Border collies live for the animals they herd.
The dog breed is one of the smartest dogs in the world, according to the American Kennel Club.
Bill Tozzo knows this first-hand.
“People can get their dogs to sit and stay,” said Tozzo, from North Haven, Conn. but living in Alma for work. “These guys (border collies) will stare at you like ‘tell me what else to do’.”
He said he came Saturday to the Alma Highland Festival and Games at Alma College just to see a demonstration of border collies doing sheep herding. James and Becky Valley, from Ann Arbor, conducted sheep herding demonstrations with their border collies Charlotte and Twix.
From a series of commands given by James Valley, the dogs herded into a pen several Katahdin hair breed sheep that were brought by the Valleys.
“The dog’s going to grab that herd over there and bring it to the pack, which would be me,” said James Valley, who has been using border collies to herd animals for about 20 years. He and his family own a farm at their home where the dogs herd animals.
The demonstration discussed the commands he uses to get the dog to circle the animals around and into a pen, how to start training a border collie to herd animals, and more.
“It’s kind of giving a routine from start to finish of what we do,” Valley said.
Examples of commands are “come by,” which means to send the dog counterclockwise around the herd, while “away” means to send the dog clockwise around the herd, and “walk on” encourages the dog to walk toward the animals.
“It takes the right dog and you being in the right spot to get them to move instead of spinning in a tornado,” Valley said. “It’s just as hard to do three as it is 500.”
A large crowd watched the demonstration, including step-siblings Elizabeth Longhurst, a St. Paul, Minn. resident, and David and Tanner Gay, who live in Albuquerque, N.M.
“It’s really fun to see this,” Longhurst said. “I’m amazed you have to dogs and farmers and they’re getting them to do what you need them to do. You can tell these dogs really want to do this.”
Attending the festival is a tradition for her family; Longhurst said they have been coming since it began in 1968.
Throughout Saturday, they saw the piping competitions, festival games such as the caber toss, and the parade, Longhurst said.
“It’s like nothing else,” she said. “The games are quirky. It’s thrilling to hear the bagpipes in such huge numbers. Even though you’ve been here before, you’ll see something you’ve never seen before.”
The festival continues Sunday, including another set of sheep herding demonstrations by the Valleys.
Visit the festival’s website for the event schedule and more information.