ATTA BOY FLOYD
CALL NAME: “FLOYD”

Breed: Border Collie
Sire: Strut
Dam: Gael
Breeder: Paul Beere
Born: August 6, 1995
Height: 21 inches
Weight: 42 pounds
Color: Black and white with brown eyes
Favorite Activities: Working sheep or watching sheepdog trials; playing soccer; patrolling the yard; and playing fetch.

In 1995, I traveled to Berrien Springs, Michigan to compete at the Australian Shepherd National Specialty. I had dogs entered in agility, obedience, stock and conformation. My husband Ron joined me for the agility competition to handle our then nine and a half year old Aussie, Paddi, in one of her last trials. My herding coach, Shannon Wolfe, also came to watch and brought with her two young Border Collie puppies that had been sired by her dog, Strut. After watching Paddi tire out during one of her runs, I half jokingly asked Shannon if either of the pups were for sale. Shannon’s smile immediately told me my “family” was about to grow again as she indicated that her “baby boy” was indeed looking for a new home.

Atta Boy Floyd at eight weeks of age

I decided to acquire my first Border Collie for two reasons. I really wanted to improve my handling skills in the livestock arena and felt that by working with a dog that naturally stayed farther off the stock I would be able to learn the sport at a faster rate. I also thought that Ron would be happy to have a Border Collie as an agility partner. Since Ron was to spend so much time with this dog, I gave him the honor of naming the pup. Yes, he is named after Floyd the Barber from the Andy Griffith Show!

I learned more than I could ever imagine by working with Floyd. Under Shannon’s guidance, Floyd showed me how much fun it was to work with a talented dog. He was extremely patient with me as I learned about the stock and how best to direct him through a course. Novice handlers often know far less than a well-bred dog when it comes to stock sense, and I was no exception. Floyd became a great stock dog despite my lack of experience as a handler.

Floyd is a strong-eyed dog who likes to control the movement of the stock. He is a little too pushy at times but is biddable enough to control his rate of speed. He has shown he has the ability to work sheep, goats and ducks of any kind, but he will not work cattle. John Wentz, a dog trainer friend from Wisconsin, and  I tried to trick him into working cattle by putting three cows in with thirty sheep. John and his dog held the group at one side of the field and I sent Floyd to get them to bring them back to me. Then John would send his dog and we would move the group back and forth. By the third time I sent Floyd, I ended up with all the sheep and John was left standing with all three cows!

Floyd's natural skill as a stock dog taight me a great deal about handling livestock.

Ron started Floyd’s agility training and taught him many good foundation skills. I would work with them in class and I liked how things were progressing. When Floyd was about 18 months old, Ron decided he would rather concentrate on his golf game, so he turned Floyd over to me to train and trial.

Floyd was the first really fast dog I had ever worked with in agility and he was so much fun to run. We had a lot of great runs together, but one of the most memorable ones really showed his sense of humor. “Gamblers” is a term for an agility class that has a forty second opening sequence in which the handler tries to accumulate points by having the dog do as many obstacles as possible. After that, a whistle blows and the dog must execute a designated set of obstacles within a twelve- to fifteen-second time frame. The handler must stay in a restricted area, forcing the dog to work farther away from the handler. Floyd preferred to work at this range, so we usually excelled in this class. On this particular day, the distance challenge was very difficult and most teams were not being successful. So I developed what I thought was a good strategy to run the opening sequence, but Floyd had a different plan in mind. He earned points by doing whatever obstacles suited him and barely listened to my directions. However, when the whistle blew, he looked at me with full attention and executed the distance challenge flawlessly. There was no doubt he knew how this game was played.

Floyd works his way through the weave poles.

Floyd also earned a tracking degree under the guidance of Lisa Pruka. Lisa reported that he was a quick learner; he was certified with less than a week of training and passed in the first tracking test he was entered in.

On a rainy day in August of 2000, I took Floyd to the training building to practice agility. We were finishing up our training session in the weave poles when he leaped up, thinking I was going to throw a ball for him. When he came down, his left rear foot slipped on a mat and he twisted hard as he fell, dislocating his hock (which is similar to the human ankle) and breaking a bone in his rear leg. A frantic call to the Veterinary Specialty Center got me the help I needed and within two hours he was on the operating table having his first of several surgeries that would repair his leg. I started rehabilitation work with him as soon as possible using acupuncture, chiropractic and miles and miles of walking to get him back into shape.

My dedication to his recovery resulted in a very strong partnership between us. Floyd was able to return to competition in May of 2001 and he earned championship titles in AKC herding and NADAC agility that year. Floyd also became the fourth dog to earn a Versatility Championship through the Border Collie Society of America.

Floyd shows excellent form while jumping

One of the best things about Floyd is that he is always excited about the prospect of working. He also enjoys watching other dogs work, especially if they do a good job. At both herding and agility trials, he will lay by my chair and watch every run as if he is judging it. If another spectator blocks his view he will creep around them, never losing site of the action.

Floyd sired his first litter of puppies in 2004. I chose my pick of the litter, Sprite, because she was marked the most like Floyd. They have many of the same qualities, but Sprite has the advantage of my now being a more experienced trainer. As Floyd enjoys his retirement from competition, I am glad that Sprite will carry on in his path.