Teaching new dogs old tricks, Greg Estes maintains a cultural tradition.

Greg Estes stood just inside the open pasture gate. At his side was Chris, a six-year-old Border Collie.

"Away to me, Chris," Estes said, and the dog raced low to the ground in a counter-clockwise circle around a group of yearling cattle at the other end of the pasture. Chris bunched the animals and drove them toward Estes, keeping stragglers in line. With a few more commands from Estes, the dog drove the yearlings through the gate into the next pasture.

"I've owned Border Collies since I was 10 years old," said Estes. "My father brought in dogs from Wales; he wanted Border Collies that could compete in trials. We've had Welsh and Scottish bloodlines ever since then."

His dog, Chris, won the "nursery" class (for dogs under 3 years of age) at the National Cattle Dog Trials in 2002. Greg's son, Kyle, had the open cattle-working champion in 2004.

"We have a trial here at the farm on the last weekend in April," said Greg. "We'll have 50 or 60 dogs, mostly from southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas. There are several working-dog trials in Missouri and Arkansas each year."

The National Cattle Dog and National Sheep Dog trials are moveable events from year to year.

"We compete in the national trial when it's held within a day's drive of the farm," Estes said. "I can't afford to be gone for longer than a couple of days at a time."

Greg and Karen Estes run about 150 crossbred beef cows on their farm just south of Mount Vernon, Mo. They also keep a small flock of sheep, primarily to train young dogs.

"That's the main reason I own dogs," he said. "I use my dogs on a daily basis, and these are the same dogs that compete in trials. Border Collies are intelligent animals; a good one has the ability to think things out when working livestock. That's an advantage, usually, but it can be a disadvantage if the dog starts taking too much onto himself. I take my dogs out and they gather cattle by themselves."

There are other herding dog breeds (Australian Shepherds, Australian Cattle Dogs, Blue Heelers), but Estes favors Border Collies. That breed originated in the highlands where England borders Scotland and Wales—thus the name Border Collie. For generations, these dogs have been bred primarily as livestock working dogs. That genetic history gives the breed an outstanding instinct for herding livestock.

"Some have better instincts than others," said Estes. "I can recognize if a dog has the right instincts about the first time or two that I work with it. A lot of it is how you raise them. Don't let a dog pick up a lot of bad habits early on."

Estes waits until a dog is about a year old before he begins training, but he takes the dog with him fairly often before that, to help "people-ize" the pup.

"I start training a pup with sheep," he said. "Sheep are less intimidating to a young dog than cattle, and the handler can see better how the dog is behaving. The principles are the same with sheep or cattle, and a dog needs to be old enough to take correction.

"I start a dog with both voice and whistle commands," he added. "A dog can hear a whistle farther than he can hear your voice, and yelling at a dog is not very productive, although I sometimes break that rule myself. You need to communicate with a dog in terms he can understand; if he hears excitement in your voice, the dog gets excited."

Estes uses the same commands British dog handlers use. "Come by" orders the dog to circle animals to the left, or clockwise. "Away to me" tells the dog to move to the right, or counter-clockwise. "The terms you use are probably not all that important, as long as the dog understands what you want him to do," he admitted. "Our first dogs came from the British Isles, so we adopted the same language here."

Farming and livestock raising have changed radically in the past several years. Today, more farmers and ranchers own four-wheelers than own stock dogs.

"But one man with a good dog can handle livestock quicker and more smoothly than three or four men without dogs," Estes said. "Today, many stock dogs are owned by people who compete in trials and seldom if ever use the dogs to work stock on the farm."

Working dog breeders sometimes quarrel with the American Kennel Club, which stresses color, markings and conformation. Stock dog groups, such as the American Border Collie Association, are more interested in whether a dog will perform than whether it is pretty. Traits need to be balanced in a working dog. If you breed dogs specifically for formal dog shows, it could be detrimental to the Border Collie breed.

"I don't pay much attention to color or conformation," said Estes. "If a dog can handle stock expertly, I don't care if he's purple and yellow."

If you're looking for a dog to help you work livestock on your own place, you first need to decide whether a stock dog would make your routine easier or would be more trouble than it's worth. This depends largely on your attitude toward dogs in general and whether you have the temperament, time and desire to train a dog to suit your operation.

"Using a dog successfully takes teamwork," said Estes. "And training (of both the handler and the dog) is an on-going thing. I'm still learning from my dogs."

Greg and Karen Estes breed Border Collies, although they have trimmed back numbers.

"We don't raise a lot of pups," Greg admitted. "Right now, we have three trained dogs that are working well. They are all out of good bloodlines, bred to work. And we have a few pups for sale each year, but not many."

A weaned, 8-week-old Border Collie pup will cost $200 and up, depending on the dog's background and bloodlines.

You can contact Greg Estes at:

11579 Lawrence County Farm Road 2160, Mount Vernon, MO, 65712. Phone: (417) 235-3044.

To find a breeder in your area, contact the American Border Collie Association at 82 Rogers Road, Perkinston, MS 39573.

Call (601) 928-7551 or e-mail: ABCA@datasync.com. Or visit www.americanbordercollie.org.