grazed in sections, so that the plants in the designated area would be thoroughly grazed down before the flock was shifted to the next area, a practice referred to as “grazing to the square”:
We went straightway to see the flock of Dishley-Merino
sheep for which Gonzangrez is famous. Out in the stubble-
fields they were in care of the old shepherd, with his two
dogs, a young one that he was training and kept close to
him with a string, and an old Beauce dog that loved to work
and did it willingly. It is no less than marvelous what the
shepherds and dogs of France do with sheep. For instance,
the shepherd will walk through the alfalfa, telling the dog
that the sheep may come thus far and no farther-- the dog
will patrol that line and not permit a sheep to step beyond it,
thus making them eat the alfalfa clean as they go. The dogs
seem to be absolutely tireless, always going up and
down the line and never barking. If a sheep is unusually
rebellious they give it a gentle nip as a warning to be good.
The shepherd often carries a chair with him and sits out on the plain, or stands and watches his feeding flock. On the
stubble-fields they moved slowly forward, picking up the the fallen heads, the little weeds and the blades of grass.
In Foreign Fields by Joseph E. Wing, 1913
We went straightway to see the flock of Dishley-Merino
sheep for which Gonzangrez is famous. Out in the stubble-
fields they were in care of the old shepherd, with his two
dogs, a young one that he was training and kept close to
him with a string, and an old Beauce dog that loved to work
and did it willingly. It is no less than marvelous what the
shepherds and dogs of France do with sheep. For instance,
the shepherd will walk through the alfalfa, telling the dog
that the sheep may come thus far and no farther-- the dog
will patrol that line and not permit a sheep to step beyond it,
thus making them eat the alfalfa clean as they go. The dogs
seem to be absolutely tireless, always going up and
down the line and never barking. If a sheep is unusually
rebellious they give it a gentle nip as a warning to be good.
The shepherd often carries a chair with him and sits out on the plain, or stands and watches his feeding flock. On the
stubble-fields they moved slowly forward, picking up the the fallen heads, the little weeds and the blades of grass.
In Foreign Fields by Joseph E. Wing, 1913
Flock of Sheep in a Field after the Harvest,
Camille Pissarro, France |
Shepherdess With Her Flock,
Jean-François Millet , 1863, France |
Even in the cultivated plains regions of France, however, the dog didn’t necessarily keep up an active patrolling all the time, but in suitable circumstances also kept watch in a more relaxed manner, while staying on the alert and ready to go into action as needed.
While the master rests in the shade or amuses himself playing on his box-tree flute, the dog, posted on a
neighboring rise, keeps the flock under his eye and watches that none wander beyond the limits of the pasture.
He knows that on this side grows a field of clover where browsing is expressly forbidden. If some sheep goes near,
he runs up and with harmless snappings turns the animal back to the allotted place. He knows that the rural guard
would prosecute with all the rigors of the law if the flock should stray to the other side, newly planted with young oats.
They must not attempt it; if they do, he comes threatening and insists upon a hasty retreat. Are the scattered sheep
to be gathered together? On a sign from his master he is off. He makes the circuit of the flock, barking here,
worrying there, and drives before him, from the circumference to the center, the straying throng, which in a few
moments becomes a compact group. His mission ended, he returns to the shepherd for fresh orders—a word,
a gesture, a simple look.
Our Humble Helpers, by Jean-Henri Fabre, 1918
In some cases, this type was preferred. An article in the 1893 French revue La Terre et La Vie quotes Felix Villeroy, author of the Manual of the breeder of wool animals, 1893, who describes the shepherd dogs supervising the grazing sheep and divides their way of working into two types:
The runner, he says, is an ardent dog, going and retracing his steps, and running continuously on the sides
of the herd. If the flock grazing on an empty field near another field that is prohibited, the runner continues to walk
the line that animals can not cross. And yet he inspires little fear to the animals, often immediately after the dog
passed, they will graze the forbidden fruit. Runners impose on themselves an extraordinary fatigue which they
do not stand long, and they are not among the good sheepdogs.
