[0]It was sunny and warm, but the humidity had finally lifted last Thursday, when Kathy, Ben, and I drove up the driveway to Maria Amodei’s sheep farm. The scene was right out of the book of Why We Live in Dunstable, with a small flock of sheep grazing in a green meadow, surrounded by a dense wood.
[1]As we walked up, Maria had begun to work with Cato, the oldest of her three Border Collies, at almost six years of age. Maria sometimes used vocal commands, and sometimes blew short bursts on a high-pitched whistle. The response to each command was instantaneous. Cato would alternately herd the sheep in a prescribed direction, then stop and lie down, eyes attentive to the sheep, ears alert and eager for the next command.
Maria has lived in Dunstable since 1984. Her ‘day job’ is software engineering, but it’s clear that working her dogs is what she truly enjoys. She acquired a Belgian Shepherd about 11 years ago, with the intent of entering the dog in obedience competitions. She soon found out about a competitive sport called “Agility,” which tests a master’s training and handling of a dog over a timed obstacle course. Not long after that, Maria became interested in competitive sheep herding. Currently, Maria and her dogs compete in both sports.
[2]Cato is one of Maria’s three Border Collies. Each is black with white markings, which is typical of the breed. She also has three Belgian Shepherds. Both breeds vary in size and markings, but the Belgians tend to be bigger than the Border Collies.
Border Collies were bred, over a period of a couple of centuries, for herding. Herding behavior comes instinctively to the dog, and is rooted in pack hunting behavior, in which some of the dogs gather the prey and herd it to other dogs for the attack.
“Herding behavior can escalate into pure predator behavior if not trained,” Maria said, “You need a dog that is ‘biddable,’ – a dog that will work with you. The sheep have to trust the dog, but they also have to respect it. If the sheep don’t have some fear of the dog, the dog won’t be able to control them.”
The whole spectacle of Maria’s fine-tuned control of the dog, which responds by precisely controlling the movements of the sheep, has the appearance of a dance. The dog is in the middle, pushed by its desire to please its master and pulled by its instinct to gather the sheep.
[3]
“The dogs instinctively know where to be – where the balance point is – to move the sheep in the direction they want them to go. When humans started talking to each other, we began to lose our understanding of body language. Dogs quickly see from the sheep’s movements where they are going to go, and the sheep are also very quick to read the dog’s movements.”
On a couple of occasions, Maria asked Cato to lie down and wait while she talked with us. Cato took a position about five yards from the sheep, eyes never wavering from them. After a few minutes of this, Cato would slink toward the herd, and if not stopped by Maria’s admonishment, move the sheep to a different area of the pen.
“These dogs have to have an outlet,“ Maria noted. “They have to have regular work, or they become very unhappy.” If a sheep dog gets regular work, it can be a wonderful, affectionate pet to have around the house, but if an owner isn’t able to provide a satisfactory outlet, the dog can develop neurotic behaviors. Dogs that are in training for competition may need to be worked several times a day, so both dog and handler must be willing to undertake a fairly demanding regimen.
In addition to Cato, Maria has two other Border Collie “puppies”, Rhyme and Gust, both about 18 months old. “We call them puppies until they are useful,” she grins. As she handles Rhyme for us, she points out some of the subtleties the dogs must learn. “You can see that it’s easier for her to ‘gather,’ or herd the sheep toward me, than to drive them away. Gathering is instinctive. Driving has to be taught.”
Maria also has three Belgian Shepherds, two of which are retired. The third “may be a sheep dog.” Rhyme is being trained for both sheep herding and agility.
[4]To train dogs for agility competition, Maria has a complete obstacle course in her back yard. To prepare for sheep herding trials, she obviously needs access to sheep, and that is why Maria became a sheep farmer. She leased some land, cleared much of it herself, and acquired some sheep, eventually developing a keen interest in sheep that complements her interest in sheep dogs. “Sheep are fairly low maintenance,“ she noted, “and they mow the lawn. They eat poison ivy, or almost anything.”
As a sheep farmer, Maria breeds sheep, sells breeding stock, sells the wool, and occasionally sells meat. Her sheep – currently about thirty of them -- are sometimes loaded onto a trailer and moved to other locations for grazing. The dogs help Maria with this, and with rounding up the sheep for worming and other veterinary care, most of which Maria does herself. It seems that Maria Amodei and her dogs are very busy people.