"Maltese Cross." At this, and the final "penning up" of the sheep, the master is per- 

 mitted by the rules of the trials, to assist his dog personally. The "Maltese Cross" 

 consists of two lanes intersecting at right angles, each passage being only just suffi- 

 ciently wide to permit the sheep to pass in single file. It must not be imagined that 

 the wild mountain sheep, terrified at their unwonted surroundings and the presence of 

 a strange dog, submit tamely to being thus driven past alternative openings without 

 strenuous efforts to break away and bolt in whichever direction their erratic fancy 

 dictates. The master must be on the alert for these attempts, and be quick and 

 decisive in giving his dog instruction as to how to frustrate these sudden rushes. It 

 is upon the promptitude and correctness with which the dog responds to the signals 

 that success or failure depends. It is at the cross that the innate perversity of the 

 sheep's nature asserts itself, with the result that the first animal very frequently turns 

 down one or other of the cross lanes instead of going straight through. When this 

 occurs the other two naturally follow, and all three must be induced to negotiate the 

 passage again. Having driven the sheep through straight in one direction, the dog 

 and his master must then bring them back and run them through the other lane at 

 right angles to the original course. Finally, the even more difficult task of "penning 

 up" awaits the competitors. The final pen is formed of four hurdles with a space 

 just sufficient to admit one sheep at a time left open. The slightest over-anxiety on the 

 part of the dog or his master is fatal at this stage of the trial. The difficulty of 

 exercising the necessary self-restraint will be the more readily realized when one 



The Sheep Being Driven Through the Maltese Cross. 



considers that it is often a matter of working against time, as should a dog have been 

 a little slower unfortunate in his previous maneuvers he is extremely liable to exceed 

 the time limit set for the competition, and thus lose the points awarded for penning. 



It cannot be laid down as an infallible rule that the best dog for actual field work 

 will always win a competition, so much relies on the master and other incidental 

 details which affect the judge's decision, 



The most important consideration from the competitor's point of view is the 

 invididuality of the three sheep which the dog is called upon to work. Some, when 

 released, are found to be extremely wild, and cause the dog a lot of trouble by frantic 

 efforts to escape. Others often adopt an aggressive attitude towards the dog, and 

 persist in facing round and charging at him instead of allowing themselves to be 

 driven, This type of sheep is most exasperating, both to dog and man. Again, many 

 dogs, more especially young ones, are excitable by the applause of the spectators. 



To ^see sheep dogs work to perfection one should watch them, as the writer has 

 been privileged to do, being practiced and trained upon their own home ground, where 

 one can realize more fully the practical utility of a well-trained dog and the amount 

 of labor which he saves his owner. The north of England and some parts of Scotland 

 have always been noted for good dogs, the original strain being a cross between the 



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