trials, dock diving, disc dog competitions, herding, lure coursing, dog sledding, skijoring and flyball. They are also exceptional competitors in barn hunt and nose work. Many ranchers are competing with McNabs in the relatively new sport of Ranch Dog Herding where dog and handler on horseback work as a team herding three head of cattle through five obstacles and then into a stock trailer. The McNabs reputation as an indefatigable "all-weather" dog is also opening up a new avenue of work for the dog: Search and Rescue. Currently McNabs are working as evidence search dogs, cadaver dogs, archaeology dogs, and area search dogs for missing persons. Where many other breeds have to be pulled off the search because the dog is tiring, the only limitation for the McNab is the energy of its handler. In addition to the above activities, McNabs are now becoming more common as service dogs, demonstrating sensitivity to the medical and psychological needs of humans. History Alexander McNab left his native Scotland in the late 19th century, homesteading his 10,000 acre sheep ranch located in the Sanel Rancho, which later became Hopland, California. Looking to develop a herding dog that could handle the rough conditions on his ranch. McNab aptly called his dogs "McNab Shepherds". In the early 1900s, the elder McNab passed the ranch down to his youngest son, John McNab, an attorney and stockman who reinvigorated his father's breeding style. Refinement of the McNab Shepherd continued and additional dogs were imported from Scotland for breeding and ranching purposes. Over time, the McNab dogs proved to be supreme herding dogs which California ranchers came to depend on with confidence. Now the breed is spreading across the United States and Canada with a few McNabs working as stock dogs in Germany and some sporting McNabs as far away as Japan. References External links Herding dogs Dog breeds originating in the United States