Handlers put dogs and sheep through their paces at annual Scio event

SCIO - A border collie knows, instinctively, that its job is to go find the sheep and bring them to the handler.

What it doesn't get is why in the world the handler would then want to send the sheep running around the field again, through a series of gates, and then in and out of a pen.

The sheep don't get it either, particularly when they're young, from different flocks, and lumped together in groups of five.

All that uncertainty is the challenge of the Northwest Champion Sheep Dog Trials, continuing through Sunday at Harmony J.A.C.K. Farms northeast of Scio.

The handlers who overcome the paired perplexities the best receive the most points and prestige at the trials, which this year drew some 75 competitors from all over the country.

Rob Miller of Middleton, Idaho, struggled toward the end of his Friday run when one sheep decided to charge at his border collie, Jen, instead of stepping obediently into the pen.

"We ran 'em yesterday. They're good sheep," Miller said with a shrug. Of the one that charged, he added, "It's a better sheep now."

Dog and handler have just 12 minutes to send the sheep through the entire circuit, explained Mary Miller, Rob's wife and herself a competitor. "He was rodeoing at the end - pushing hard to get them in. That's why they exploded. They don't like you to push them."

At the trials, handlers start out with 100 points each, said announcer Ray Crabtree.

Listening only to the handlers' shouted or whistled commands, the dogs are to start their "outrun;" racing out to the sheep to the top of the field for the "lift," when the sheep begin moving toward the handler in response to the dog's presence.

Next comes the "fetch," in which the dog moves the sheep back to the handler. Then comes the "drive;" herding them through a series of panels and then into a pen.

The last challenge is the "shed," in which the dog is to separate two sheep from the group and hold them away from the other three.

At all times, dogs are to move sheep as a unit, in a straight line, and at a smooth, even pace.

"Zig-zagging's a bad thing," Crabtree said. "The judge doesn't want to see the sides of the sheep coming down the field."

Judges subtract points when this happens - which is frequently, said Lana Rowley of Sandy, in her fifth year of competing in Scio.

One- to 2-year-old lambs "don't really have a lot of common sense," she said. "They're not fighting the dog, but there's no one to lead them. It takes a really patient dog."

As of late afternoon Friday, Bob Stephens of Kamloops, British Columbia, was on top of the open-dog pack with a score of 93. The open dog class wraps up today at noon.

IF YOU GO

What: Northwest Champion Sheep Dog Trials, part of the Linn County Lamb & Wool Fair.

When: Continuing through Sunday.

Where: Harmony J.A.C.K. Farms, 41154 Ridge Drive. It is about a mile and a half from downtown to Ridge Drive off Stayton-Scio Road. Turn right onto Ridge and continue for 3.7 miles

Parade: The annual Lamb and Wool Fair Parade will start at 11 a.m. today on Main Street.