CANINE CAREER HELP ACTON COUPLE TRAINS DOGS TO LEAD THE HERD.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer ACTON - Ritz, an 8-year-old white and black border collie border collie, breed of medium-sized, sheepherding dog developed in the British Isles. It stands about 18 in. (45.7 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 30 to 45 lb (13.6–20.4 kg). , crouches as he approaches 10 200-pound sheep, who amble amble a slower, non-racing version of pace gait in horses. broken amble has many characteristics of the amble but there are four beats to the gait with each foot contacting the ground independently. Called also single-foot. forward. Handler Janna Duncan, standing 300 yards away, cups her hands around her mouth and whistles. The dog veers around the sheep, who shift directions. Staring hard, Ritz stays behind them, 20 or so feet away, as the sheep trot between two white-painted fence sections. Duncan whistles again and Ritz shifts his position again and steers the flock toward her. Outside the field's wire fence a fence consisting of posts with strained horizontal wires, wire netting, or other wirework, between. See also: Wire , Duncan's husband, Ted Thompson Ted Thompson (born January 17 1953 in Atlanta, Texas) is the general manager of the Green Bay Packers, a National Football League team. He was named to the post on January 14 2005 by Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan, and thus removing then head coach and general manager Mike Ondrak, stands with his 12-year-old border collie, Bridget. Bridget stands up and paces along the fence, eyeing the sheep as they move around the field. ``This is what they're bred to do. This what they enjoy doing,'' Ondrak says of the dogs. ``It's all they live for, is to work. They don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. about lying on a sofa.'' For 12 years, starting in Tarzana and since 1999 on their 40-acre ranch adjoining the Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los , the couple has trained sheep dogs and instructed other handlers in training their dogs. They've done it full-time since 1993. Ondrak, a retired sheriff's deputy, and Duncan, a former legal secretary, have tested thousands of dogs to check for the herding instinct and had hundreds of students in their classes. Training dogs for herding takes a long time - too long for many dog owners, Ondrak said. To compete at the level of the couples' best dogs means two or three years of training, working with the dog two or three times a week, he said. Border collie owner Joan Cox of Quartz Hill, who trains with the couple, has owned other dog breeds and competed in dog shows and obedience competition, but says sheep dog competition is the best. She got involved after getting a border collie puppy, Seth, now 2, and seeing how interested he was in the goats she raises. ``I realized I would have to do something with him. ... He was obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. with the goats,'' Cox said. Ondrak and Duncan got interested in herding when they visited friends near Bakersfield, who like them owned bouvier Bouvier refers to several things:
The friends also owned border collies, and Duncan watched them herding sheep. ``I sat there for two hours just watching,'' Duncan said. ``I said, Can we do this?'' The couple's 40-acre Drummond Ranch has hosted trials sanctioned by the American Kennel Club American Kennel Club (AKC), national organization in the United States devoted to the advancement and welfare of pure-bred dogs. It is comprised of approximately 500 autonomous clubs. , the American Breed Association and the U.S. Border Collie Handler's Association. It also has been the site for television shoots for NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. , ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , A&E, Animal Planet and The Family Channel. They also put on classes three times a week in Sylmar, and every month or so outside Phoenix. The dog owners include bankers, secretaries, electricians, and beauticians, Duncan said. Many of their Antelope Valley students are really ranchers, who use their dogs around cattle and sheep. The couple's dogs are mostly border collies - a herding breed originated on the border of Scotland and England - but they say a number of breeds have herding instincts, including some unexpected ones. Besides the expected collies, German shepherds, Old English sheep dogs and Australian cattle dogs, herders can include Doberman pinschers, Welsh corgis and even poodles. ``There's a couple of poodles that do really well,'' Duncan said. The 1995 movie ``Babe,'' about a pig who wins a sheepherding competition, sparked a broad interest in training dogs. The couple watched the movie at a theater close to Tarzana Ranch, where they hosted their classes. As the credits were rolling at the end of the film, Ondrak said, ``I jumped up and said: If you want to see the real thing, we are the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Herding Association...'' CAPTION} Photo: (1 -- color) Bridget, a 12-year-old border collie, steers sheep at a 40- acre ranch in Acton where dogs are trained in the herding art. (2 -- color) Ted Thompson Ondrak uses a whistle to command sheep dogs at his Acton ranch. (3 -- color -- ran in AV edition only) Janna Duncan watches 8-year-old border collie Ritz take charge of a flock of sheep at her dog-training ranch. (4) Seth, a 2-year-old border collie belonging to Joan Cox of Quartz Hill, gets the flock going during a herding lesson Wednesday. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer CAPTION(S): 4 photos |
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