The McNab Shepherd

Alexander & Flora

The McNab Shepherd story, from the beginning

 By David A Procida

​     So much and yet little is actually known about the McNab Shepherd. After countless hours of research on and about this breed, here is my version (still subject to change with new and additional info) of what most likely happened.

     In the early 1800’s Scotsman Bruce McKinsey moved his family moved from the cold damp climates of Northern Scotland to the Grampian Hills of Central Scotland. With him and his family came his specially bred Scottish working dogs, those dogs became known as “Colleys” (named after the large black and white Colley sheep they were responsible for)

     These same Colleys were also referred to as “Fox Shepherds” the breed, relatively unknown, was said to have survived in Scotland for centuries, however very few, if any kept records mention them as Fox Shepherds.

     The McKinsey family moved nearby Alexander McNab and as they shared the same livelihood, the two became friends. After spending countless hours together working the sheep in the fields and watching how McKinsey’s dogs worked the livestock, Alexander eventually acquired a female Scottish Colley from Bruce and named her Flora. (see picture above)

     In 1868 Alexander McNab (at 48-years of age) left Glasgow Scotland, setting sail for the warmer climates of Northern California. (his wife and their 3 sons:)

     Once there he purchased a 10,000 acres parcel in the ranching community of Ukiah, in Mendocino County. It was here that he built a homestead for his family. The following year his wife, Susan, and children, James, Charles, Gavin, Arthur and his daughter, Sarah also came over, and brought with them Flora, the first Colley on the ranch, unfortunately she died several years after arriving at the ranch. (John, Alexander's youngest son was latter born on the ranch)

     Alexander spent the next 16 years attempting to find a good stock-dog among the local dogs, frustrated with the lack of a dog who worked in a way he had been accustomed to, he made the long trip back to Scotland in 1885 to visit with his old friend Bruce McKinsey.

     Once there he purchased two black and white dogs from Bruce. They were named Peter, who was both a “lead” and “drive” dog and Fred, who was a “lead” dog only. He brought back Fred to America, but left Peter behind to finish up his training.



     

Peter and Fred

     Fred, the dog Alexander brought back with him, was the shorter-haired version of the Collie, and a year later Alexander sent for Peter to join Fred. (pictured above) McNab’s dogs attracted a lot of attention from the local ranchers. The pair worked differently from the dogs that the stockmen were used to.



     Alexander still had a dilemma on his hands, needing to increase his number of stock dogs, he went in search of suitable female working dogs. Alexander crossed paths with the migrant Spanish Basque shepherds (not the dog called a Spanish Basque Shepherd), and after watching their dogs working the livestock, he found himself quite impressed with their working abilities and stamina in the hot climates of the California summer.



Spanish Basque Sheepherd with his dogs

      (If you look at the picture of the migrant Basque Sheepherder, taken at the turn of the century, you can see the resemblance of our modern day McNab in the Black and white dog in the back on the right)



     He acquired a few select brown coated female dogs from Basque sheepherders. This was the beginning of the Alexander bred McNab Shepherd. The pups from this cross received high praise and were in great demand.

     Alexander was very pleased with the results of this breeding and they developed into dogs that would head or heel, so pleased in fact, that he called them “McNab Shepherds”

     Alexander’s “McNabs” were black dogs with a white ruff, white socks and feet, a white streak between the eyes (also known as a Bentley Stripe) and white on the end of the tail.  

     McNab’s dogs became very popular with the other California Ranchers, one of them being Ed G. Brown. He put in an order for a McNab pup with Alexander in 1895.

     The dogs were extremely rare and in such demand, he didn't get one until 1915. (Note: the pup Brown received was not from the original dogs Alexander had bred, but was a from Fox Shepherds bred in Scotland)

     In the early 1900's Alexander handed off the ranch to his youngest son, California born, John L. McNab. In 1905, Alexander McNab passed away at the old homestead of the McNab family, Lima Rancho, near Largo at the age of 82 years.

     Since 1868 when he came from Glasgow, Scotland, Mr. McNab has lived in the place where he died in patriarchal simplicity. He was one of the landmarks of Mendocino.

