New Zealand Heading Dog

The New Zealand Heading Dog is a vital part of the county's farming system. Farmers still use the dog for sheep and beef cattle, to muster the extensive area of the high country and hilly terrain. There is a monument at Lake Tekapo that honours the working dog's contribution to the development of the Mackenzie Country. The New Zealand Heading Dog was bred from the Border Collie that was first imported from the Scottish Borders by the very first shepherds. The Border Collies habit of crawling along while stalking the sheep proved to be difficult for the shepherds to see the dog. The terrain was full of rough pasture and scrub which made it difficult to control the dog. The New Zealand Heading Dog uses a different approach. They still eyeball the sheep but they move and stand upright and are easier to see, both for the farmer and the sheep. They rarely bark and rely on lightning quick response to head off the sheep that want to bolt. They are also good at catching and separating the sheep without causing the sheep to panic. The New Zealand Heading Dog has never been registered with the New Zealand Kennel Club, who records the pedigrees of the various breeds of dogs in the country. But as farm dogs do well in obedience tests, since 1968 they have been allowed to register as a non-pedigree or a spayed/castrated working dog. By allowing this move, the officials have managed to maintain a record of the genes in farm dogs. For the most part, farmers really only care about the dog's ability, and the New Zealand Heading Dogs looks are of little consequence.