<![CDATA[Working Sheepdog]]>https://www.workingsheepdog.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HqaK!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4c7b1fec-d795-42d6-a85a-c51b0bd4d72e_144x144.pngWorking Sheepdoghttps://www.workingsheepdog.comSubstackMon, 12 Oct 2026 18:40:19 GMT<![CDATA[Book review]]>https://www.workingsheepdog.com/p/book-reviewhttps://www.workingsheepdog.com/p/book-reviewSun, 13 Sep 2026 09:47:48 GMTWritten in 1956 the year I was born. I must admit I am biased to old books and will try to share thoughts on a few. I like a story. Every dog is different and training techniques that work for one, just don’t work for another. By reading I have been exposed to hundreds of different ideas. Roy Saunders illustrated the book himself and that alone made me like it. Unlike most of the books that I read that are more focused on training this book was more about Saunders love for his dog Toss and their journey together. Whilst there is also good training information in the book I mainly enjoyed just following the journey in such another time and place as Toss and Saunders went to trials in rural England and Wales heading off in a little Austin A40.

‘The tests in the South Wales Style have absolutely

no bearing on practical sheep husbandry. In this Style

a Maltese cross is formed from eight hurdles two feet

apart, and the three sheep have to be steered through

first one way and then the other at right angles. After

this they must be driven through another pair of

hurdles standing parallel and also about two feet apart

—and what shepherd in his senses would try to coax

sheep to do this on his home territory? '

This quote from the book gives the essence of much which followed. Imagine a maltese cross only two feet wide. For a Australian Trans tasman competition it is two metres wide.

Saunders tells of Toss at a Hills Trial at Llanafan, Wales - where dogs ran up a mountain blind for over a mile before sighting their sheep and gathering them. What a sight it would be to see. Hill trials in New Zealand (long cast) are amazing but the Welsh trial was next level.

Finally I loved the following illustration. Anyone who has competed at a trial will relate to it.

I recommend this book as a lovely light and entertaining read that should be enjoyed by anyone who has working sheepdogs.

]]><![CDATA[A few videos on improving outruns]]>https://www.workingsheepdog.com/p/a-few-videos-on-improving-outrunshttps://www.workingsheepdog.com/p/a-few-videos-on-improving-outrunsSun, 13 Sep 2026 09:16:38 GMT

]]><![CDATA[Our dogs]]>https://www.workingsheepdog.com/p/our-dogshttps://www.workingsheepdog.com/p/our-dogsSun, 13 Sep 2026 09:07:35 GMTGypsy is the matriarch. She is a Smithfield, a mongrel breed ‘type’ popular in Tasmania. She has been (is) a sweet natured dog. Given to me for my birthday 12 years ago, as a working dog. She has been (still is) a handy farm dog, but lacks the finesse for three sheep trialing which is my main interest.

Scout is a Border Collie Kelpie cross. Not sure what happened to the Border Collie bit as he is very Kelpie. Wild, indefatigable and selectively deaf when being asked to slow down. I have run Scout in a few farmers trials but have given up (for now anyway) as he is just too wild. If we have big mobs of sheep to move however, or a creek to cross, scout is the dog for the task.

Louis (Freeway Louis) is a 4y.o. Border Collie. He is the first pup we got specifically for trialing. Not everything went to plan though. At about 4 months old we noticed he was a bit lame. Diagnosis was osteochondritis. An operation and about $4,000 later the poor little fellow was stuck in a crate for months of rehab. He coped with it better than we did and he continues to be a loving, patient dog and oh so smart. I put about two years of effort into Lou, and although he showed amazing promise he just never seemed to give me his all. He would cast but and lift but then stall and be so far off his sheep they wouldn’t move.

Pete is our latest arrival and a wonderful dog. He is a Border Collie and already a successful trial dog. More importantly he is just as happy workin three sheep or three hundred. More about Pete soon.

Thanks for reading Working Sheepdog! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

]]><![CDATA[Working sheepdogs ]]>https://www.workingsheepdog.com/p/working-sheepdogshttps://www.workingsheepdog.com/p/working-sheepdogsMon, 29 Sep 2025 11:09:14 GMTAll dogs are not equal. Working sheepdogs are supreme.

]]>