- THE WELSH SHEEPDOG
As John Holmes comments in The Farmer's Dog, "There are several other types of Collie quite distinct from the Border Collie in that they are 'loose- eyed' workers." Dogs of this type were found all over Britain; taken to America by settlers, they became the basis for such American farm and ranch dogs as the English Shepherd and Australian Shepherd. Although collies are most often associated with Scotland, one of these strains was developed in Wales. The Welsh Sheepdog, also referred to as Welsh Collie, is believe to have become established in the 19th century when working collies from Scotland were blended with the old native Welsh breeds such as the Black and Tan Sheepdog, the sable or blue-merle Hillman, and the shaggy Old Welsh Grey. The Welsh Sheepdog that resulted remained as a close-working, upright, loose-eyed dog, at about the same period of time that the strong-eyed Border Collie was being developed from trial-winning strains of working collie. Eventually, in Wales as in other areas of Britain the loose-eyed dog was nearly ousted by the stylish "eye" dog, but articles recently appearing in British publications reveal an interest in preserving the earlier type of Welsh farm collie. Photos accompanying the articles show dogs similar in appearance to other breeds of old working collie ancestry. Colors are black, black and white, black and tan, tricolor, red, sable, and blue merle. Ears are small and folded forward. Coats may be rough or smooth.
In "The Return of the Welsh Sheepdog," Farmers Weekly, March 1997, by Tessa Gates, Welsh farmer John Davies, who has over 1,000 sheep and also raised Welsh Black cattle, gives some background on the breed and talks about the drovers who took stock from Wales to London in the 19th century. "The Welsh sheepdog is good with cattle as well as sheep, and in those days 700 cattle would be taken to London by just a few men and the dogs. One dog would run in front, leading and clearing the way with the others dogs driving from behind. The dogs would keep the stock together overnight and act as guards against robbers . . . The drovers' dogs had hard pads, they were strong and vocal, with the stamina to work all day and a bark that kept the animals moving. Welsh sheepdogs work with their tails held high and bark and drive the sheep out, and they will keep going even in a hot summer. They are fast and use their brains. A Border collie listens to commands, a Welsh sheepdog works independently. I had three or four Border collies some years ago and although they were good for trial work, I can't get my sheep in with them. When you have a large number of sheep the ones in front don't know the Border collie is there . . ." Over the years, interest in trialing, furthered by eventual television coverage, had helped bring the Border Collie to predominance in Wales. Many of he remaining Welsh Sheepdogs were mated to Border Collies. Mr. Davies became concerned when he had difficulty finding Welsh Sheepdog mates for his own dogs. As a result, he began making more inquiries and called a meeting of people interested in the breed. "Over 60 farmers came and we received 100 telephone calls all from people saying they would like to see the breed come back." He also was able to find unrelated dogs to mate with his own. He found interest not only in Wales, but in the Lake District and Devon in England.
As a result, the Cymdeithas Cwn Cymreig (Welsh Sheepdog Society) has been formed. Further information is given in ""The Welsh Dog -- A Part of the Nation's Heritage", by Aza Pinney, in Working Sheepdog News:
"The most significant decision that was taken was that the initial register of dogs would be made up only of those dogs which could work satisfactorily in front of the Breed's Inspection Panel. 44 dogs were put forward than night, and since then a number more have been notified . . .
"In work the Welsh Dogs are divided into two types by a mixture of instinctive preference and training; there are those dogs who will head the sheep and there are those that will follow or drive them. How the latter dogs work reveals the ability and origins of the Welsh Dog as a drover's dog whereas the heading dogs had a different job to do. The fencing of the common grounds and hills is quite recent, and the heading dogs could keep their charges in a flock and under control in open ground. They would stop them from getting mixed up with others and, just as importantly, they would be used to protect crops grown in open fields and even save the vegetables and flowers in unfenced gardens from the predations of the ever hungry grazing sheep. No doubt the dogs had also a guarding role and would drive off both human and animal predators. Whichever task it does every Welsh Dog must be able and willing to bark.
