Border Collie sheep herding training

Gene Sheninger is a Border Collie handler, trainer and breeder as well as a full-time farmer raising sheep, chickens, a family cow, ducks and geese.
Gene began training and trialing Border Collies in 1986 with a seven-year-old male Border Collie named Nap. Today, Gene's dogs are all at various stages in training, and they are used daily to help him manage his flock of about 100 sheep. In addition, Gene and his dogs regularly compete in sheepdog trials throughout the east coast, Canada, and overseas.
Gene was one of the 5 handlers chosen from all of the U.S. handlers to represent the U.S. on the 2008 World Team for the 2008 World Trials in Llandeilo, Wales. The U.S. team came in fifth out of 23 countries competing that year. Again in 2014, he represented the U.S. with Sweet at the World Trials held in Tain, Scotland. Gene and Sweet came 20th out of 266 dogs from 26 countries.
When Gene is not at a trial, he is usually busy giving demonstrations at fairs and other outdoor events with both sheep and ducks. He is a regular attraction at Phillipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, NY, Longstreet Farm in Homdel, NJ, Howell Farm in Lambertville, NJ, the Monmouth County Fair, the Morris County Fair, and at several Scottish Festivals like the Celtic Fest in Bethlehem, Pa, the Fair Hill Scottish Games in Elkton, MD and the PA Renaissance Faire in Manheim, Pa.
One of his better-known demonstrations was in the spring of 1992 when he assisted fellow Border Collie handler Tom Wilson from Virginia with the closing act for David Letterman's 10th Anniversary Special. They ushered six sheep into a New York City taxi with the help of three dogs. The segment was so popular that Gene and Tom were asked to repeat it in March of 1994 at the Ed Sullivan Theater. Then, again, the Letterman team enlisted their help in 2003 to escort sheep down Broadway, into the Ed Sullivan Theater, down the aisle and up onto the stage with David Letterman.
For Gene’s demonstrations, he will usually work with 3 or 4 of his experienced professional dogs to demonstrate the “finished product”. But, to get to that “finished product” takes years of training as well as a pup with the inherent potential to get there. So, Gene will usually have a couple of young dogs “in-training” to show the training steps in his program. So, there is an educational component to the demonstration as well as the entertainment value. As for entertainment value, one of the most popular parts of his demonstration is having a dog or two work ducks thru an obstacle course. Working ducks is much more difficult than working sheep because little movements on the part of the dog can cause huge movements on the part of the ducks. So, Gene’s dogs must show patience, precision and stealth to cause the ducks to negotiate all the obstacles. The crowds love it, particularly when a duck or two avoids an obstacle and Gene and his dogs must work extra hard to get all the ducks thru that obstacle. Of course, Gene’s demonstrations can be adapted to whatever is required for the event.