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Dogs

*DREW PRINGLE

*Scotland

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Drew with Piddie (the Border Collie) and Jeff.

  
       
 

Left to right: Piddie, Jeff and Tannie.

  
       
 

Left to right: Piddie, Tannie, Ben and Jeff assisted Drew in moving the sheep on a cold winter's day.

  
       
 

Tannie worked with Piddie and Drew.

  
       
 

Piddie was on the left. Tannie smiled for her audience.

  
       
 

Jeff on the left; Tannie on the right.

  
       
 

Jeff on the left; Tannie on the right.

  
       
 

Jeff on the left; Tannie on the right.

  
       
 

Tannie on the left; Jeff on the right.

  
       
 

Jeff on the left; Tannie on the right.

  
       
 

Drew will describe for the viewer and demonstrate (using this image and the following pictures) how he moved approximately 1,000 sheep a distance of six miles.

Two days before the pictures were taken, sheep were gathered up in order to move them to the main farming area for shearing. The distance was six miles; Drew went on foot. The shearing of that many sheep would have been contracted out.

  
       
 

In this picture, Tannie was walking behind Drew while Jeff was on the hillside making sure the sheep stay together. Drew and the dogs were moving the sheep across the hills from Carron (name of a farm or hirsel located between Loch Awe and Loch Fyne). They left around 9:00 A.M. for the six mile journey. It took about one hour to cover a mile’s distance.

Without the dogs, Drew said there would have been no moving the stock anywhere. That is where the dogs begin to shine and truly earn their keep. Although the work and way of life of the drovers (as a profession) has long ended, it is correct to say that in these pictures the dogs are, indeed, engaged in the art of droving. Drew had to rely on his dogs in order that ALL of the sheep stayed together in a flock while being moved. Nothing could have stopped the sheep from breaking away because of the amount of land they were covering. Only the abilities of the dogs kept them together.

  
       
 

A distant view; a long ways to go.

 		  
       
 

Drew and another shepherd used the dogs to continue their drive. Once they arrived at their destination, and after a day of rest, the sheep would be sheared. Then, after that they were moved on the next day back to their hefting grounds (hefting is a place where the sheep themselves are familiar with the land and prefer to live). The sheep would have returned to their hefting grounds on their own, but there was a deep flowing river that had to be crossed. It was imperative that Drew find a shallow area for the sheep and dogs to cross in order that all the sheep returned safely. Otherwise, if the sheep had returned on their own, many likely would have died due to drowning. Not a single sheep was lost.

  

 

 
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