SHEEPDOGS: MY FAITHFUL FRIENDS. By Eric Halsall.

1980 1st edition. Large 8vo (172 x 242mm). Pp224. Colour b/w photographs. Cream boards, spine titled in gilt.

Eric Halsall was the commentator on One man and His Dog at the time of publication. This book is Halsall's account of the contemporary sheepdogs and sheepdog trials. Includes pedigree charts. Chapters include: A man and his dogs - I gather the hill with collies Rhaq, Meg and Gael; Magic of the hills - sheepdog trials, wisdom, skill and dedication of collie dogs in the care of sheep, their changing character from the birth of Christ to the present time; Shepherding the Dales - collies of Wharfedale, a great Yorkshireman and his methods of training, mystique of command words, most efficient family of collies in Yorkshire; The wisest dog in the world - adaptability of the modern collie in dealing with a varied sheep population, it can never be mechanised; Preparing the trials stage - aims and propblems of staging sheepdog events; The moment of truth - the National and International trials tests stage by stage, good points and faults in a collie's work to the judge's standard, the men who evolved the high standard; Caps off to the master - Jim Wilson, master of sheepdog handling proves breeding counts by the skills of his collies which became sheepdog legend; What of today? - are today's collies as good as their predecessors, evidence in various years of International Trials, results of breeding form the Supreme Champions, including the great Wiston Cap; Method is genius - qualities of genius in a generally clever and hard-working breed of dog, it comes with the gift of method, I see it in visits to Glyn Jones in North Wales, the other collie trait, 'eye'; Harvest of champions - sheep clipping in Bowland's Forest, my paternal home, Lancashire's first Supreme Champion at work on Clougha Fell; Wise dogs of the north country - the wisdom of Rob, Lancashire's second Supreme Champion, the first lady to captain England's shepherding team; Efficient dogs for efficient farming - collies of the Lake District, a Highland Scot whose collies have won two Supreme and two American championships; Of aristocratic lineage - Old Hemp the foundation sire of the modern working collie, early history of the breed, dedication of farmers in Northumberland to the breeding of wise dogs; Gael, a collie legend - Gael of Glencartholme; A good dog can do anything - winter comes quickly in the Pennines, sheep rescue in a blizzard, Len Greenwood, nursery trials and collie improvement, talk of champions; From sheer guts to quiet intelligence - early days in North Derbyshire, important work of the Peakland farmers in evolving their efficient dogs; Sheepdogs in harmony - sheep and dogs in Brecknock, claims of the Welsh collie, staging of the first sheepdog trials in Britain, soome of the finest working dogs in the world; Ireland comes of age - Jim and Sweep who go to their shepherding by boat, rising standards of the top Irish dogs, unitiring efforts of Lionel Pennefather for international recognition for Ireland; British collies shepherd the world - skills of British collies which have taken them to work in almost every sheep rearing area of the world, the dogs which stamped their qualities on the bloodlines in new Zealand, Australia, America and South Africa, possibilities of a World Championship Trials event. Appendices are: Supreme Champions; Some organisations dealing with sheepdog interests; Where you can see collies in trials competitions.