Our handler Pat Taylor has great training articles on her website. Check out Trips in this article about the “Elusive Shed”
Trips made the cover of the AHBA Newsletter October – December 2021 – Here is a reprint of the article:
A “Trip” Worth Taking
by Pat Taylor
In the Spring of 2019, I answered an email about possibly picking up the training on a Berger Picard. I tried to pawn the training off as life and job were keeping me busy, and I didn’t need more on my plate. Little did I know what the future would hold. Yep, I broke down and agreed to “test” the dog to see if I’d be interested and in June of 2019, I walked out my back door to lay hands on the first Berger Picard I’d ever touched. My journey with “Trips” began.
I’ve trained and worked my fair share of breeds over the many years and my love for upright loose eyed dogs is my driving force with my own personal breed always remaining the Bouvier des Flandres. Over the years I’ve tried to modify my training as per the need of the dog and as per breed with some success.
Trips came to me having already earned his AKC Started title on sheep. But the first few times I met with “Trips” we had a few “issues.” I saw potential as he was very driven (did I say very?), but he had no self-control. He didn’t seem to know when he was doing right or wrong. His confusion was evident, but the dog had no quit in him and kept trying. I “marked” his behavior and let him do a lot of self-correction through long lines. (Did I mention driven?) The third or fourth time I stepped into an arena with him… he looked up and it was as though a light bulb went on! In a moment of brilliance (or the earwax fell out of his ears) he looked up and heard me. From that moment on it was as though we spoke the same language. We’d work exercises for being up close and personal with stock then we’d work big field exercises for those big outruns and as time passed it was obvious to me that once he understood the concept of an exercise, learning the steps to achieve a positive outcome to any exercise became much easier.
Over the past two and a half years we’ve grown together. I only saw Trips on the weekends, but he forgot nothing of his training! I swear this dog was going home and learning through osmosis! His ability to comprehend, assimilate and correctly respond to commands simply
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astounded me. His ability to pattern a behavior/exercise consisting of many steps/commands is awe inspiring. Don’t get me wrong. He many times gave me the finger and decided it was his way or the highway but as his experience grew and he understood more of what the end-result should be his cooperation so also grew by leaps and bounds.
Exactly two years after my journey began, Trips earned his AKC Dual Championship at RottieEwe Farm in Missouri. Overall, he earned four majors plus singles to finish out his point tally. October 16, 2021, approximately two years and four months after meeting Mr. Trips, he earned his AHBA Championship by finishing his last points at Destiny Farm in Bertram, TX. And let it be known, after his June trials in Missouri, life became complicated and busy, and I didn’t get to touch him again until he walked into the arena on October 16 and earned his last point cold turkey. Again, proving he never forgets. With his last point earned he then became the setout dog at the trials and his owners were gracious enough to bring him back the next day as we were very short-handed and needed stock dogs to work the pens and do setout at the trials.
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Trips, in my book, is a rare dog in a rare breed but a breed worth noting for anyone looking for a herding dog, whether for farm work or to trial. With all the dogs I’ve laid hands on in the past (and there has been some great ones) Trips is what I call a “one-in-a-million”. This young lad has made some history for the breed being the first Berger Picard to earn an AKC Advanced B Course title (HXBds) and Advanced D course title (HXDs) and I believe the first for an AKC Advanced A Course title on sheep and ducks (HXAds). One other dog (Gus) was the first to achieve the HXAs title and Dual Champion. Trips is also the first of his breed to earn his AHBA HTCh. I’d say a very capable dog and a very capable breed.
I see others trialing this breed in AHBA (reading the Newsletter) and I hope this article spurs them on to train, trial and enjoy the journey with their Picard!!! I’ve now laid hands on three Berger Picards and yep, they all had talent. And, I have to thank the “girls” for having faith in their dog and by default in me and convincing me this was a Trip worth taking.
AKC GCh Dual Ch, AHBA HTCh ECLIPSE JACKS TO OPEN TRIPS TO WIN, HXAds, HXBds, HXDs, HRD III-s, HTAD III-s, HTD III-s, RLF III-s, owned by Carolynn Cobb & Susan Frensley
We wrote an article about Trips when he achieved his Dual Championship:
Reprint of Berger Picard Newsletter Article
The Picardier
Official Newsletter of the Berger Picard Club of America
Volume 15 Issue 3 Summer 2021
Highlight On Herding
By Carolynn Cobb & Susan Frensley
Then There Were Two
In January of 2017, I read some news that a Berger Picard (Gus) was the first to achieve a “Dual Championship” in Herding and Conformation. Our pup was just 10 months old at that time, and
coming from the conformation world, I thought to myself, Isn’t that great, I am sure we will see a lot
of those in the future since Berger Picards are now in the AKC. Susan and I then set out to do the
“normal” conformation things, and finished our dog, Trips, to GCH. While at a show in Farmington, NM, several of the club members talked about herding and what fun they have with their dogs in the field. It seemed like a great idea to expose herding dogs to the life they are bred to
live, so we gave it a try.
Throughout the past four years of training and trialing, we have been fortunate to learn a different
way of life. We have been introduced to people who are supportive of each other and their pursuits. People who know how to slow down, observe nature, animals, and enjoy the moment. People who “tend” to the sheep and to each other. When you become a herder, you become part of
the flock.
On June 12, 2021, Trips earned his final points toward Herding Champion, making him the
second Berger Picard with a Dual Championship in Herding and Conformation. The thing that I
thought in 2017 would be so commonplace, has been a four-year journey. As if “blessed” by the
sheep goddesses, the parents of the first Berger Picard to achieve this goal, Sue and Richard
Willing, came to support us at the same location where Gus finished his Herding Championship. It
was extra special to be able to share that moment with Sue and Richard.
While Trips has achieved the pinnacle of AKC Herding, he still has some goals in other arenas.
He plans to continue with his AHBA and ASCA trialing and is working on Championships in those
venues. We may even try a little AKC C course since Picards are supposed to be “Tending” dogs.
So, if you are looking for Trips on any given weekend, just look to the sheep field and you will
find a smiling Picard.
Carolynn, Susan, and Trips
Dual Champion GCH Eclipse Jacks to Open
Trips to Win, HSAs HSBs HIAs HIBs HXAds
HXBds HXDs and AHBA HTD IIIs, HTAD
IIIs, HRD IIIs, RLF IIIs, and ASCA STDs,
and OTDs
