Bagpipes and border collies - South Bay Pets

Bagpipes and border collies

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By Donna Littlejohn on February 14, 2009 7:45 PM | | Comments (0) |
scottish logo pic.jpgWow. I've never seen so much plaid in one place. 

My friend Shirley and I went to the Scottish Heritage Festival in Long Beach Saturday (it runs through Sunday at the Queen Mary). We grew up next door to each other and are both of Scottish descent. 

We're novices compared to much of this crowd, though, blundering through the clan books and trying to find our family names in search of our roots. 

(The baron of my clan was there from the old country, but I didn't get a chance to meet him. I'm not sure what any of that means. Do I have standing in the clan as a member? Responsibilities? Some land somewhere?? Ah, a brief google search revealed that my clan is small. No land anymore in Scotland. Figures) 

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But my favorite part every time is watching the border collies and other herding breeds in a sheepherding demo.

Ted Thompson Ondrak, a herding instructor and licensed judge from Acton, has been bringing the sheep and dogs out to Long Beach for 16 years now. Originally, he used veteran dogs but found the crowds becoming bored after a while. The dogs were so good at what they did it was all quite predictable.

So he began including students and their novice dogs in various stages of training, adding the some unexpected and humorous moments to the show.

I remember one year when they brought out a shaggy bearded collie puppy. Out he romped, absolutely thrilled to be there but looking not the least bit interested in the sheep. But he sure loved bouncing around and playing as we all stood around laughing at his antics. As I recall, it took a bit of work to corner him and get him off the field! 

Today's demo included a few moments of surprise, as well, when an inexperienced dog briefly lost control and the sheep scattered, heading right into the crowd.
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It took a veteran dog to round 'em up and head them back into the ring. 

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The herding demonstrations will take place again Sunday (Feb. 15) -- at 1 and 3 p.m. 

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My dog Tess, below, sure would love those sheep! But for now, fetch will have to do.

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Donna Littlejohn published on February 14, 2009 7:45 PM.

Bee mine was the previous entry in this blog.

Cats can do it too! is the next entry in this blog.

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About the Bloggers

Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.

E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.

Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.

E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.

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