The pointer, however, lies at the feet of the shepherd or the line of field, beasts that cannot exceed. Eyes
half‑closed, he seems to be asleep. But the shepherd says his name and gives a sign, or he sees a beast of the
field exceed the pasture, then he soars like an arrow and offenders are promptly returned to order. These dogs
are respected without worrying beasts unnecessarily: they tire much less than the previous ones, last longer and
are definitely the best. Their intelligence is truly admirable, and I often wonder, seeing as they understand a word,
a wave or just the head, or a shepherd's whistle.
If things were quiet, the dog might spend some time sitting or lying down. Numerous artworks and accounts show the flock being tended, even in the more cultivated areas, by a shepherd whose dog moved only as needed to control the flock.
While the master rests in the shade or amuses himself playing on his box-tree flute, the dog, posted on a
neighboring rise, keeps the flock under his eye and watches that none wander beyond the limits of the pasture.
He knows that on this side grows a field of clover where browsing is expressly forbidden. If some sheep goes near,
he runs up and with harmless snappings turns the animal back to the allotted place. He knows that the rural guard
would prosecute with all the rigors of the law if the flock should stray to the other side, newly planted with young oats.
They must not attempt it; if they do, he comes threatening and insists upon a hasty retreat. Are the scattered sheep
to be gathered together? On a sign from his master he is off. He makes the circuit of the flock, barking here,
worrying there, and drives before him, from the circumference to the center, the straying throng, which in a few
moments becomes a compact group. His mission ended, he returns to the shepherd for fresh orders—a word,
a gesture, a simple look.
Our Humble Helpers, by Jean-Henri Fabre, 1918
In some cases, this type was preferred. An article in the 1893 French revue La Terre et La Vie quotes Felix Villeroy, author of the Manual of the breeder of wool animals, 1893, who describes the shepherd dogs supervising the grazing sheep and divides their way of working into two types:
The runner, he says, is an ardent dog, going and retracing his steps, and running continuously on the sides
of the herd. If the flock grazing on an empty field near another field that is prohibited, the runner continues to walk
the line that animals can not cross. And yet he inspires little fear to the animals, often immediately after the dog
passed, they will graze the forbidden fruit. Runners impose on themselves an extraordinary fatigue which they
do not stand long, and they are not among the good sheepdogs.
The pointer, however, lies at the feet of the shepherd or the line of field, beasts that cannot exceed. Eyes
half‑closed, he seems to be asleep. But the shepherd says his name and gives a sign, or he sees a beast of the
field exceed the pasture, then he soars like an arrow and offenders are promptly returned to order. These dogs
are respected without worrying beasts unnecessarily: they tire much less than the previous ones, last longer and
are definitely the best. Their intelligence is truly admirable, and I often wonder, seeing as they understand a word,
a wave or just the head, or a shepherd's whistle.
If things were quiet, the dog might spend some time sitting or lying down. Numerous artworks and accounts show the flock being tended, even in the more cultivated areas, by a shepherd whose dog moved only as needed to control the flock.
A Shepherd and His Dog Guarding a Flock of Sheep,
Cornelis van Leemputten, Belgium
Cornelis van Leemputten, Belgium
A Shepherdess Watching Over Her Flock,
Julien Dupré, France |
Tending the Flock,
Charles-Emile Jacque, France |
In Germany, the use of active boundary dogs was particularly important in areas where large flocks of sheep were taken to graze through intensely cultivated and densely populated areas. Von Stephanitz described this work in his book on the German Shepherd Dog. While dogs in many countries were used to tend sheep, supervising the flocks as they grazed in unfenced areas – he said that the collie, for instance, was the “tending dog in England,” Von Stephanitz noted that a significant part of the work of the German dogs was “warding off,” or patrolling the edge of the grazing area to keep the sheep from trespassing on neighboring crops. This kind of work was of great importance in the agricultural conditions prevalent in Germany, with grazing areas closely interspersed among cultivated but unfenced fields. The shepherd would be fined for damage to the crops done by the sheep. A dog tending a flock in a less populated or heavily cultivated area would not be required to work with the same attention to boundary patrolling.
