The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1897-11-01
CANINE CONTESTS.
Shepherd Dogs Compete for Hon
ors as Herders-
society In France Which Has HOa
It's object the Improvement of
This breed of DoSs-RuIes
of the Contest.

y
France a society known as the Club
du Chen de Berger Francais,' which
is devoted to the improvement OF the
breed of shepherd dogs in that coun-
try.
1t is seconded in its efforts by the
ministry of agriculture, and, its work
has been of such = nature that shepherds
and drovers ;aI.e more than little
pride in possessing membership IN it.
The dogs used il France for guarding
and driving focks and droTes differ
considerably from the Scotch collie.
Two of the principal breeds cultivated
there are known as the dogs of Beauce
and of Brie, the country of the fragrant
':fromage.''
The dogs of Beauce have rough
coat, sharp nose, erect, pointed ears.
and something of woIfish appear
ance. Those OF Bric have long, shaggy
hair which conceais their eyes and to
a great extent the form of their limbs.
AS both these localities are at no
great distance from and on opposite
sides of Paris the greatest rivalry ex-
lists between them.
The club held its first competition last
year in the neighbcrhood of Chartres
and the second was held just month
ago at Angerville, village in the de-
partment of Seine ct Oise, on the plains
of Beauce, where shepherd dogs are
numerous and which are easy of ac-
cess to the drovers of the stock yards
of La Villette in the northern suburbs
of Paris.
In judging the dogs entered in eompe-
tition their points of beauty and the
purity of breed are first considered,
and then follows the most interesting
part of the competition, the conducting
of a flock of sheep over a prepared
course by each dog entered. This con-
test is described by a writer for LII
lustration:
sat half-past IL the procession starts
from the town hall of Angerville for
the proving ground, two mounted gem
darmes opening the line of march, fol-
lowed by the Opheonic society" (the
name with which brass bands dignity
themselves in French villages). Then
follow the spectators and the com
petitors, conducted by their masters.
''The route over which the sheep
should pass without devia ton is traced
on the plain by two burrows turned by
a plow, and marked from place to place
by small stakes floating tricolored pen
nants.
"In the park at the commencement
of the course is a large drove of sheep
which are to play their humble role in
the spectacle.
Each shepherd is required to drive
a group of Is sheep over the course,
which has been made difficult by bar
riers, bitches and hedges, and it is the
duty of the dog to see that none of them
wandcrs from the flock.
"The troop should pass over all OBJ
stacles, climb the hillocks, descend into
bitches and pass between the hedges
which form a choked passage in a com
pact band from which no sheep should
be allowed to separate itself.
Amusing incidents are not lacking.
Of the 80 dogs entered few succeed in
conducting their Is sheep safely to the
goal. Wild chases over the plain and
between the feet of the spectators are
frequent. More than one of the shep-
herds, exasperated by the stubborn
ness of the sheep before the obstacles,
seizes the leader by the tuft of wool
at the nape of the neck known as the
'chignon' and drags him through the
remainder of the stupid, band to follow
like sheep ii
''The best dogs are those who do not
become nervous or excited, but by their
calmness and by taking their time pre-
vent the scattering of the fcck.
"a good shepherd dog should not nip
the hind legs of a sheep, as cut from
his sharp teeth may spoil the shank,
which furnishes the most salable cut
of mutton, but should seize the animal
by the 'chignon.'
After the trials of driving, the sheep
are placed in hurdles, and competi-
ton of placing and separating into lots
is held, and the day is terminated in a
fete in the village with illuminations
merry y-go-rounds, dancing, and like
amusements.-N. Y. Herald.