     The house where he lived and died was constructed by him with materials transported from Petaluma by team long before the building of the railroad up the Sonoma valley, and he was from the time of his coming extensively engaged in stock raising.

     It has been said of Alexander McNab that he never made a foe and never lost a friend. He wronged no man and lived by the golden rule. Few men die with less or leave more persons to regret their going.

     The funeral was held on last Sunday afternoon and was attended by many friends from far and near. The services were held under a giant acacia tree, said to be the largest in California, which stands in front of the house and which, 32 years ago, he planted with his own hands, and under which for years past in pleasant weather he used to sit looking out over the valley.

He was buried near the home in a plot where he was interred two of his sons, Alexander and Henry.   And according to ancient Scottish custom was gently lowered to his last resting place by the hands of four of his sons.

     Mr. McNab left surviving him, his wife, Susan, a daughter, Mrs. L F Long and five sons, James, Charles, Gavin, Arthur and John and numerous grandchildren.

     Unfortunately, Alexander’s original McNab Shepherd cross (Scottish Colley-Basque shepherd’s dogs) also ended with his death.

     In 1915 John L. McNab had two more dogs transported to America aboard the cargo ship Howth. The dogs were both red in color, a male named Clyde and a pregnant female Bessie, who whelped three weeks before their arrival (only 3 pups survived Gyp, Tweed, and Jet) in America.

      John L. McNab sold Ed and Myrtle Brown one of the pups that were born on the Howth. This pup would come to be known as "Jet", a black pup with a faint line of white up his face, a white chest and socks. The Browns had waited since 1895 for this dog and never out-crossed Jet, instead breeding him to other Scottish Colleys brought over from Scotland.



Ed and Myrtle Brown's Jet

     John L. like his father continued importing more dogs (according to various stories and Myrtle Browns notes, John L. McNab, unlike his father Alexander never out-crossed these dogs from Scotland. The strain of dogs Ed Brown raised from “Jet” are considered the true McNab Shepherd.



     John L. like his father continued importing more dogs (according to various stories and Mertle Browns notes, John L. McNab, but unlike his father Alexander never out-crossed these dogs from Scotland.

     He later imported a pair of red Scottish Colleys, who arrived in 1906. Over the years the McNab family had both females and male dogs brought over from Scotland and continued to breed their Scotch Colleys. 

     John would tell the story of how he would bring a band of sheep through Ukiah before the days of trucks. The lead dog would pick up a stick, walk always, turn around and face the sheep, laying the stick down until it was time to go again! 

      The residents of Ukiah were so impressed by the work of these dogs that they would line the streets walkways to watch them.  

      The last of the John L. McNab’s was imported in the 1940s. Her name was Bess, she died in 1959 at about six years of age.

     John L. McNab and Ed Brown’s dogs, which carried on the Scottish traditional Fox Shepherds aka Scottish Colley Shepherd lines featured a short coat, slight build (approximately 35-lb male) dog that worked from the head and didn't have the “loose eyed” working style of the traditional Collies.



Clyde (Short haired Scottish Colley)

     There was no official registry or bookkeeping of any kind that can trace these lines back to Peter and Fred. Through the early 1900's local ranchers considered a “McNab” any working dog with a short black and white coat and tight feet with herding tendencies to work Lead and Trail). This is one only one of many reasons for the wide variance and different appearance(s) of McNab Shepherds.

     A lot of ranchers began to bred their McNabs with other strong working breeds and the different variations of the breed began to appear during this period. This is only one of many reasons for the wide variance and different appearance(s) of McNab Shepherds. 

     There are many bits and pieces of history that have turned up over the years, a lot of that information was used to create this article. If you look under the McNab stories and tab, you will find many articles describing the evolution and old standards of the McNab Shepherd. The Bud and Eunice Williams story can be found there and is a definitely a good source of history!

    This is just the beginning of this journey; I would like to invite any and everyone who has traceable history to e-mail me their story, with pictures if possible, as I plan on adding a chapter for every breeder. I would like to include not only their history with the McNab but also the lineage of their dogs.

      The last of the McNab Clan and their sheep disappeared from the McNab Ranch in the early 1970’s. The original 10,000 acres has been split up into smaller parcels and there are now 3 Wineries located there.

