Herding Dog Demos This Weekend

This Sunday May 20th will be North Andover's Annual Sheep Shearing event.    Every year nearly two thousand residents gather at The Old Town Common to participate in this family fun event.

There will be sheep shearing demonstrations, crafters displaying their work, business vendors discussing their services, and community and nonprofit  groups giving lectures regarding the history of our town and townsfolk.  But my favorite is  " The Herding Dog Demonstration"

1.  What is a Herding Dog ?  Sometimes referred to as a Stock Dog it is a dog whose primary function is to protect and guard flocks and herds of animals from theft.  These dogs are also responsible in "herding" or gathering up the livestock to move or to contain to/from a specific area.

Back in the day of everyday farm live, this was one of the primary ways a farmer was able to bring his stock in at night.  The dog would run acres and acres of farmland to retrieve all the animals.    

2.  What breed of dogs are herding dog?  Well most dogs can be trained to be herding dogs but typically the most common breeds tend to be Border collies, Australian and English shepherds, Corgi's and Cattle dogs.

3.  Can a herding dog be a family pet?  Sure can,  in fact there are several  collies, shepherds  and cattle dogs in North Andover.  They are a higher energy dog and will require plenty of exercise.   But with all that land North Andover still has in out country...why not adopt one of these breeds to become a family member.  

4.  What will we see at the Sheep Shearing event?  Expect to see a setting similar to a sheepdog trial. There will be a group of sheep in a gated area and by a whistle or verbal command you will be able to witness the dog in action.  He will rally or "herd" all the sheep together and then be able to move them to a specific location.  These dogs are simply amazing in action.   Watching a dog gather an entire group of livestock by their natural abilities and ( if needed) the help of a command is unbelievable.   It is actually quite a beautiful sight to see and an amazing sport to watch.

Sunday is going to be a gorgeous day and I hope you are able to join us.  The  Festival Committee does strongly discourage you from bringing your own family pet near the dog demo area.  This is for the safety of the demo dogs, your dog and all the people at the event. Please be considerate to the Festival Committees request.

Tracey is the owner of Wiggles & Jiggles Pet Care of North Andover and may be contacted at 978-697-6571 or www.wigglewalk.webs.com on facebook at www.facebook.com/wigglesjigglespetcare