Santa Rosa sheepdog trainer keeps eyes on the nationals

Each of the past 25 years, Sandra Milberg and her border collies have had a standing date at the National Sheepdog Finals each September. They have never won, she said, “but one can hope and work toward it.”

The rest of the year Milberg spends four to five days a week on her 144-acre Sonoma County doing just that, running her four dogs through their paces with sheep from the flock of 40-50 she raises just so the dogs can drive them. She teaches them to round up the sheep, drive them through gates, free them and separate them from the flock.

It’s part of a sport that grew out of the skills developed on sheep farms.

Border collies originated in the hill country between England and Scotland, and they have been used for hundreds of years to control large flocks of sheep, sometimes running hundreds of miles a day.

They are born with a natural instinct and desire to gather sheep, cattle and anything that moves. By 5 months old, their puppyhood wanes and they “need a job,” as their handlers say.

“They’re bred to herd and have attributes other dogs don’t have,” said Milberg, 75. “You won’t find them sleeping peacefully by the front door. They need attention and exercise, and they’re not appropriate for all families.”

They are bright, loyal and have tremendous attention spans. If you want to test it, just move.

“They’re a little nutty,” she said. “Their eye is attracted to moving things.”

It takes hours of training to teach the dogs voice and shepherd’s whistle commands to move left, right, stop and “come off” the stock they are herding. Most border collies respond to 15 or more commands.

“You need a pleasant temperament to work with them. They’re high-maintenance dogs,” Milberg said.

North American handlers and their border collies compete at sheepdog trials throughout the country for points and a berth at the National Sheepdog Finals. This year 150 finalists will qualify for the nationals, held Sept. 21-26 in Alturas, Calif., and Milberg hopes she will again be among them.

As they have done each spring for the past 21 years, she and her husband Arthur also held the Sonoma Wine Country Sheepdog Trials in March on their Oak Springs Ranch.

They bought the parcel on Calistoga Road bought in 1992 after moving north from Los Angeles, where Arthur was a dentist and Sandra was an interior designer. She had discovered border collies and wanted a place to train them, but they waited until their youngest son went to college.

Hosting the annual competition is a lot of work, Milberg said. “You don’t make money. You’re lucky to pay your expenses.

“I guess it is to give back to the dog handler community. If I put on a trial for you, maybe you will put one on for me to attend.”

This year it attracted 90 handlers, most from California but some from as far as Vermont and British Columbia and nine from Sonoma and Napa counties. Some were ranchers who use the dogs to herd their sheep. Most were hobbyists who train their animals just to compete.

Katy Deardorff brought her dogs from Hemet, saying, “I just love the teamwork and companionship with a dog. It’s a thrill. I just love running my dogs.”

The handlers, most with two dogs each, navigated a flat field one day and a hilly field the next in two fenced pastures.

Each dog and handler team started with 110 points on the hilly field and 100 on the flat field. Points were subtracted each time the dogs or handlers failed to successfully perform five phases of work in a set amount of time - nine minutes on the flat field, 11 minutes on the hilly field.

Dogs were expected to control three to five sheep and keep the flock moving in a straight line toward the handler, who was giving verbal and whistle commands from inside the shedding ring.

Fresh sheep were used for each run, chosen from among the 300 commercial wool and untrained sheep provided for the trials by John and Florence Cubiburu of Stockton.

Handlers can be disqualified for swearing, losing their temper or hitting the sheep with their shepherd’s crooks, walking sticks or the pen gate. They “retire” or forfeit the run if their dogs or the sheep just aren’t cooperating and they are fast losing points.

Dogs can be disqualified if they bite or “grip” the sheep anywhere other than the nose.

Faansie Basson, who moved his family from South Africa to Colorado in December, brought 10 dogs to the competition. During one of the runs, his dog jumped up and bit a sheep in the face. Basson was excused by the judge.

Basson was a rancher in South Africa, he said. “Now, I do it as a sport. It’s like a bad poison that gets in your blood. There’s not one other sport where you have to control an animal, with another animal at a great distance. Nothing else compares to this.”

Dave Imas of Olympia, Wash., competed and recorded many of the other competitors’ runs on video. Last year, his dog Chip placed 13th in the national championship held in Carbondale, Colo.

He said success depends on the dog’s herding instinct and its obedience to the handler’s commands.

“When dogs get confused, they just go on instinct to bring you the sheep,” Imas said. “But the dog also needs obedience to drive the sheep through the gates. It has to interact with the sheep. If a dog is rude, things can change completely.”

It also helps when one of the sheep is the flock’s leader, allowing the dog to focus on one sheep rather than all four.

“Handlers who are successful anticipate when the sheep are going to run. It’s not just a matter of having a well-trained dog,” Imas said.

Derek Fisher of Boise, Idaho, said successful handlers must immediately forgive their dogs when a run doesn’t go well.

“You have to look at each dog as an individual,” he said. With Nell, he won first place in the open flat field competition, earning 95 points. Joni Tietjen of Clearmont, Wyo., and her dog Bill led the hilly field competition with 107 points.

Border collies begin competing when they are 3 or 4 years old and live to be 13 to 15. They are in their prime at 7 and 8.

“Each dog needs to be treated individually. There are no two dogs alike,” said Milberg. “Border Collies are very smart, but they each have their own peculiarities. One dog may need its confidence reinforced while another needs to work on slowing its pace and not upsetting the sheep.

“They are very motivated to please you,” she said. “They love to work. Let them have some water, rest a bit, and they want to continue to work for you all day.”

Competing nationally in sheepdog trials can be an expensive endeavor, however. “A $2,000 to $3,000 dog can easily turn into a million-dollar investment,” said Imas.

Handlers like Basson make money by training dogs, running clinics or judging at trials. Imas also boards dogs and does obedience training for pets that are aggressive toward humans. His interest in border collies started in 1999.

“I found working with sentient beings an incredible vehicle for personal growth,” Imas said.

Sheepdog trials in the East and Midwest get underway in May. Handlers have until July 31 to collect enough points to go to the National Championship in September.

Amanda Milliken of Kingston, Ontario, and her dog Monty came out on top at the Wine Country competition, earning 195 of a possible 210 points. Sandra Andersen of Livermore and her dog Liz won the Reserve Champion award with 193 points. Milberg earned 228 of a possible 420 points, entering her dogs Hope and Devon in both fields.

But perhaps the biggest winner was the Hannah Boys Center in Sonoma, a school and home away from home for at risk boys ages 13 to 18. Some of the boys sold raffle tickets at the event and collected the $5 parking fee, raising about $3,500 for the center.

“It’s terrific, the boys have a lot of fun,” said Elizabeth Bjorklund, who teaches agriculture at the center. “The boys who helped are in the agriculture program, and they raise sheep for the Sonoma County Fair.”

Contact Towns Correspondent James Lanaras at WindsorTownNews@gmail.com.