Dogs that have been bred with an emphasis on boundary work tend to be very keen, active dogs. They are readily guided into moving along a demarcated field edge, roadside, etc., to keep the flock contained. Those that have the true genetics for active boundary work will, with experience, pick up very subtle boundaries and can even make their own when shown a line to take – they will go out on the indicated direction, return along the same path, and then continue patrolling on that path.
Dogs that have been bred with an emphasis on boundary work tend to be very keen, active dogs. They are readily guided into moving along a demarcated field edge, roadside, etc., to keep the flock contained. Those that have the true genetics for active boundary work will, with experience, pick up very subtle boundaries and can even make their own when shown a line to take – they will go out on the indicated direction, return along the same path, and then continue patrolling on that path.
From The German Shepherd Dog in Word and
Picture, by Capt. Max von Stephanitz, 1925 |
From Kamerad Hund, published in Munich in 1952,
featuring collectible cards of various breeds of dogs |
Nicky (Alf von Fafnerhaus), a herding-bred German Shepherd Dog
working on a farm in upstate New York, painted by Linda Shaw
working on a farm in upstate New York, painted by Linda Shaw
Along with describing the typical warding-off work required of the dogs in Germany, Von Stephanitz wrote of other tasks: “If for any reason whatever, the pasturing flock must be quickly gathered together, the shepherd calls to the sheep and gives a short sharp whistle; then the dog, racing around the flock, gathers them up.” A 19th century account stated:
[A] well-trained sheep dog is so very essential to the shepherd and has so much to share with him in leading
and guiding the flock . . .
With our pasture conditions sheep dogs are indispensable; the more fragmented the marked-off field, the more
necessary they are. In the movement of the flock to the pasture and back, to the sheep market and so forth, the
dogs are already extremely necessary, if the shepherd doesn’t want at any time to get into a conflict with the street
warden and the existing street laws.
The sheep dog should quietly go in front, beside or behind the flock, as the shepherd instructs him, and respect
the boundary line that the flock must not step over. This shouldn’t be done by wild barking, or even by biting and
tearing, whereby the sheep, which are naturally timid and fearful would be easily agitated and damaged, especially
pregnant ewes.
Praktisches Lehrbuch für Schäfer, by P. Fritz, 1866
In Germany, as in other countries, it was also common for the dog to remain fairly static if the situation did not call for greater activity. Janet Larson wrote that when she was stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany in the early 1990s:
The area of Germany (Gelnhausen) I was stationed in was rural, with rolling hills, orchards, and patchwork
fields with corn, safflower, cabbage, barley and grass. Farmers usually graze their cattle and sheep for a few
days in one area, then move on to another. Often, the land they graze belongs to someone else, and has crops
adjacent to it, so they cannot fence it, and need a good herding dog to stop the stock from straying into the land
owners' crops. At Coleman Kaserne ... we have a shepherd who has an open grazing permit, so sheep graze
around the barracks, motorpool and other buildings. He has 600 head, so when he comes on post, the sheep
clog the road until they are all through the gate and onto the grassy areas. He has three Border Collie type dogs,
about 75-80 pounds. They have blunt muzzles and broad heads, and drop ears, one is black and white, one tricolor,
the other blue merle. He calls them Schottische Colleys. The dogs 'wear' the sheep when he goes down the
village streets, and out to his grazing area, and once there, he sits under a tree with the dogs, and watches them
graze. If one strays toward the road, he nods his head in the direction of the stray, and one of the dogs will be
off like a streak, herd it back to the grazing area using "eye." When wearing, the dogs nip and run back and forth
to keep the flock following after the shepherd.
Other stock-working dogs she saw in the Gelnhausen area and in Hohenfels were large black shaggy sheepdogs – Sheep Poodles or perhaps Bergamascos, Briards, Pyrenean Sheepdogs and Belgian Laekenois. She related that the practical farmers’ dogs “seemed to have a strong gathering instinct, and moved flocks or herds by wearing, running back and forth behind the flock, nipping heels when needed to keep the animals moving. The cattle dogs would leap up and nip the noses of cows who refused to move, in addition to nipping heels.” The larger dogs would ram into the shoulders of the sheep to turn them back, and gripped as a last resort, and the Pyreneans sometimes barked.