"Eye and style will not feature in the Inspection Panel's criteria. What will be seen will be dogs that are plain in their work and that will hold both their heads and their tails up. What will impress the Panel will be the power to move a large number of sheep, face up to stubborn rams and be unafraid of cattle; a valued characteristic is the ability of the dogs to think for themselves yet at the same time to have a willingness to listen. It is an intelligent breed and is adaptable to different tasks but it has enough sprit and sense of independence to resist training in isolation -- that is why almost all breaking in is done 'on the job.' . . .
"If the members of the new Society can build upon their initial and shared enthusiasm the Welsh Dog will survive not as a museum piece but as part of the nation's heritage with as much relevance to today's flockmasters and shepherds as it had to their forebears."
Contact information:
Welsh Sheepdog Society
website: http://www.welshsheepdogsociety.com/
by Linda Rorem (this article originally appeared in the American Herding Breed Association newsletter)
In "The Return of the Welsh Sheepdog," Farmers Weekly, March 1997, by Tessa Gates, Welsh farmer John Davies, who has over 1,000 sheep and also raised Welsh Black cattle, gives some background on the breed and talks about the drovers who took stock from Wales to London in the 19th century. "The Welsh sheepdog is good with cattle as well as sheep, and in those days 700 cattle would be taken to London by just a few men and the dogs. One dog would run in front, leading and clearing the way with the others dogs driving from behind. The dogs would keep the stock together overnight and act as guards against robbers . . . The drovers' dogs had hard pads, they were strong and vocal, with the stamina to work all day and a bark that kept the animals moving. Welsh sheepdogs work with their tails held high and bark and drive the sheep out, and they will keep going even in a hot summer. They are fast and use their brains. A Border collie listens to commands, a Welsh sheepdog works independently. I had three or four Border collies some years ago and although they were good for trial work, I can't get my sheep in with them. When you have a large number of sheep the ones in front don't know the Border collie is there . . ." Over the years, interest in trialing, furthered by eventual television coverage, had helped bring the Border Collie to predominance in Wales. Many of he remaining Welsh Sheepdogs were mated to Border Collies. Mr. Davies became concerned when he had difficulty finding Welsh Sheepdog mates for his own dogs. As a result, he began making more inquiries and called a meeting of people interested in the breed. "Over 60 farmers came and we received 100 telephone calls all from people saying they would like to see the breed come back." He also was able to find unrelated dogs to mate with his own. He found interest not only in Wales, but in the Lake District and Devon in England.
As a result, the Cymdeithas Cwn Cymreig (Welsh Sheepdog Society) has been formed. Further information is given in ""The Welsh Dog -- A Part of the Nation's Heritage", by Aza Pinney, in Working Sheepdog News:
"The most significant decision that was taken was that the initial register of dogs would be made up only of those dogs which could work satisfactorily in front of the Breed's Inspection Panel. 44 dogs were put forward than night, and since then a number more have been notified . . .
"In work the Welsh Dogs are divided into two types by a mixture of instinctive preference and training; there are those dogs who will head the sheep and there are those that will follow or drive them. How the latter dogs work reveals the ability and origins of the Welsh Dog as a drover's dog whereas the heading dogs had a different job to do. The fencing of the common grounds and hills is quite recent, and the heading dogs could keep their charges in a flock and under control in open ground. They would stop them from getting mixed up with others and, just as importantly, they would be used to protect crops grown in open fields and even save the vegetables and flowers in unfenced gardens from the predations of the ever hungry grazing sheep. No doubt the dogs had also a guarding role and would drive off both human and animal predators. Whichever task it does every Welsh Dog must be able and willing to bark.
"Eye and style will not feature in the Inspection Panel's criteria. What will be seen will be dogs that are plain in their work and that will hold both their heads and their tails up. What will impress the Panel will be the power to move a large number of sheep, face up to stubborn rams and be unafraid of cattle; a valued characteristic is the ability of the dogs to think for themselves yet at the same time to have a willingness to listen. It is an intelligent breed and is adaptable to different tasks but it has enough sprit and sense of independence to resist training in isolation -- that is why almost all breaking in is done 'on the job.' . . .
"If the members of the new Society can build upon their initial and shared enthusiasm the Welsh Dog will survive not as a museum piece but as part of the nation's heritage with as much relevance to today's flockmasters and shepherds as it had to their forebears."
Contact information:
Welsh Sheepdog Society
website: http://www.welshsheepdogsociety.com/
by Linda Rorem (this article originally appeared in the American Herding Breed Association newsletter)