​

References:

Alexander McNab Obituary; Ukiah Republican Press April 12, 1901



Alvina Butti and Donna Seigmund; The McNab Dog

Eunice and Bud Williams; Recollections about McNab Dogs



Lulu McNab; The Collie in Mendocino

(From Overland Monthly, May 1894)

Gaye LeBaron; The McNab Shepherd is a Homegrown North Coast Dog;  Santa Rosa Press Democrat 1998



Melanie Leigh; The California McNab Shepherd



Myrtle G. Brown; The McNab Shepherd

Wayne L. Foster; The McNab Shepherd Story and History as I know it.

Al Tostado; A Dog Detective Does a Scotland Yard Job

Facts for Farmers – 1869

 

John Henry Walsh; Scotch Collies A Manual of British rural sports By, 1856 

The Field Illustrated 1915: The Scotch Collie 

  I've added a just a few of the articles I have found about the McNab, here they are with the oldest recollection first:

The Collie in Mendocino 1894

by Lulu McNab

Posted in: Golden Age: 1861 - 1900​

     The Scotch Collie is practically unknown to the majority of Americans, although some Eastern farmers associate the name with the family dog that makes a safe playmate for the children and brings in the cows at milking time, while the fancier, in turn, recalls the pride of the show bench, and one of his most devoted pets.

     What is, then, the real Scotch Collie and what his mission? Briefly worded, he is the ideal shepherd. Among Scottish flocks he is the pride of Scottish owners, and is valued, both in the Old World and the New, as one of the best aids money can procure.

     Here even, in far California, there is one ranch, lying high on the breezy mountains and low in the grassy dells, that for years has relied upon the help given by imported collies and their offspring, and it is of the work these bright dogs do that this article is written.

     For the history of the collie one must look elsewhere than in a brief magazine sketch. In appearance and color they vary ; the heads are sharp, almost pointed ; the eyes, bright and intelligent, fairly speaking to those they favor most; ears, carried sharply upright in many cases, and as a rule the better workers are those of light, lithe build ; as the sheep-man puts it, one that is springey on his feet.

     On this Mendocino ranch, for twenty-five years and more, the trained collies have handled sheep, season after season, herding, driving, holding, gathering, with a trained intelligence that seems marvelous to the novice; and the very stones, if they could speak, would bear eloquent witness to their practical utility and value as viewed from a business standpoint. Many wise dogs have journeyed far by land and sea to race over the rugged hills after the nimble sheep, which in these mountain wilds give fleet defiance to the would-be-gatherer. From a quarter of a century ago, when the present owner came to California in pursuit of health lost in the mists of rainy Glasgow, and the beauty of the hills appealed to his city-starved heart, since then, when shepherd Dougal followed him across far seas, and collie Flora pattered down the gang-plank at his heels, there has never been a time that these wise dogs, the Scotch collies, have not been the help and pride of the place.​

 The short-haired collies are usually chosen in preference to their longer haired brethren, owing to the warm summers of the Mendocino interior; and though the change from Scottish mist to California sun is a little trying to any, all bring their natural sagacity and trained work to bear as faithfully on the mountains of the new world as upon the heathered hills of Scotland.    

Many puppies here have grown to active usefulness with wise care, though not every sheep-man can train a young dog successfully, but few possessing the requisite knowledge and tact.

     No one but a real Scotch shepherd can train these dogs to the perfection they attain among Scottish flocks under constant supervision. Descended from long generations of workers the puppies take actively to business, and practice amusing tactics of herding on the farm poultry while still too young to be initiated into the graver cares of life; and at first sight of a band of sheep will usually make some move that denotes the shepherd strain.

     They are trained to work from motions of the masters hand. quick whistles that sound shrilly above the bleating flock, and brief, sharp words of command ; and to be successfully handled must be kept solely by one person, and be fed, worked, praised, or punished, by one alone.

     Literally is it true of the collie, Ye cannot serve two masters ; his allegiance must be given to but one, or the valuable animal becomes worthless for the work that nature and training have given him to do.

     A well-trained collie does the work of several men on rough and brush-grown hills, and does it with infinitely more ease and less hard running of the flock, after the sheep are once accustomed to him, saving the hire of man and horse, and furnishing his owner with faithful help for years if wisely handled. 