I asked German master shepherd Manfred Heyne (who won the national HGH trial more times than any other shepherd) about this account of the shepherd who worked at Coleman Kaserne. It turned out that Manfred Heyne knew this shepherd very well and had even worked his dogs on this shepherd’s sheep. When I asked him his view of the manner in which the other shepherd’s dogs worked, his reply was that it was fine with him: “Some do it one way, some do it another.
[A] well-trained sheep dog is so very essential to the shepherd and has so much to share with him in leading
and guiding the flock . . .
With our pasture conditions sheep dogs are indispensable; the more fragmented the marked-off field, the more
necessary they are. In the movement of the flock to the pasture and back, to the sheep market and so forth, the
dogs are already extremely necessary, if the shepherd doesn’t want at any time to get into a conflict with the street
warden and the existing street laws.
The sheep dog should quietly go in front, beside or behind the flock, as the shepherd instructs him, and respect
the boundary line that the flock must not step over. This shouldn’t be done by wild barking, or even by biting and
tearing, whereby the sheep, which are naturally timid and fearful would be easily agitated and damaged, especially
pregnant ewes.
Praktisches Lehrbuch für Schäfer, by P. Fritz, 1866
In Germany, as in other countries, it was also common for the dog to remain fairly static if the situation did not call for greater activity. Janet Larson wrote that when she was stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany in the early 1990s:
The area of Germany (Gelnhausen) I was stationed in was rural, with rolling hills, orchards, and patchwork
fields with corn, safflower, cabbage, barley and grass. Farmers usually graze their cattle and sheep for a few
days in one area, then move on to another. Often, the land they graze belongs to someone else, and has crops
adjacent to it, so they cannot fence it, and need a good herding dog to stop the stock from straying into the land
owners' crops. At Coleman Kaserne ... we have a shepherd who has an open grazing permit, so sheep graze
around the barracks, motorpool and other buildings. He has 600 head, so when he comes on post, the sheep
clog the road until they are all through the gate and onto the grassy areas. He has three Border Collie type dogs,
about 75-80 pounds. They have blunt muzzles and broad heads, and drop ears, one is black and white, one tricolor,
the other blue merle. He calls them Schottische Colleys. The dogs 'wear' the sheep when he goes down the
village streets, and out to his grazing area, and once there, he sits under a tree with the dogs, and watches them
graze. If one strays toward the road, he nods his head in the direction of the stray, and one of the dogs will be
off like a streak, herd it back to the grazing area using "eye." When wearing, the dogs nip and run back and forth
to keep the flock following after the shepherd.
Other stock-working dogs she saw in the Gelnhausen area and in Hohenfels were large black shaggy sheepdogs – Sheep Poodles or perhaps Bergamascos, Briards, Pyrenean Sheepdogs and Belgian Laekenois. She related that the practical farmers’ dogs “seemed to have a strong gathering instinct, and moved flocks or herds by wearing, running back and forth behind the flock, nipping heels when needed to keep the animals moving. The cattle dogs would leap up and nip the noses of cows who refused to move, in addition to nipping heels.” The larger dogs would ram into the shoulders of the sheep to turn them back, and gripped as a last resort, and the Pyreneans sometimes barked.
I asked German master shepherd Manfred Heyne (who won the national HGH trial more times than any other shepherd) about this account of the shepherd who worked at Coleman Kaserne. It turned out that Manfred Heyne knew this shepherd very well and had even worked his dogs on this shepherd’s sheep. When I asked him his view of the manner in which the other shepherd’s dogs worked, his reply was that it was fine with him: “Some do it one way, some do it another.
A tranquil scene by Walther Georgi
in the art magazine Jugend, 1900, Germany |
Larry Sisson, who lived in the Eifel region of Germany for about six years, related:
|
In this old postcard of a shepherd with his flock in a park in Munich, it can be seen that his dog is lying down, and the sheep are still grazing in close proximity. Sheep grow accustomed to how they are handled by the dog, patrolling or not patrolling. What sheep do not become accustomed to, and which was frowned upon by shepherds, was the dog that would hide itself from the sheep, watch them approach the forbidden area, then spring out suddenly, startling them.
