Shepherds With Beardies

Shepherds/Farmers
History
Images
Other
 
 
You are visiting the "Home" page for the Shepherds With Beardies website. The main sections for this site can be accessed by clicking on any one of the above links. From there, sub-sections are presented.

The idea of putting together a website for the working Beardie-like dogs began in the year 2002. One woman in America called a man living in Britain to ask questions about working Beardies. That phone call led to further discussions; and eventually it was discussed how little was known about the working Beardie-like dogs outside of the farming community in Britain. Even among those individuals, little was known beyond what had been collected, or handed down verbally, by their ancestors. Some information had been published about the working Beardie-like dogs, but there had never been an attempt to collect and document all publications, images, and artwork to appear all in one place on the internet.

It was not until nine years later (2011) that the website materials were finally ready. It took years to collect the information. Sifting through the documents often led to frustration when it did not turn out to be reliable information. Three trips to America were made by two individuals that worked their Beardies (one individual came twice) in the farming community. Two trips were made to Britain by the American to search for additional information in libraries and art museums. As time passed, many people from different locations around the world came forth with valuable information and materials. Their names are listed on the "Contributors'" page under the "Other" section.

Obviously, more documents will surface as time passes. But as of 2011, a recorded history will now be available for future generations to read. One small inconvenience that some viewers may encounter is the inconsistency regarding the spelling of many words (example: honour vs. honor). Much of the final proofing of pages was done by a husband and wife team in Lancashire, England. They chose to ignore, rather than correct, the spelling of words by American writers. Additional proofing was done by an American. 

DEDICATION

This site is dedicated to those individuals who put forth their written recollections and recordings, and to the individuals from Britain who are using, or once used, working Beardie-like dogs to assist in their management of flocks of sheep or in the droving of cattle. Some individuals, from both the 20th and 21st centuries, appear in the "Shepherds/Farmers" section.

Though this site has the word "shepherds" in its domain name, the name was not selected to exclude sheep farmers, stockmen, herdsmen or drovers. A Beardie-like dog working cattle is just as valued as any Beardie-like dog tending its flock. In fact, in its history, the Beardie-like shepherd's dog was highly regarded by individuals working as drovers and butchers. Dogs being used as drovers no longer exist due to the implementation of railroad cars, large transport trucks (called lorries), or ferries. The term "drover" is often used interchangeably for a person, or a dog, engaged in the driving of cattle, or other livestock, to market.

If any shepherd/farmer participating in this website project calls, or called, his worker a Bearded Collie, no matter the appearance, then let it be so. Keep in mind, that many of the rough-coated or shaggy sheepdogs were similar in appearance. Some of the old photographs on this website will make it difficult to distinguish a Beardie from an Old English Sheepdog and other breeds as well.

Working dogs may not work in the same manner as a trial dog, but it does not mean a working Beardie-like canine cannot succeed at trialing. A few of them have been very successful at both working and trialing, and some of them are presented herein.

 
© 2011 Innovare Design. The majority of  materials presented on this website are copyrighted by the original authors, etc. In addition, the appropriate forms have been filed with the United States Library of Congress in order to protect original authorship under 17 U.S.C. Sec. 102(a). Further, licensing fees have been paid for use of some images. Therefore, under the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law, as well as the Berne Agreement, for those countries honoring the Berne Agreement, you are hereby notified not to use, or copy, any materials on this website without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. Questions or Concerns? Please contact copyright@shepherdswithbeardies.com or info@shepherdswithbeardies.com. These two email addresses are not presented as links. They must be retyped in the address line for your email. This was done to avoid unnecessary junk email being forwarded to the website. Thank you for your understanding.