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Introducing Dulcie – daughter of Bronwen – granddaughter of Mel
The latest addition to our team of working dogs is Dulcie. She’s the daughter of Bronwen and Oliver.
Bronwen was one of our best ever sheep and cattle dogs, and features in our “Bronwen and Scylla” tutorials where we compare the litter sisters Scylla (the naughty one who takes ages to train) and Bronwen (who got the sheep into the training ring in her very first training session!).
Both dogs ended up being really good sheep and cattle dogs, but the whole series of comparison tutorials are well worth watching.
Dulcie’s grandparents are Meg and Ezra, so of course, her great grandmother is the sadly missed Mel.
Whilst on the subject of comparisons, I cannot help but compare Dulcie with her family. Carew (Dulcie’s great aunt) along with Mel and Bronwen, were among the very finest working dogs we’ve had, but of course, all of them had their faults.
Mel was very “pushy”. She certainly got things done, but often worked too quickly. I used to say “if I take Mel, I know the job will be done”, and that was true, but it took a lot of concentration to keep her back off the sheep. (Dulcie’s pace is excellent She’ll push hard if you ask her too, but she’s equally happy to bring the sheep at a leisurely walk if you want her to).
In the open field, Carew’s pace was too slow. Constant encouragement would speed her up, but it was wearing at times. She had the heart of a lion and would tackle the most aggressive sheep or cattle, but when gathering, she was s-l-o-w unless encouraged all the time. (Dulcie’s pace is great – see above).
Bronwen. Well, possibly Bronwen was the best of them all. Tremendous outrun, good pace (perhaps a bit pushy) worked well in pens, but not great with aggressive ewes in the open field. (Dulcie’s courage when working a flock has yet to be tested, but I’m confident she’ll make the grade)!
Now, I know I get enthusiastic about lots of dogs, but Dulcie really does seem to be something special. Of course, Mel, Carew and Bronwen each had a wealth of other talents too numerous and varied to cover here, and only time will tell whether Dulcie will develop some or all of those, but she’s begun her working career in excellent fashion. We’ll keep you posted (I can’t wait to take Dulcie to Dean Farm for some real flock work)!
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