Dogs with head start

Press, 12 November 1985, Page 41

Dogs with head start

Last year’s winner of the dog trial final at the Canterbury show, Henry Eder, of Rangiora, and his dog Bronze, are likely to be among the frontrunners at this year's show.

Another favourite will be Alistair Dickson, of Cheviot, who has reached the final every year for the last four years. Mr Dickson will be running two dogs, Chief and Dell, this year. Mr Eder and Bronze outpointed Mr Dickson and Tiger last year. Tiger has since been retired. Mr Eder rates his six-year-old Bronze as his best ever dog. Although Bronze has not had regular practical work on a sheep farm, he loves working with sheep and has “more brains than many people.” “He has a great nature, cottons on quickly, and is very willing.”

Mr Eder and Bronze have had a good build up to this year’s show, finishing second in the Rangiora A. and P. competition at

Labour week-end. Mr Eder has been trialing and breeding dogs for about 30 years, ever since he started using a handy dog to control cows grazing on the “long acre” at Sefton. He was quickly hooked by the sport of dog trialing and has fashioned an impressive record in breeding dogs. Some of his dogs’ present bloodlines go back seven generations to a litter sired by a dog called Trump, owned by a well-known trialist, R. M. Wilson. Bronze comes from another well-regarded bloodline and his great-grand-mother, Trim, was second at the Canterbury show in 1971. Bronze has sired 10 litters for Mr Eder which have all contained good working dogs. Dog trialing is a great leveller, according to Mr Eder. Handlers had to be good sportsmen to do well at the sport and be able to take the knockbacks arising from circumstances beyond

their control. Alistair Dickson has forged an impressive record in dog trialing over many years. ND Dickson and Chief won the event in 1983, he has been second with Tiger twice, and second once with Joan. He won the Royal Show in Christchurch in 1966. Mr Dickson considers seven-year-old Chief is the best dog be has trained and he has high hopes for the youngster, Dell, aged three. Both these dogs have qualified this year for the Canterbury show. Mr Dickson has a high respect for working dogs because most sheep farms would not be able to run efficiently without the help of dogs. For trialing, dogs have to be in top physical condition and they generally retired at the age of eight to nine. Heading dogs usually reached their peak at four to five years old.