(March 2023)
When it comes to the background and history of our breed, Beardie fanciers have been the victims of ‘disinformation’ as it’s popularly termed these days. Mrs. Olive Willison of England, the lady credited with piloting the breed to recognition, led us to believe Beardies were only one short shove from the edge of extinction. Not true. But then she had no way of knowing. Back in the 1940-1950 era, communication was positively primitive compared to its almost instantaneous state today. In her 1971 book, The Bearded Collie, she writes of searching England for Beardies via advertising, publicity in the press and contact with farmers’ agents, all to no avail. Meanwhile, north of the border in Scotland, there were dozens – if not hundreds- of hard-working Beardies herding sheep and other livestock. But their owners – shepherds and crofters – probably didn’t read newspapers and knew nothing of Mrs. Willison’s search for a mate for her incredibly talented Jeannie.
In those days, there were many variations on the breed and they were dubbed with a variety of names. Along with the Highland Collie, Mountain Collie and the Smithfield, there were fox-red dogs known as Dallas Reds and very heavily coated Blue Shaggy sheepdogs. Though there was a standard for the Beardie which had been penned in 1912, shepherds were more concerned with working ability than looks and were unlikely to even know it existed. Not that it matters. It wasn’t very informative anyway.
While Olive Willison eventually got recognition and praise for reviving the breed, there were folks in Scotland and Wales whose efforts in breeding and preserving the breed equaled hers. One of these was Tom Muirhead of Dunsyre, Scotland, who journeyed to the Isle of Skye to buy a gray bitch from Ewan (Lachie) McDonald, a drover who enjoyed his reputation as an outrageous character as well as the ultimate cheapskate. Though his dogs were somewhat gaunt and longer in leg than other working Beardies, they were tough and showed a marked distrust of strangers. When McDonald drove his cattle to market, he swam them across the waters that separated Skye from the mainland, even in winter’s icy grip. Then they travelled overland, traversing the snow clad mountainous area on hoof to the market at Falkirk. There, he sold both the cattle and his dog, who came to be known as the Boomerang Beardie. He peddled his faithful bitch, Nan, eleven times and eleven times she escaped from her new owners and returned to McDonald. She certainly knew the route (and this was before the invention of the GPS). But back to Tom Muirhead.
While his Beardie was maturing, Tom acquired his first male, a direct descendent of a well known Beardie named Anderson’s Bobbie. The dog, Robbie, had some Border Collie in his background but wore a thick, coarse coat and possessed a strong work ethic. The offspring from this mating were the start of a strain that came to be known and exported world wide. They were so respected that when Muirhead died early in the 1990s, a working Beardie association continued with his breeding program. Not long after, the group disbanded due to friction among its members.
And that brings us to another of the working Beardies’ most colorful characters, D. Brian Plummer, who was so opposed to seeing Muirhead’s dogs carelessly dispersed, he acquired the entire kennel. A true Renaissance Man, Plummer became a teacher in the UK after a stint with the National Service. From there, he worked as a gamekeeper in Germany and eastern Europe and next turned to professional boxing in the U.S. Back in Great Britain, the versatile Welshman became a ferret breeder. He gained a bit of notoriety when one of his charges latched on to the host’s finger during a tv appearance. Unconcerned about the host’s pain, Plummer calmly observed, “Oh, he’s just playing with you. If he was serious, he’d bite through to the bone.”
Throughout his lifetime, Plummer had an abiding interest in dogs. Terriers were his main focus and he bred them to excel at dispatching rats to rodent heaven. He’s credited with the formation of a breed that bears his name, the Plummer Terrier. As mentioned, he was devoted to the working Bearded Collie and had bred them for some 20 years. With the addition of Tom Muirhead’s crew, he then had the largest kennel of working Beardies in the world. In order to aid other breeders, he offered his stud dogs free of charge to registered bitches for two years.
Along with all his other pursuits, he was a prolific writer and authored 23 books. Most were about terriers and lurchers, another avid interest of his. For those who may be unacquainted with the latter, a lurcher is a greyhound mated with just about anything else. Yes, even Beardies. In his 1979 book, The Complete Lurcher, Plummer noted, “the progeny of the bearded collie/greyhound all had weatherproof coats and were a great deal more intelligent than the average lurcher…” While visiting friends who bred both working and show Beardies, he reported, “There is a startlingly sharp difference in the herding instinct between the two types and the working strains are far more easily trained for obedience and herding work.”
Plummer’s assessment of the beardie/greyhound cross was echoed by David Hancock, the best known breeder of that combination. He bred hundreds of the beardie lurchers and in agreement with their many admirers, believed they’re the most attractive and versatile of all lurchers.
Plummer was a respected dog trainer and featured in a few tv documentaries. In later years, he gathered together a kennel of white German Shepherd Dogs and turned them into a sled dog team. He lived simply but sampled much of what life had to offer. The multi-talented David Brian Plummer died in September 2003 at the age of 67.
What of the working Beardies? Far from extinct as feared, they seem to be doing just fine, thank you.
Can you imagine a sheepdog trial without a single Border Collie in attendance? Well, it’s not exactly a trial but more like a workshop when the Working Bearded Collie Society in Scotland holds its annual two day event each fall. They can count on at least 50 owners to show up with some from as far away as Wales. The working Beardie’s style of herding is far from that depicted by the traditional sheepdog trial. The club’s workshop gives owners chance to test their Beardies under working conditions. It also offers owners the opportunity to see other owners’ dogs in action, to compare notes and enjoy the company of like-minded individuals. Shepherd Paul Moore uses his five Beardies to herd 1500 Blackface and Cheviot ewes. “I never see anyone else from week to week so I don’t know how good other working Beardies are,” remarked Moore. “It’s good to see others working and see how bloodlines compare. I always work with large numbers of sheep and I prefer Beardies because they’re easier to get along with for everyday work.” Other shepherds echo his words of praise, citing the breed’s stamina, courage, the ability to work on grounds only suitable for mountain goats and the Beardie’s ‘off switch’ which allows it to transition from active herder to relaxed family pet. But heck, Beardie owners know all about our about our dogs’ wonderful qualities, don’t we? Though I can concur with the shepherd who admitted “But they embarrass us sometimes.” Right.
— alice bixler, Bearded Collie Club of America.
