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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us July 18, 2005 Ashland’s champion has true Grit Australian shepherd has two national titles under his collar By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings Grit, a dog who’s won two national championships , uses a nip technique on cattle in order to get the cows to move. Photos by Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland has its fair share of superstars, but few people realize that one of the local residents to shine on a national stage is a dog. Grit, an Australian shepherd owned by George and JoAnn Frey, has twice been honored as the nation’s best cattle-herding Aussie, as the breed is known, and once won the national championship for sheep herding. In fact, the Freys have won seven national championships with their dogs who, in addition to competing all over the country, also help the couple move stock around their ranch on Neil Creek Road. Grit, a knee-high, long-haired, blue merle-colored, Australian shepherd — who wants nothing more than to direct sheep, cows or ducks around the fields — could be the Freys’ best dog yet, George said. “He’s smarter than I am,” Frey said. “All I do is open and shut then gates for him. He does all the work.” Using a few different commands, Frey can stand in one place and instruct Grit on just where to move to in order to drive the livestock to their intended destination. Together, they can move livestock in about a half the time that three humans could complete a similar chore. “Way” sends the dog to the left of the animals, “go by” instructs him to go to their right. And when Grit goes to one side or the other of the animals, they know to move away from him, as he has established himself as the boss of the stock. George Frey and his dog Grit take a break after a long day’s work. “He’s just like a right hand,” Frey said. “What he does in five minutes would take me two hours without him.” Herding dogs, such as Australian shepherds and border collies, move animals in several ways, explains Frey. Some dogs bark and scare the stock in the proper direction. Some will nip at the ankles or face of the farm animals to be moved. Others, like Grit, have what is known in the field as “eye.” When a dog has good “eye,” the livestock will move just because a dog stares them down. “Grit has a lot of eye for an Australian shepherd,” Frey said. “It’s a concentration that shows the dog is paying close attention. He’s pretty much bomb proof. Not much will distract him.” Grit also utilizes the nip to control his herd. Herding dogs, often regarded as the smartest of canines, have developed a way to bite without breaking skin. Frey said Grit can carry a duck in his mouth without breaking the skin. When a dog nips at a cow or a sheep, usually that is all it takes to convince them to go where the dog wants them to go. Frey said Grit’s biggest drawback is he won’t nip from the rear. He will, however, go right after the face of any cow or bull, regardless of size. And to watch Grit face off with a bull some 35 times his size is to witness no small act of bravery on the dog’s part. “Grit’s got the respect of the animals,” Frey says proudly. He says he and Grit are so tight, the dog will hardly work for anyone else. And Grit is most happy, according to Frey, if he feels as if he is helping his master get his daily chores done. Grit and Frey move the sheep and cows twice each day, from one field to another. Frey has brought Grit, and Grit’s predecessors, to competitions all over the country: Wisconsin, Georgia, Colorado, California. And they have a trophy case and wall filled with ribbons and trophy belt buckles to prove the success they have experienced. But the competitions are only one of the ways in which the Freys are involved with herding aussies. At Ramblin Rose Kennel, the name of their operation just east of Ashland, they offer classes to would-be herding-dog masters and often have as many as six students coming for individual or group lessons at a time. “We have people come from all over for classes,” Frey said. “I get a lot of enjoyment seeing the dogs progress.” They also breed their dogs, which can fetch as much as $800 a puppy, Frey said. Grit is 8 years old, and Frey said he will likely breed him one more time. Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x 3040 or [email protected]. 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