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Some of our cast visited the Soldier Hollow Classic Sheepdog Championship in Midvale, Utah to learn more about how the sheepdog trials work and how the dogs are judged during this competition!
Some of our cast visited the Soldier Hollow Classic Sheepdog Championship in Midvale, Utah to learn more about how the sheepdog trials work and how the dogs are judged during this competition!
There are five main calls a handler will use with their sheepdog.
There are five main calls a handler will use with their sheepdog.
- Come Bye: Move in a clockwise direction around the sheep
- Away to Me: Move in a counterclockwise direction around the sheep
- Walk up: Speed up or keep pushing those sheep forward
- Time or Steady: Slow down and give the sheep a bit more space
- Lie Down: Stop and take pressure off of the sheep. If the handler says it a second time, this means to lay all the way down.
- That’ll Do: This phrase is used to signal the end of a task or command, indicating that the dog can stop working and return to the handler.
Watch the video on the left to see these commands in action, and during the show see if you hear any of these commands!
Watch the video on the left to see these commands in action, and during the show see if you hear any of these commands!
After the sheepdog learns how to respond to the handler's verbal calls, the handler will transition to using a whistle. The dog is able to hear the whistle from farther away, so it is used during competitions. The pitch and length of the whistle tone changes depending on the command. Listen to these different whistle sounds in the video below!
After the sheepdog learns how to respond to the handler's verbal calls, the handler will transition to using a whistle. The dog is able to hear the whistle from farther away, so it is used during competitions. The pitch and length of the whistle tone changes depending on the command. Listen to these different whistle sounds in the video below!
At the start of the play, you'll hear a TV Commentator refer to the "Fetch Gates," "Handler's Post," and "Drive Away Gates." These words refer to different parts of the field of the sheepdog trials. See if you can find these different obstacles in the map to the left.
At the start of the play, you'll hear a TV Commentator refer to the "Fetch Gates," "Handler's Post," and "Drive Away Gates." These words refer to different parts of the field of the sheepdog trials. See if you can find these different obstacles in the map to the left.
Here's a video of an actual sheepdog competing in the Irish National Sheepdog Trials in 2016!
Here's a video of an actual sheepdog competing in the Irish National Sheepdog Trials in 2016!
We visited the petting zoo and met some of the animals from the show!
We visited the petting zoo and met some of the animals from the show!
Shh... don't tell the sheep in our show, but we might have eaten some sheep while we were there. They were delicious! YUM!
Shh... don't tell the sheep in our show, but we might have eaten some sheep while we were there. They were delicious! YUM!
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