When I started shepherding 40 years ago I thought beardies were hard-case looking dogs but not too
good for work dogs.

I held this view for a few years, then came into contact with John Journeaux and Dick Eaton who
had amazing beardies, both were also very successful Dog Trial competitors. John’s dogs could muster
up-hill on the blind, muster goats, eat wild cattle, find pigs and bring the house cow in quietly.

I asked Dick Eaton why he favoured coarse coated dogs. His reply was that most of the first
working dogs that had noise in New Zealand were beardies, clever dogs that could “sight” sheep at
a distance. With the burnt bush and no lice treatment at the time, the rubbing against the charcoaled
stumps turned the sheep quite black and hard to see.

People introduced other breeds to help with this: the Labrador for his great nose and trainability,
and the bloodhound for his nose and trailbarking which flushed the sheep out ahead of him before
he or the owner were aware of their presence.

Dick reckoned the woollier they were the more they favoured the clever, stock working, dogs, and
the smoother they were the more they threw to the bloodhound and labrador.
I asked about the heat and he replied that the length of hair actually keeps the sun off their skin and
out of their eyes. Beardies don’t seem to get glaucoma like smooth coated dogs. He said put your
hand on the back of your smooth black and tan dog and on the back of my wooly dog and see the
difference. My dog was very hot to the touch, his not at all.

I came to truly appreciate that grizzly breed of Ned Dahm, Dick Eaton and John Journeaux’s. They
were physically beautiful dogs, and incredibly balanced. Dogs of their strain working into their
teens was a common occurrence. If a dog breaks down at 6 years of age, you have to train twice as
many dogs. In the Waimarino at that stage the dogs that most cockies got their muttons in with were
by John Journeaux’s Ned. They were dogs that would give anybody, regardless of their ability, their
best efforts.

Since I have been breeding these dogs, my mission statement to myself was “don’t ruin it”, I have
tried not to fix what isn’t broken and kept to breeding for physical ability, trainability, moderation
and natural abilities to work unattended. While my natural preference has developed towards coated
dogs I have tried to keep open to all good sheepdogs and have introduced smooth coated dogs such
as Bill Hinchey’s Ben and Dick Haynes’ Scott and others to help the breed.

I have held this opinion that “there is never been a good dog of bad colour” and have tried to breed
from what I thought was the best dog as opposed to try to breed “Biscuit Box Beardies” for the sake
of looking unique.

As with anything regarding breeding it takes time, discipline and imagination and it is an absolute
pleasure for me that a younger man is shouldering the workload of looking after this wonderful
breed.

I hope that I have maintained and enhanced the breed and am looking forward to see the dogs that
continue to be awesome and appreciated.

Nick the Dread