While most of the tending work in America has not involved the kind of practices seen in the HGH, in the
19th century there were some instances where a German immigrant applied his traditional management practices
in the new land. In the 1850s an American sheep breeder
in Virginia, S. S. Bradford, imported Silesian Merino sheep and brought over an experienced shepherd to manage them:
Mr. S. S. Bradford . . . rarely has less than a thousand fine wools in a flock. His German shepherd seldom leaves
them out of his sight for more than an hour. In good weather he hurdles them nightly on the poorer spots of the
field in which they graze, and gun in hand, to punish intruding dogs, he sleeps in a box or house on wheels, which
is rolled wherever his charge is penned for the night. In rainy weather they are invariably housed day and night;
as during intensely cold weather. He feeds them daily about a bushel of oats to 100 head. In the grazing season
they require no other such feed; when housed in the day time they get corn fodder to pick, in addition to their oats.
The shepherd has them so completely under his control, as that with the assistance of a single sheep dog he
manages them as easily as though not more than half a dozen in number.— His well known whistle and a wave
of the hand, will turn the flock in any direction, even from too near vicinity to an unfenced patch of wheat or better
grass than that on which it is desired to graze them. If a single sheep is obstinate or stupid, the dog is despatched
to teach him his place. He performs his task with wonderful sagacity indeed, relieving his master from the care
of watching for hours. He comprehends what is forbidden ground for sheep, and will not permit one or more to
stray from the rest; always promptly driving those so inclined back to their proper position. When with the flock
in the day time, the shepherd, though keeping them in sight, usually relies almost entirely on the watchfulness
and intelligence of his canine companion, and employs himself in cutting or grubbing briars, making baskets, or
something of the sort.
American Farmer, Dec. 1858
While most of the tending work in America has not involved the kind of practices seen in the HGH, in the
19th century there were some instances where a German immigrant applied his traditional management practices
in the new land. In the 1850s an American sheep breeder
in Virginia, S. S. Bradford, imported Silesian Merino sheep and brought over an experienced shepherd to manage them:
Mr. S. S. Bradford . . . rarely has less than a thousand fine wools in a flock. His German shepherd seldom leaves
them out of his sight for more than an hour. In good weather he hurdles them nightly on the poorer spots of the
field in which they graze, and gun in hand, to punish intruding dogs, he sleeps in a box or house on wheels, which
is rolled wherever his charge is penned for the night. In rainy weather they are invariably housed day and night;
as during intensely cold weather. He feeds them daily about a bushel of oats to 100 head. In the grazing season
they require no other such feed; when housed in the day time they get corn fodder to pick, in addition to their oats.
The shepherd has them so completely under his control, as that with the assistance of a single sheep dog he
manages them as easily as though not more than half a dozen in number.— His well known whistle and a wave
of the hand, will turn the flock in any direction, even from too near vicinity to an unfenced patch of wheat or better
grass than that on which it is desired to graze them. If a single sheep is obstinate or stupid, the dog is despatched
to teach him his place. He performs his task with wonderful sagacity indeed, relieving his master from the care
of watching for hours. He comprehends what is forbidden ground for sheep, and will not permit one or more to
stray from the rest; always promptly driving those so inclined back to their proper position. When with the flock
in the day time, the shepherd, though keeping them in sight, usually relies almost entirely on the watchfulness
and intelligence of his canine companion, and employs himself in cutting or grubbing briars, making baskets, or
something of the sort.
American Farmer, Dec. 1858
By and large, however, this form of closely supervised grazing was not needed in American conditions, and the practice fell by the wayside in the U.S. as the newcomers adapted to local conditions.
Transhumance has been practiced in many areas – regular seasonal movement of very large flocks and herds of
sheep, goats and cattle between winter and summer pastures. Much of this now takes place using trucks, but there are still areas where it is practiced the traditional way on foot, with the guardian dogs and smaller herding dogs accompanying several shepherds on the trek. Usually several shepherds are involved. Some lead the flock, some walk partway down the sides, while others bring up the rear. The 1956 French book, On the Road to Pastures New, recounts the three-week journey of
a flock of 2,000 Merino sheep in Provence from their winter home to summer grazing land. The 2009 documentary Sweetgrass portrays the last journey of one American flock to and from summer pasture in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains of Montana.
