By Vicki Northway
Meeting Milou
I met Milou (French/Belgium/Intern. CH Shamquin Emei Shan) through my good friend Patricia Seifert this past October at my home in Northern California. Pat had co-bred a litter with Béatrice Quinio and Milou came to me for a little rest and recreation. Pat was busy with puppies and I had time to train. I love to take a nice Pembroke into the herding arena and prove our dogs can do it all. I was excited to meet Milou.
Milou
Upon arrival I took Milou to the training pen because Pat thought Milou could herd and I was anxious to find out for sure. Milou was curious, happy and totally unconcerned with her new surroundings. Despite the fact the day was warm, she'd never met me, met sheep and or walked on a farm ("the smells, the wonders!"), Milou took an immediate, intense interest in the sheep. It didn't matter they were 5 times her size. Whether it was her very active tail or her "let me at them" attitude, the sheep dashed away and Milou followed to turn them back to me. She was hooked. I should add, she was also interested in the chickens and sheep on the other side of the fence line as this is a reoccurring theme with Milou's herding. After she rushed back to touch base with Pat and bark a 'hey, look at me herd!', we decided, based on her drive and cleverness, she sure showed a lot of potential.
Herding trials in California are in the summer when it is very hot and Milou had to return to Pat in the spring. Pat and I found a trial the end of January - four months out -in San Diego, California. There were a lot of uncertainties: would the California winter rains keep us from training, would Milou's skills progress quickly enough and most importantly, would she work willingly for me under pressure. Herding is an intense sport. What you want the dog to do may have nothing to do with the dog's agenda. Dogs may have the instinct to control and fetch livestock, but they may not have the willingness to work for others.
Temperament is an issue: some dogs are too aggressive, some too worried, others lack the intense interest and internal energy (drive) to work that hard. Consider the fact an agility run is 30 seconds, a dog gaits in the show ring for several minutes and the herding dog must work for up to 10 straight minutes, sometimes at a dead run. Our dwarf breed must take several steps for that of a larger dog... you know the stride of a child compared to your own so understand my point.
Pat and I like a challenge so we decided to try to get Milou ready for American Kennel Club (AKC) herding ("One title or two, Pat? Oh, sure, let's try for two titles, Herding Test (HT) AND Pre-Trial Test (PT).") I'm an experienced trainer/handler and Milou had drive so we decided to give it try. If we didn't qualify at the trials, well, we'd all have a grand adventure and stories to tell. We knew Milou would have a great time bossing sheep.
If you've not met Milou, she is one opinionated, confident, smart and funny dog. I adore her because she reminds me of my 14 year old black headed tri bred by Judy Hart, Sua Mah Tradewind HSAc HXAsd, Hella. Hella was a show dog, a ranch dog and a trial dog. I like tough dogs. I like smart dogs. I like dogs with heart. In the 15 weeks of training, we brought Milou to top condition, acclimated her to the warm winter and waited to see if she passed the true test: Would a young dog that had just met me, trust a stranger. As you breeders know, the relationship with a puppy you raise is unlike any other bond. I did not have that. I was asking Milou who had been raised by Bea and lovingly cared for by Pat to now follow me and do as I asked.
Training
Without bogging down on our actual exercises, let me assure you that although the goal was ambitious, steps were gradual and conditioning safe. Corrections were limited initially and every correct step was praised. All those years of "thou shall not chase the cat" were replaced with, "walk up, yeah, good dog, good dog!"
Commands for herding are limited and the test level work I was asking of Milou was within her ability. She learned to fetch (bring and hold the sheep to me), to wear and cover (arc back and forth to keep the sheep from escaping), to down, to wait, to come and to 'look back'. Milou took road trips to work stock in unfamiliar settings, she submitted to down stays and 'call-offs' (a dog calls off when he leaves the stock or an item of interest to come immediately to me) in the house, in the yard and on stock. Using only praise and the crook or stock stick to direct (or block) the dog, our herding sessions evolved into disciplined, calm, strolls with sheep around an arena and back to the pen. The list is long of what can go wrong at a herding trial for while you can train your dog, you can't train the sheep.
Distractions are unavoidable. And there are judges and interpretation of rules. Let me ask you: have you ever gone before a judge and wondered what they saw that you missed? Well, it can be the same in herding.
The Trials
The schedule of the test classes in San Diego was unusual in that four runs took place over two days, not four days as is normal. Instead of one run on Saturday and one on Sunday each weekend, both runs took place on one day, during the same afternoon (two consecutive Saturdays). Although legal under AKC rules, this schedule is tough on novice dogs (two back - to - back runs). We decided to take the risk. If we wanted both titles on Milou, it was our only option. We wanted those titles. We wanted Milou to return to France with an American souvenir.
This trial was a huge event; ten days of herding trials with up to 100 entries a day. With a wicked grin and a fast tail, Milou has always had an attitude of willingness and curiosity. She had always seemed to say, "Okay, I can do that! Now what else would you like me to do?" That attitude served her well as she took in all the activity at the trial site and hotel like a pro. Or maybe that is just her show dog background. Milou completed her PT title (two legs) and one of HT legs. Our runs were rather eventful and a reminder that our dogs will keep us humble.
