Woman trains sheep dogs for competition

BOWMAN, N.D. (AP)--Joni Swanke is part of the growing number of sheep dog trial competitors from around the country, and she is bringing regional competition here.

"I've been doing this seriously for the past 10 years," said Swanke, of Marmarth. "Before I got into the trials, I used the dogs on a ranch with a lot of cattle and sheep. It's gotten to be a huge sport and I train a lot of outside dogs."

Swanke also judges trials, gives training lessons and breeds dogs for others.

Swanke is moving her regional sheep dog competition from Marmarth to Bowman this year to host the first Bowman Classic Sheep Dog Trial event, starting May 29.

The first two days feature open-level top dogs and the last day is dedicated to nursery classes for young dogs.

Swanke said people from all over the world have come to other trials in North Dakota.

"At this trial, there will be some of the best dogs in the nation, from Canada and all over," she said. "Some of the point leaders in the nation are coming. It's been a big trial at our ranch south of Marmarth for years. And now moving it here, we are hoping to get more people able to come out and watch."

People from places like Florida or Virginia who don't have sheep in open fields send their dogs to North Dakota to get trained, she said.

"People come out here because we have western sheep and open space," Swanke said. "It's not so populated and they like coming out this way."

Sheep dog trials have numbered regions across the United States.

"This one, one other and then the trials in Buffalo and Douglas, Wyo., are four qualifying rounds for the national finals," Swanke said. "Although I travel quite a bit for trials, many people can't go to as many of these and gather points to qualify."

There are about 70 dogs in each class. The course is designed on a point system for the dogs to do the regular tasks of herding sheep. The object, Swanke said, is to get more points. Elements such as the fresh sheep used or a tough course are influencing factors.

"If you run well, you'll win prize money, which will cover most of your expenses, but when starting out you better just enjoy the sport, which a lot of people do. It's very addictive," she said. "If you don't do well, you just go home and know what you got to do better--it hooks you that way."

Swanke has Lou, a 5-year-old border collie, who has been in the top 10 at the national trials and is one of the top dogs in the country. He also happens to love the camera.

"He likes to pose," Swanke said. "These kinds of dogs have a huge expression and are fun to photograph. I take a lot of pictures at trials. Used to be when I worked on the ranch, we'd work all day long and if a dog doesn't have a lot of heart they don't hold up."

Swanke has seven dogs. One just had six puppies--all sold at only 4 weeks old. She has two older dogs, one young dog in training for someone else and four in training for next year.

"I usually have about two or three competition dogs and three ready to come in then rotate them through," Swanke said. "When they get broke, I usually don't keep them past age 5, but with Lou, I did because it's hard to keep starting over. I've sold so many, but I wanted to keep him to compete."

Swanke has different genetic characteristics from Scotland to breed dogs.

"I have almost all the good stuff here; people bring their best dogs over and we breed them here," Swanke said. "Some put a lot of work into a genetic program of culling, sorting and selecting the best ones just like cutting race horses. This is a lot like the horse business, but just on a smaller scale and not as much money in it."

Tag is a 9-month-old pup now in training.

"A dog isn't ready to run before they are 2 years old at the earliest and they are not fully mature or trained until they are around 4 or 5 years old," Swanke said. "The competition is stiff; you have to be so precise in your training now."

Although Tag doesn't know left or right yet, Swanke said he has the instinct and drive to become a great competitor.

"He gets so excited and just loves to work. That's all they think about," she added. "He's a bit wild, but that's what they're like when they first get started and are not quite mature yet."

Dogs learn an extensive vocabulary of vocal and equivalent whistle commands.

The command "lie down" means wait until the trainer is ready; "come by" tells the dog to go clockwise around the sheep and herd them a certain direction; "steady now" means go forward and "steady" means go slow.

"'Come by' is a long direction while 'come' is a short direction," Swanke said.

Swanke has sheep that are trained, to help train her dogs.

Dogs are trained to herd, find and sort sheep. Splitting up sheep from their flock, however big or small, can be a hard task for anyone, human or canine, Swanke said.

"Sheep don't split from each other. It's not in their nature," she said.

People who get into sheep dog training can teach the dogs to do a huge variety of things.

"A lot of people who are participating in this trial, believe it or not, are doctors and lawyers, people who just want to get away and do something they enjoy," Swanke said. "Most people do this for a hobby and there are only a few like me who are ranchers who turned dog trialers."

Date: 6/21/07

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