> I�ve done consulting in Poland twice and couldn�t believe my eyes - no
fences anywhere, one adult man and one dog (Alsation - German shepherd)
herding
> 50 sheep on pasture seven days a week and housing them at night. The
herder gets a break in winter when snow covers all.
Historically this was the norm in continental Europe Vaughan, no fences.
Herding is a pretty generic term. There's really three things
"herding" dogs
do, muster- gathering sheep, which the border collie excells at. Driving -
pushing the animals down the roads to markets, Old English Sheepdog,
Bouvier, and Tending - holding stock on a certain area for grazing, most of
the continental herding breeds.
My grandmother used to recount stories in Germany (pre WW I) of walking the
sheep out to some farmers fields with her sister and dog, and bring them in
the home in the evening. I always asked what the fences were made of and
why did they have to stay there all day. There weren't any fences, which
always confused me, and assumed she was just getting forgetful in her old
age.
Gene Schriefer
Shepherd
Dodgeville, Wisconsin USA
Commercial Texel-x and Charollais-x Sheep
