Jane Rothert says that she can talk about dogs until the cows come home. If the cows were to need a little assistance finding their way, chances are they’d be herded by Rothert’s favorite dog, Lacie, an award-winning Belgian Malinois. Lacie’s full name, which includes abbreviations that indicate her various titles, is a mouthful: U-CDX, U-AGII, HTCH, DC Avonlea Queen Anne’s Lace, CDX, HX, HXAs, AX, OAJ, HTD III-s, HTD I-d, HRD III-s, SDTs,d, CGC, ROM I. She came to live with Rothert as a puppy in September 1994.
While Rothert enjoys training and competing with dogs in the conformation, obedience, tracking, and agility venues, herding seems to be her favorite. She says the basic concept of herding comes down to this: “The handler controls the dog, the dog controls the stock.” The stock can be sheep, ducks, cattle, goats, turkeys, geese — essentially anything that will stay together or flock. The dog is charged with gathering the animals and either bringing them directly back to the trainer or taking them to a specified location. As Rothert notes, “You don’t want a herd of thundering cattle coming down on you.”
Article written for the March, 2004 ASTM International Standardization News magazine's People Profile section about Jane and Lacie
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