Transhumance has been practiced in many areas – regular seasonal movement of very large flocks and herds of
sheep, goats and cattle between winter and summer pastures. Much of this now takes place using trucks, but there are still areas where it is practiced the traditional way on foot, with the guardian dogs and smaller herding dogs accompanying several shepherds on the trek. Usually several shepherds are involved. Some lead the flock, some walk partway down the sides, while others bring up the rear. The 1956 French book, On the Road to Pastures New, recounts the three-week journey of
a flock of 2,000 Merino sheep in Provence from their winter home to summer grazing land. The 2009 documentary Sweetgrass portrays the last journey of one American flock to and from summer pasture in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains of Montana.
Large flock on the move during the transhumance in Provence;
the guardian dog finds a shady spot under the basket of the donkey.
Return of the Flock, Eugène Burnand, 1890, France
the guardian dog finds a shady spot under the basket of the donkey.
Return of the Flock, Eugène Burnand, 1890, France
In both Europe and America, sheep were grazed in public parks to keep the grass trimmed. A flock was kept at New York City's Central Park from the 1860s into the 1930s; the field where they were taken for their daily grazing is still called the Sheep Meadow. In Franklin Park in Boston in 1903:
Almost before the dew has vanished from the fresh, green grass, the entire flock begins the procession from
Franklin Field to the park. Through the streets the dogs keep a watchful eye out for stragglers and "bolters"
and do not relax their vigilance for an instant until the tiniest little lamb has been driven onto the golf course.
It requires a good deal of judgment, even for a human being, to keep the sheep off the private lawns and
flower beds on the streets through which the flock passes on its way from field to the park, but the dogs seem
to know as well as their master what is expected of them.
Almost before the dew has vanished from the fresh, green grass, the entire flock begins the procession from
Franklin Field to the park. Through the streets the dogs keep a watchful eye out for stragglers and "bolters"
and do not relax their vigilance for an instant until the tiniest little lamb has been driven onto the golf course.
It requires a good deal of judgment, even for a human being, to keep the sheep off the private lawns and
flower beds on the streets through which the flock passes on its way from field to the park, but the dogs seem
to know as well as their master what is expected of them.
A 1910 Boston Globe article said of the Franklin Park flock of 250:
It is a refreshing, restful sight to see, without the confines of a big city, the pastoral picture of a flock of sheep
grazing, attended by the shepherd and his dogs. It is as if a bit of peaceful country life had been infused into
the hustle of the busy metropolis.
The intelligence of Scotch collies is proverbial. A whistle from the shepherd and an indication with his stick in
the direction of some stragglers from the flock and the dogs are off like a flash to bring back the wanderers.
Usually, however, even this is not necessary, as the dogs patrol sentry-like around the sheep or post themselves
in an advantageous position where they can command a good view of the whole flock, and while they do not
pack the sheep close together unless ordered to do so, they nevertheless do not allow stragglers to wander
very far.
It is a refreshing, restful sight to see, without the confines of a big city, the pastoral picture of a flock of sheep
grazing, attended by the shepherd and his dogs. It is as if a bit of peaceful country life had been infused into
the hustle of the busy metropolis.
The intelligence of Scotch collies is proverbial. A whistle from the shepherd and an indication with his stick in
the direction of some stragglers from the flock and the dogs are off like a flash to bring back the wanderers.
Usually, however, even this is not necessary, as the dogs patrol sentry-like around the sheep or post themselves
in an advantageous position where they can command a good view of the whole flock, and while they do not
pack the sheep close together unless ordered to do so, they nevertheless do not allow stragglers to wander
very far.
A shepherd and dogs tending sheep in a public park in Brussels, Belgium,
1906 |
Very like his counterpart in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland, 1910
|
In the east it was not unusual for a flock to be taken out for supervised grazing in various unfenced areas. In addition to the city park flocks, on the estates of the wealthy there were flocks taken out to graze the big lawns of owners who wanted a naturally trimmed look. John D. Rockefeller in 1913 decided to use a shepherd and flock to keep the grass mowed around his country mansion after determining that it could be done cheaper by sheep than by the mowing machines of the day.
