Activities
The Border Collie uses a direct stare at sheep, known as "the eye", to intimidate while herding.
Livestock Work
Working border collies can take direction by voice and whistle at long distances when herding. Their great energy and herding instinct are still used to herd all kinds of animals, from the traditional sheep and cattle, free range poultry, and pigs, to deer and ostriches. They are also used to remove unwanted wild birds from airport runways, golf courses, and other public and private areas.
The use of dogs for herding sheep makes good economic sense. In a typical pasture environment each trained sheepdog will do the work that it would take about three human individuals to do if there were no dogs available. In vast arid areas like the Australian Outback or the Karoo Escarpment, the number increases to five or more. Attempts to replace them with mechanical approaches to herding have only achieved a limited amount of success. In general stock handlers find dogs more reliable and more economical to run.
Shepherds in the UK have taken the most critical elements of herding and incorporated them into a sheepdog trial. The first recorded sheepdog trials were held in Bala, North Wales, in 1873. These competitions enable farmers and shepherds to evaluate possible mates for their working dogs, but they have developed a sport aspect as well, with competitors from outside the farming community also taking part. In the USA, the national sanctioning body for these competitions is the USBCHA.[16] In the UK it is the International Sheep Dog Society, in Canada the Canadian Border Collie Association (CBCA)[17] and in South Africa it is the South African Sheepdog Association.
Dog Sports
"Australian red" Border Collie competing in agility
Border Collies excel at several dog sports in addition to their success in herding trials. They dominate the higher jump heights at dog agility competitions, so much so that in England the Border Collies occasionally are given competitions separate from all other breeds.
The Border Collie's speed, agility, stamina have allowed them to dominate in up-and-coming dog activities like flyball and disc dog competitions. Their trainability has also given them a berth in dog dancing competitions.
Border Collies have a highly developed sense of smell and with their high drive make excellent and easily motivated tracking dogs for Tracking trials. These trials simulate the finding of a lost person in a controlled situation where the performance of the dog can be evaluated with titles awarded for successful dogs. Because of this skill, Border Collies make excellent Search and rescue dogs in both Lowland, Mountain, and Urban areas.
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