This Family’s Hardest Working Farmhand Is a Dog

Dick Wanner
Lancaster Farming Staff

PEACH BOTTOM, Pa. — Jacci Cook is a big fan of the Hangin’ Tree Cowdog breed. Her husband, Herman Cook, has six of the dogs on their 164-acre dairy farm in southern Lancaster County.

“With a dog on the job, I don’t have to help drive the cows into the milking parlor, I don’t have to help bring them in from pasture, and if they get out, I don’t have to help round them up.

“I love our dogs.”

And so does her husband, and their 25-year-old son, Jordan. Father and son manage their 190-head herd of milking cows, young stock and heifers by themselves. “If we didn’t have the dogs,” said Herman, “we’d need at least one full-time hired hand.”

According to Cook, the best kind of dog for anybody with cattle is a Hangin’ Tree Cowdog. Cook has owned working dogs — starting with a Border Collie — since 1980. He grew up on a farm in Delaware, competed in calf and team roping rodeo events. When housing and commercial development began creeping in on the home farm, Cook moved with Jacci and Jordan to their new farm in Peach Bottom two years ago.

In addition to the dairy herd, they grow hay, corn and soybeans.

Biscuit, the registered Cowdog that Jacci bought for Herman in 2003, made the move with them. “I was actually looking for a Kelpie, but Jacci had done some research on the Internet, and she had Biscuit flown in from Kansas.

“He has been a really good dog. I took him to trials, and he did so well that people right away wanted his puppies. His puppies are now scattered all over the country.”

There are other breeds of dogs that can work with cattle, Cook said. The Border Collie, which originated in the border country between Scotland and England is probably the best known. The Australian Shepherd (which actually originated in California) is another well-known breed. The Kelpie, which did originate in Australia, is known around the world for its ability to herd sheep, cattle and poultry.

The Catahoula Leopard Dog, less known than the others but probably one of the first recognized breeds in North America, is named for its place of origin, Catahoula Parish, in Louisiana.

The Hangin’ Tree Cowdog is superior to all the other breeds, Cook said, because it is the result of a selective breeding program designed to combine the best characteristics of each breed. The Border Collie contributed ease of training and handling, and an intense desire to herd. Kelpies brought endurance, short hair and herding instinct. The Catahoula brought a slick coat and trailing ability. And the Australian Shepherd is in the mix for its courage and ability to work any kind of cattle.

The Cowdog was developed over a number of years by Gary and Choc Ericsson on their Hangin’ Tree Ranch in Colgate, Okla., near the Texas border. It was developed as a working dog. Period.

“If the American Kennel Club ever recognized the Hangin’ Tree Cowdog as a breed, I think Gary Ericsson would have a heart attack,” said Cook.

The breed is about work, he said. Not conformation. Not color. There is a Cowdog registry, and lineage is part of the criteria to being admitted. But a video of a dog’s working ability is also a requirement.

If a dog can’t work, it can’t be registered.

The six dogs on the Cook farm can definitely work. Cook was happy to show them off this week, and the dogs were happy to be put to work, although it looked more like fun.

They are definitely not indoor dogs, so they are housed in six, clean and comfortable pens just outside a storage shed. Cook first introduced Biscuit, a friendly dog with a black coat who is now retired to stud. He was bred to Tip, a black and white female who is the mother of the other four dogs on the farm.

“It takes about a year to train a dog,” Cook said. “We start them with ducks and they graduate to sheep before we move them up to cattle.”

Most of the commands are given to the dogs by voice. They also respond to whistles and hand signals. The commands aren’t so much to tell the animals what to do, as they are to guide their natural instincts.

Although the farm is in the crop and dairy business, Hangin’ Tree Cowdogs have evolved into a small sideline. (By the way, the Hangin’ Tree Ranch is home to a gruesomely famous tree, which you could research if you’re interested in its history.)

Biscuit’s progeny share his work ethic and his good nature, said Cook. There is some demand for his pups and stud service, and Cook has set up a separate business, HC Stockdogs, to take care of that venture.