Shepherd Cecil Fawkes and his wife with collie at
John D. Rockefeller's Pocantico Hills, NY estate; from Country Life in America, Aug. 1918 |
Shepherd Archie Fawkes at William Rockefeller's
Rockwood estate near Tarrytown, NY, with Old English sheepdog; from Country Life in America |
On farms, use might be made of open fields or even roadsides. One task of farm children was to go out with the farm dog and a flock of sheep or some cows and watch over the animals while they grazed in unfenced areas.
|
Left: A Flock of Sheep, Winslow Homer, USA Below: photo from Country Life in America, 1903 
|
In the American West, huge flocks were (and still are) tended from horseback with the assistance of sheepdogs, as is also the case in the Patagonian region of South America.
In Britain, too, sheep were tended in earlier days. In Scotland and Northern England this generally took place on open, hilly land, but in southern England sheep would be grazed among fields of crops, where the shepherd and his dog or dogs would be required to keep the sheep out of the crops. One of the first books to cover the training of sheepdogs, The Shepherd’s Sure Guide, written in England in 1749, describes the jobs required of the shepherd’s dog. It would vary according to the local conditions, but a “nimble Shepherd and his nimble Dog” were needed:
. . . in an open champaign Country that lies in common Fields . . .because, in an open Country, most of their
Acre and Half-acre Ridge Lands, that are always plow'd one Way, lie in many Places intermixt one Man's with
another's; and in most Parts have only a narrow Cart Way between their growing Crops of Corn. Now, as many
thousands of Acres lie in narrow Roads, Lanes, HeadLands, &c. in such open Countries that are not above a
Pole, or a Pole and Half wide; and which serve as common Grass Ground to feed the neighbouring Flocks of
Sheep on, a Shepherd and his Dog had need be here of the nimble Sort, to feed them in Safety, free of their biting,
and getting among the green Corn that thus grows on each side of them; else Pounding [trespassing sheep would
be impounded] and Restitution of Damage must be the Recompence: For which Purpose, vigilant Howards are in
many Parts and Vales, and other open Countries, appointed to watch, and take the Advantage of such Breaches.
So that a Farmer may be presently brought under a considerable Damage, if he has not a nimble careful Shepherd,
and a Dog of the right Sort; for if they both had more Legs than they have, they would be sometimes wanted, to
run and prevent Sheeps straying and doing Mischief.
A century and a half later, flocks in England continued to be taken out to graze unfenced fields:
In England and other portions of Europe, when cattle and sheep are pastured where there are no fences, a
shepherd is employed to take charge of them, who, with the assistance of a well-trained dog, will keep large flocks
and herds under perfect control, and as strictly confined to prescribed limits as though there were fences for this
purpose. This practice of employing shepherds is based upon the principle that it is less expensive to take care
of the herds than to keep up the fences.
American Farming and Stock Raising,
by Charles Louis Flint, 1892
Above: Shepherd's Dog, William Daniell, 1807
Right: Return of the Flock, Walter Frederick Osborne, 1885, England (note the shepherd's hut in the background) |
|
Watching The Flock,
by George Vicat Cole, 1867, England
by George Vicat Cole, 1867, England
A number of paintings portray the dog watching over sheep or cattle apparently on its own, in Scottish settings often resting on a shepherd's plaid. This seems a bit romanticized, but there are a few written references to dogs watching over livestock by themselves. A letter to the Dog Fancier magazine in 1912 related, "My friend at Clinton, Okla., owned a Collie
that would drive the cattle to the stalk field, herd them all day and never miss bringing them in the evening, promptly at five
o'clock." In The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture, Max von Stephanitz wrote, contrasting the tending work of the shepherd dog in Scotland with that of the shepherd dog in highly cultivated and populated areas of Germany, "The collie often works alone, tending without supervision; wider pasture lands are available for the sheep and it is not necessary to ward them off allotments." John Meyrick, in House Dogs and Sporting Dogs, 1861, wrote:
I once saw a collie, in the Highlands of Scotland, left in solitary charge of a sheep which were feeding in a field
separated only by a ruined wall, full of wide gaps, from a field of young corn. I watched the dog for some time: he
had taken his stand upon a hillock, from whence he could overlook the whole field and check the slightest attempt
to make free on the part of the sheep. I was told by the person who accompanied me that the dog remained patiently
and watchfully at his post from the earliest dawn until nightfall, and brought the flock home in the evening on hearing
the shrill whistle of his master who lived nearly a mile away. What extraordinary intelligence, and what a very strict
sense of duty, must this dog have possessed.
