B.M.C.C. Stockdog Class Gathers a Crowd!

In 2008 Nick Nelson and Blue Mountain Community College developed the first accredited stock dog training class in the nation.

This spring it was held for five weeks at the Pendleton, Oregon campus in the evening.  Twenty five students signed up and because of the class size it was split to allow all the students adequate time to work their dogs at each session.  The goal is to teach the dogs their flanks, to gather stock and balance off the handler.

The class was designed using the Chico State Stockdog Club as a model and gives students credit for their involvement .  It teaches students how to train and use a working dog.  Most of the dogs were youngsters getting their first introduction to livestock in a controlled enviroment.  It is worth one credit but can also be taken as a non-credit seminar course. In 2008 there were 18 students and dogs enrolled.  This year it is even more popular.  Any herding breed can be enrolled but preference is given to Border Collies.

Nick Nelson, the Animal Science Instructor at B.M.C.C. is also a member of OSDS as were his parents in the early to mid eighties. His father, Verl Nelson  was an Extension Agent at Klamath Falls, worked his own ranch and eventually  became a high school Ag teacher.  He started working dogs about the same time as Mike Hubbard.  The first trial he entered he won.  Nick's mother also trialled.

Al and Ginger Zuppan were great influences.  Nick got his first dog from Al and he helped him train and work the dog.  After graduating high school Nick attended Lassin Junior College at Susanville, California for two years.  He then moved on to Chico State for another two and a half years.  That is where he became involved in their stock dog club.  Every Wednesday night the members would gather to work their dogs and the group put on many small sheepdog and cattledog trials.

Nick and his family have moved to Pendleton from Hermiston where he was the Ag teacher at Hermiston High School.  During the Summer he and a couple partners ran a haying business.   Nick has been at Blue Mountain Community College for three years.  His wife Chrissy is the office manager for the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Associations.  He has two small children.

His duties at B.M.C.C. also include instructing and advising the Livestock Judging Team and  the Young Farmers & Ranchers Club. The Judging team competed at San Antonio in February and Houston in March.  The Young Farmers & Ranchers is a collegiate club affiliated with the Oregon Fame Bureau.  Anyone can be a member as long as you are under 35 years of age.  BMCC is the only college with a YF&R club west of Colorado State University and it has 35 members.

The school's Ag Complex and farm comprises a hundred acres with a shop, food processing center, 3 green houses, livestock corrals, a small 7 acre pivot, 9 acres of wheel lines and 20 acres of irrigated pasture.  The rest of the acreage is rangeland or dryland grains.

Nick feels that adding a working stockdog class helps promote the proper care and usage of these important tools for the stockman whether you raise cattle or sheep and it helps keep the traditions alive.  The Pendleton area is famous for being sheep and cattle country and home of the world famous Pendleton Woolen Mills.

Plans are in the works to have a 'Stockdog Sale'  next May in conjunction with the Pendleton Cattle Barons Weekend and Western Select Gelding Sale.  Nick will be working with David and Donna Grimes to add this event to the schedule for next year's event.