Dogs put sheep through their paces, 11 minutes at a time

MENDOCINO CO., 11/13/16 — The sheep at the Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) are “real sheep,” which is the term dog handler and Modoc County Supervisor Geri Byrne uses to describe a flock that exists for some purpose other than being chased around by dogs.

Although the sheep at HREC serve commercial and research purposes, this weekend they were taken out to a field, four at a time, so sheepdogs and their handlers could put them through their paces. Sheepdog trials are a showcase of canine grace and intelligence, where the most successful teams are those whose human handlers know when to trust the animal’s ability to read the sheep.