As related in the book Kelly of the Triune, an account of a sheepdog who worked with large flocks of range sheep in the 1920s/1930s in Nevada, at times Kelley was left overnight with a small band of ewes and lambs to watch watch over them, the sheepherder's coat being used to indicate that he was to stay with the sheep in that area.
More typically, accounts of a dog working without supervision involve a dog going out on its own and bringing back livestock a great distance, whether on home fields or on the roads to and from market.
that would drive the cattle to the stalk field, herd them all day and never miss bringing them in the evening, promptly at five
o'clock." In The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture, Max von Stephanitz wrote, contrasting the tending work of the shepherd dog in Scotland with that of the shepherd dog in highly cultivated and populated areas of Germany, "The collie often works alone, tending without supervision; wider pasture lands are available for the sheep and it is not necessary to ward them off allotments." John Meyrick, in House Dogs and Sporting Dogs, 1861, wrote:
I once saw a collie, in the Highlands of Scotland, left in solitary charge of a sheep which were feeding in a field
separated only by a ruined wall, full of wide gaps, from a field of young corn. I watched the dog for some time: he
had taken his stand upon a hillock, from whence he could overlook the whole field and check the slightest attempt
to make free on the part of the sheep. I was told by the person who accompanied me that the dog remained patiently
and watchfully at his post from the earliest dawn until nightfall, and brought the flock home in the evening on hearing
the shrill whistle of his master who lived nearly a mile away. What extraordinary intelligence, and what a very strict
sense of duty, must this dog have possessed.
As related in the book Kelly of the Triune, an account of a sheepdog who worked with large flocks of range sheep in the 1920s/1930s in Nevada, at times Kelley was left overnight with a small band of ewes and lambs to watch watch over them, the sheepherder's coat being used to indicate that he was to stay with the sheep in that area.
More typically, accounts of a dog working without supervision involve a dog going out on its own and bringing back livestock a great distance, whether on home fields or on the roads to and from market.
In Charge, John Barker
|
Dog Guarding His Flock,
Eugene Verboeckhoven, 1860 |
Over time, with the enclosure movements in England in the late 18th/early19th centuries and the modernization of agriculture, fences came into more general use in southern England and the practice of supervised grazing declined. The use of fencing for sheep is growing on the Continent, with portable net fencing often used nowadays. Portable net fencing is also used by the shepherds who graze large flocks of goats in California for brush-control near urban areas.
The practice of supervised grazing continues in many areas in Europe and North America and other regions of the world. In Canada, cut-block grazing is used in forestry, where flocks are taken into areas where tree seedlings are planted, the task of the sheep being to cut down on the number of weeds. During the grazing period, the shepherds camp out with the flock. Large-scale grazing with the use of dogs continues in the American west, South America, and other regions. And on small farms here and there, people sometimes take their sheep out to graze an unfenced field on their own or a neighbor’s property. Local conditions led to the practices that were most suitable for the area, which is as true of tending the flocks and herds as of any other agricultural practice.
Mowing the lawn at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
1905 photo by Elmer S. Gardener, the photographer for the
Experiment Station, 1904-1907. Courtesy of the University
Archives, Iowa State University Library.
1905 photo by Elmer S. Gardener, the photographer for the
Experiment Station, 1904-1907. Courtesy of the University
Archives, Iowa State University Library.
For additional background information, see the following articles:
The Way They Work
Shepherding Practices in France
The Way They Work
Shepherding Practices in France