Milou drew a crowd ("Pembroke with a tail? Let's watch.") On the first Saturday, Milou ran her HT with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of barking. She even did a little backward pass to wave to the audience.
The move to the PT arena (from a 100 x 100 pen to a bigger field of 100 x 200 feet) was problematic. On the end of the arena where the panels were set, cattle were being moved during her run. Milou did a good job of fetching the sheep through the panels at that end of the arena but as we turned to complete our work, she poked her head under the tarp and tried to get to the cattle ('mine, mine, all stock is mine!'). Her gleeful, barky herding caused a lot of a laughter but when it was time to pen, this issue of greed repeated itself: she didn't want her set of 3 sheep, she wanted all 30 of the sheep in the holding pens. After figuring out she could not gather those sheep (she did try to dig under the fencing) we completed the PT run and had qualified twice (HT and PT). Milou was halfway to her two test titles.
The following weekend it was hot. 85°F/30°C, no shade and the Trial Committee changed the running order requiring PT first; the previous weekend, the easier class ran first. They set out hay which created a strong draw or pull of the stock to the hay. It makes a beginning dog's work harder. Milou isn't just a Pembroke, she is a Pembroke with the typiest, shortest, lovely little hocks and boy did she have to work hard. The arena was sandy (harder to run over and hot to the feet) and thanks to the hay, the sheep kept taking every opportunity to split off and run back to the hay forcing Milou to pick them up and start over. Milou did her work and did it well but it was exhausting. The judge loved her, kept saying over and over what a nice dog I had, what fun she and I would have together as we continued in herding.
And then we faced our next challenge. Because the schedule was changed and some dogs missed their runs, we left one arena to immediately compete in the HT class without a break. While the work is easier, Milou had no chance between PT and HT to catch her breath, cool off and neither did I. We went in and started fetching the sheep in this simple pattern and Milou noticed a water puddle on the course. She went to the puddle to drink and I called her off and asked her to get her sheep. She fetched her sheep up to that puddle again and plopped down into the cool water... again the sheep split off. The sheep read Milou as a tired, hot, distracted dog and took advantage just as the PT sheep had done. The same judge who ranted and raved that Milou was a prodigy decided Milou wasn't 'progressing' and called our run. Milou not qualified.
Because Milou had earned her PT (the more difficult class, and a higher level) she cannot compete in HT again, she cannot earn that title. I was reminded that Pembrokes are sensible dogs who will take care of themselves... and thank goodness for that! I was also reminded how irritable I get when I fail. Bonnie Smith (an American friend of Bea's and a fan of Milou's) was at the trial to cheer for Milou. Both Pat and Bonnie reminded me we got what we came for: an AKC title for this French dog.
In closing, I could tell you stories of how Milou charmed a room full of university students who were flabbergasted a French dog understood English commands. Or how this high class Parisian helps me with my farm chores and gardening. What I'd prefer to tell you is that if Milou is representative of the dogs bred in France, you guys are doing a great job. While herding may not be your ruler of excellence, Milou's success proved instinct is alive and well and the willingness to please is evident. This is no small thing. The desire to control stock, (you see it as a bossy nature at home), is critical to herding. The confidence to have an opinion and to assert it, the ability to work under pressure makes a herding dog. They are constantly making split second decisions.
Milou was bred to be attractive, correct and sound. Her health clearances were met (PWCCA standards) and she produced a quality litter. Equally important to me was the fact her soundness and conformation supported the job she was bred to do: herding. The Pembroke Welsh Corgi was originally a useful, thrifty farm dog. Milou never took one lame step, was never sore or stressed. Her movement was easy, her topline rock solid and her perfect little feet absorbed the pounding on hard ground. While her hocks were short (oh, so very cute!!!), they were in correct proportion thus making this little package efficient. Finally the smallest dog at these trials was lovely to look at and friendly to all she met. And as for her mind... she had courage (sheep will challenge a dog) and kindness (no biting the sheep!) and she was obedient and willing to please. While your standard may not address temperament in the terms I describe, I think Milou is just about perfect. Tough enough and very smart. If Milou stayed in a setting where she could continue to train, I could see her working her way upward through AKC herding titles and would be a prime candidate for obedience competition as well. She'd also make a great little farm dog.
For now as I ponder my future without Milou, I know she'll be happy to return to Bea's family with her maternity duties behind her. I suspect however, when she makes those little 'woof's' and her feet stutter in her sleep, that she's not counting sheep but chasing them. And just ahead of her in that dream is a heavy woman with a southern accent, calling out in English, "Good girl, Milou, that's a very good girl!"
AKC Herding Regulations (PDF)
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Vicki Northway breeds Pembroke Corgis under the kennel name DRIFAN. She is a member of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America (PWCCA) and the Golden Gate Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club. She was performance editor of the PWCCA Newsletter for six years and has titled over 22 Pembrokes in herding and won High in Trial at the PWCCA National Herding trial six times with four different dogs.
This report was written for the Bulletin of the Corgis Club de France (No. 69, Eté 2014) and reproduced with kind permission.
All photos courtesy Pat Seifert, CAAMORA Pembroke Corgis
Milou's Adventure continued in Part II
05.01.2015
