Not your usual fetch New to stock dog trials? Here’s what to watch.
Points: Each team begins with the same number of points. The judge penalizes the team for any mistakes. The winner is the team that retains the most points.
Outrun: Five sheep are let out at the top of a field on the far side from the dog and its handler. Because a dog’s long-distance vision is poor, the handler can cue the dog about where the sheep are, but the dog must get behind the sheep before the handler can issue another command.
Fetch: The dog herds the sheep to the handler, bringing them through a set of gates and then around a post.
Drive: The dog drives the sheep across the field to another set of gates, then brings them back to the handler.
Shed: The team must separate two or three sheep from the rest and move the sheep into the shedding ring.
Pen: The dog regroups the sheep and drives them into a pen. Sometimes the dog must also separate a sheep at this point and drive it into the shedding ring.
Steamboat Stock Dog Challenge
Saturday through Sept. 7, Stanko Ranch, near Steamboat Springs; 970-879-5214,
Many of the same dogs competing at the Steamboat Springs dog trials will also be competing the following week at Meeker. The ranch is on 20 Mile Road approximately 3.5 miles from the Bud Werner Memorial Library.
Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trials
Sept. 9-13, Meeker; 970-942-7125,
The purse here is worth more than $20,000, so Meeker draws the best dogs and handlers from throughout the U.S. A 5-day pass costs $30; a one-day pass is $10. An hourly free shuttle ferries onlookers to the sheepdog trial site from the White River Inn and Blue Spruce Inn, City Park and the courthouse.
