On
May 16th, in Portland, Connecticut, we had another very nice gathering of
Polish Lowland Sheepdog fanciers. It was the 3rd Annual New England PON
Herding Clinic which has become a fun filled tradition. The idea of
organizing such an event came to us after attending one of these clinics for
the Bouvier de Flandres breed, four years ago. We were amazed by the instinct
the dogs showed. The Bouvier people were very nice and gave us the opportunity
to test our dogs at the clinic. Our PON Pepe showed his strong herding
instinct and he had a lot of fun. And that same day we knew we just had to
organize something similar for PONs and their owners. So we did....... Now,
three years later, the third event with fifteen PONs and their owners, brought
the fun of herding to those from all over New England. One PON even came from
Virginia and we also had a special visitor from Poland! So slowly it’s
becoming an international event! :)
Lynnette Milleville, our
instructor for the past three years, is a long time enthusiast of herding
dogs; she judges herding events and she is an author of AKC herding
regulations. This means we are always in professional hands with a lot of
experience. This year Lynnette evaluated our PONs each time they were in
the ring. During the lunch break, Lynnette explained the various parts of the
evaluation form, i.e. the different kinds of “drives” the dog displayed and
how the dog responded to sheep and to instructor. We all learned a lot from
this, even though it was a non competitive evaluation. No comparing and no
titles - just pure information about the
instinct of our dogs. Eventually, everybody went home with a written
evaluation of their dog, which could be compared to next year’s clinic.
Each
PON had two sessions in the ring, which were about twenty minutes long, one
session in the morning and one in the afternoon. Each time it was obvious that
the PONs had a lot of fun. Most of the dogs showed wonderful instinct.
Some needed a little bit of time to adjust and figure out what to do. We had
some experienced dogs, which were a joy to watch and they were a good example
for what the PON is bred to do. But also there were young PONs who had just
turned one year old, but still they knew immediately what to do once they were
in the ring. Some showed their herding ability with geese as well, and that
was also fun to watch.
Aside from the herding, the lunch break is
another part of the tradition during this special day. Everybody brings
something to share, mostly traditional Polish food. Each year the food is
getting better and better! If you are not interested in the herding, you have
to come at least for the food. There is always plenty for people and for the
hungry PONs. Herewith we would like to thank everybody for bringing the
delicacies!