The Herding Group: Herding Dogs Have All the Right Moves

Photo by Dianne Ferrer

The Herding Group: Herding Dogs Have All the Right Moves

What do you get when you introduce a Swedish Vallhund to a cow, a Spanish Water Dog to a flock of sheep, or a Shetland Sheepdog to an Agility course? Under the right circumstances, you get a dog that demonstrates grit, determination, and all the right moves.

Ever since mankind domesticated livestock, the dogs of the Herding Group have been utilized to move the animals that made human civilizations possible. Early herders and drovers accompanied merchants along ancient trade routes and escorted armies advancing from east to west across Asia and Europe. Aboard ships, they even assisted in the delivery of living cargo to the New World and more distant destinations like Australia. Whether navigating oceans, patrolling fields, climbing mountains, or parading to market through cobblestone streets, those proto-purebreds supported communities by providing a much-needed source of labor. And as each culture flourished, the dogs of a particular region came to represent the place where they were developed and refined. Their mere existence became a symbol of the local people.

The Herding breeds continue to serve on farms and ranches around the world, but their repertoire of skills has expanded considerably to keep pace with our ever-changing world. Today, a herder or drover is just as likely to be a member of a big city police force or a search and rescue unit. Belgians, Beaucerons, and Bouviers can all be found on duty at international airport terminals and military bases where their instincts and training assist in the movement of passengers and soldiers instead of cattle and sheep. And many more hard-working herders serve as both companion and competitor, corralling children in the yard or sailing over an A-frame in pursuit of a personal best. Whatever their vocation, the breeds of the Herding Group will move heaven and earth to accomplish a goal.

Through the articles and interviews assembled in this edition, SHOWSIGHT has endeavored to celebrate the fast-moving and hard-working breeds of the Herding Group through the words of the breeders, judges, and exhibitors who best understand their unstoppable need to work—and move. We hope you enjoy!