06/22/2026
Stop at the top?
https://www.facebook.com/share/18mWBtkZCJ/
Alasdair rarely posts on Facebook but he and I were caught in a downpour this morning and while sheltering from the storm, we got on the topic of stopping dogs at the top of the outrun.
We’ve heard there’s a small group of judges penalizing dogs at trials that stop at the top.
It’s something Alasdair and I do often and we believe it’s vital, never mind shouldn’t be penalized.
I asked him to write, as a shepherd, his thoughts——
When gathering on the highland hills with steep rock faces, deep sided Burns (creeks) with waterfalls and few crossing places, you needed either a lot of people walking in a staggered line or fewer people if they had good dogs.
The rule at these gatherings was that the less control you had on your dog, the less distance you were allowed to send them; some were never off the leash until the sheep were all bunched.
They would put me in the difficult places because I could stop my dogs at a distance and keep them stopped, while the sheep negotiated the narrow sheep paths (trods) where it was too dangerous for people to walk on and sometimes even for sheep, but a dog could follow carefully or be stopped strategically, to give the sheep plenty time to find their own way.
If hurried, a lead sheep could slip and fall, the rest might, thinking it was safe, follow the lead sheep down a precipice and that was disaster.
When doing pre lambing gathering in the highlands, I used to send my dogs out a lot further than most, to where the sheep could see the dog, and then I’d lie my dog down at the end of its outrun as some twin bearing ewes were weaker and couldn’t stand being pressured by a dog, no matter how gently approached.
If a shepherd could stop their dog and give the sheep plenty of time, the ewes would follow and try and keep with the others, safely navigating their way.
Too much dog or a dog getting too close, and you would have the healthy sheep run and when the weaker ewes couldn’t keep up with them, they would turn and face the dog, lie down or otherwise be unable to make it all the way to the sheep fank (working pens), which would then require shepherds to come back out again another day or maybe two days, to find those weaker ewes and try to bring them home. That could take days and was very costly in man hours when there was a lot of work on; time and daylight were precious commodities.
The importance of a stop at the end of an outrun was magnified in these situations.
If you couldn’t stop your dog, the farmers often said not to send your dog but walk up and down the hill, shout and whistle and try to help move them along the face of the hill yourself.
The farther away you could stop your dog, the more effective and efficient you could be.
A stop on the hill was worth its weight in gold in many situations.
It’s always been difficult to get a dog that could push heavy groups of sheep to be obedient at half a mile and also work out of sight by itself if required; all three things are necessary and all three important and to be encouraged, not penalized but to be bred for and displayed for future breeders at trials.
Stronger dogs, the ones that are especially effective on bigger and heavier groups, should often be stopped to make them more subtle lifting and prove to breeders they can be obedient at a distance.
The versatility of the working border collie is one of their most revered traits, their ability to work on their own and also to instantly take commands at a distance both important.
Hearing that there are a small group of politicians/judges penalizing a handler that stops their dog at trials at the end of an outrun, goes against a sought after and important quality, one that generations of hill shepherds and breeders of olde have strived for and greatly valued.
I for one, am not arrogant enough to think that I know better.
