Sheepdog champions announced after scores tallied

By Gillian Slade on August 28, 2018.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com  @MHNGillianSlade

After several days of competition for sheepdogs and their handlers, the winners emerged on Sunday.

Scott Glen with his dog Alice, who live in Alberta, won the Canadian Sheepdog Championship with a final score of 153 out of 170 points.

The runner-up was Amanda Milliken with her border collie, Howell, from Kingston, Ont., with a score of 149.

Neither are new to winning, said Chris Jobe, Canine Solutions-Working Border Collies, which organized the event that was held last week about 30 kilometres south of Medicine Hat.

More than 100 border collies demonstrated their skill, discipline and teamwork moving sheep with voice and whistling commands from their handlers. There are no hand signals from the handler because the dog’s eyes must be on the sheep.

The dogs faced an unknown, vast championship course and sheep that had never before been herded by a dog.

Training the dogs starts when they are between seven and nine months old with some participating in championships by the age of three or four.

Jobe is eager to host the Canadian Sheepdog Championship again next year in the same location. She’s hoping there will be even more support from the public. This year, the first in this area, attracted about 425 spectators, she said.

With even more public interest anticipated for the event in 2019, Jobe is already thinking about additional spectator parking and facilities in general to make for an even more exciting and enjoyable experience to observe the skill of the dogs and their handlers.

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