WATCHING THE FLOCK; DOGS SHOW HUMANS ANCIENT ART OF HERDING.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

The shaggy dog, quietly herding sheep, is descended from dogs that darted onto World War I battlefields and dragged wounded soldiers to safety.

``First men went onto the battlefield and loaded wounded soldiers onto carts. The Allies trained the bouvier des Flandres breed to go out onto the field, pull on a rope attached to the cart and drag the wounded away from the front lines,'' said Ted Ondrak, describing the pedigree of the medium-sized, shaggy brown dog with pointy, alert ears.

``So the enemy started to shoot the dogs as they went out onto the battlefield, and the breed almost became extinct. This dog is descended from six dogs that were smuggled out of Belgium toward the end of the war.''

About 300 onlookers listened and watched as Ondrak, founder of the San Fernando Herding Association, worked several types of herding dogs on a fenced-off field at Soka University in Calabasas. Shetland sheepdogs, border collies and Australian shepherds all demonstrated their skills in the daylong program and clinic.

First, Ondrak worked with Drummer, the bouvier des Flandres dog who herded three sheep to the center of the ring and then ran dizzying circles around them.

``One of the first things you want to teach a dog is to stay out of the sheep's comfort zone,'' Ondrak said. ``They will run them closer and closer unless you teach them otherwise.''

Ondrak aims to interest dog lovers in the organization and educate them in the dying art of training true canine herders.

``This is something I believe in,'' said the former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. ``This is not just a sport, it's a business. Ranchers depend on these dogs, and there's a market for a well-trained animal. On a cattle ranch, one good dog can do the work of three men on horseback.

``And if you look at the dog's face, you can see that he's happy; he loves his work,'' he added, pointing to a border collie in a nearby ring, herding three sheep. ``You give these dogs commands, and their faces light up. Any animal that you can tell it to go to work and it reacts like that - that's a happy animal.''

Drummer had a calm, almost paternal style with the sheep. In contrast, the morning's second dog, Quinn, a tiny Shetland sheepdog resembling a miniature collie, had a showy, frenetic style.

``Please hold your applause until she's finished,'' urged Joyce Herie of Northridge, Quinn's owner and trainer. ``She loves people so much that, once you start clapping, all she wants to do is take her bows.''

After Quinn masterfully herded an errant sheep, the audience burst into applause, and the little sheepdog turned ham. She dashed around the ring several times, stopping now and then to bark at the admiring crowd, and the sheep clustered behind her were forgotten.

``She's like an actor who can't leave the stage,'' Herie said just before she chased after the dog, swooped the dog up into her arms and walked out of the ring.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--color) Bridget, a 6-year-old sheep dog, eyes two of her charges in a herding demonstration Saturday at a field by Soka University in Calabasas.

(2--color) Girls learn Saturday about the ancient art of herding sheep. In the background are, from left, Julia Fingelson, Lindsey Wolf and Katie Stumpf.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News