     Come with me in spirit to the Mendocino hills, and follow the master and his collies through the pleasantcst gathering of the year, at rodeo, or marking time, in early April, while the hills are still knee-deep with waving grass, bright with the beautiful flowers of the Mendocino region, while the air is one caress of springtime, and burning summer still is but a memory or prophecy.

     The breeze is sweet with bloom, and the sunlight falls, a flood of golden glory, over the lavish green of April meadow, as we take the upward trail, a woodland path that rises steeply under the shadow of the Peak, giving but glimpses of the valley home below, and winding through still shadows in the absolute silence of Natures own domains. 

     Higher we go, and onward, past an old stone cabin, a picturesque bit of ruin in the lap of spring. sheltered by whispering madrones, and nestled in great banks of yellow violets, erythroniums, and maiden-hair fern that peeps shyly between the crevices of its grey walls.

     As we come out from the woods with the Peak still above us, send a swift glance northward, where Sanhedrim and the northern mountains still are capped in glittering snow, rising sharply from green valleys to the sunny sky, their sparkling peaks the only hint of winter in all this summerland. Southward lies the rival of Kashmir,-Sanel Valley in April, flower-lit, green-held, the jewel of the hills. 

     Below us, in the hollow, is a little bunch of lambs; here is where the collies work begins; and in response to a word and gesture, the two race gayly down the ridge through buttercups and poppies, and running beyond the startled ewes gently turn and drive them in the direction pointed by the master.

     "Fred! Here, sir! Off he dashes up the hill, makes a wide circle past a dozen ewes, and as they bolt up hill heads them, turns, and deftly drives them down. Over the ridge a number are feeding in the hollow. Their lambs lie asleep in the warm sun or frolic together on the hillside, bright bits of movement white against the green. A motion of the hand directs the alert dogs, and they join the two bands and send them steadily along the trail. Two ewes and a lamb go running to the side.

     Here, Pete! The dog dashes quickly across a little hill, the bright drops sparkling on his black coat as he passes the sheep and turns them. Bolt!off they go at a tangent. Circling in front again, the dog overtakes, turns them, follows, and turns again, and patiently works them along till his troublesome charges are safely among their fellows. If sent to hurry the little flock, he dashes at the hindmost, barking his orders.

      Here the master whistles Fred to the right. Nothing is visible to him, but off scurries the obedient dog, barking frantically, circles, and stops. A wave of the hand sends him in a wider circle up the hill. Nothing yet. Another, wider sweep of the masters hand sends him flying in a great circle through the trees, barking as though his doggish life depended on it.

     A bunch of sheep now run from the brush, and Fred, barking always, follows and drives them down, to meet the main band with a nicety as to crossing lines.

     The whole flock is startled now, and dashes away down hill, but a shrill whistle sends Fred to the front. He runs back and forth before the leaders and checks their clumsy lope to a slow run. Off he dashes, perhaps fifty feet or so ahead, and dropping to the ground with nose between his paws, he waits till the flock is close upon him ; then he springs up and trots ahead again, and once more quietly waits their coming.

     Fred! Lie down, sir! The master walks away, and Fred, understanding perfectly that he must keep the flock, swiftly circles round them and brings them to a halt. Here, alone, he holds them, keeping them closely together while Peter and the master gather the other side of the hill, and return two hours later to find the sheep quietly grazing and Fred lying as quietly watching them.

 

     Two ewes wander a little too far. Scarcely rising to his feet, the dog slips quietly through the grass beside them, and they turn and slowly rejoin the band, cropping as they go. Fred trots quietly around his charges, sees that all are safe, then drops down again, watching them ceaselessly with shining eyes, and not a ewe or lamb is missing when the returning master adds his flock.

     Steadily we climb, through the golden afternoon. Occasionally shy deer peer through the brush, the warm air is sweet with the breath of bloom, and a distant eagle screams as he sweeps in stately circles over the Peak. The flocks number in the hundreds as we finally reach the summit, where we are met by the shepherd and Tweed, with another band. In go the dogs, and send the sheep briskly down the trail, while Peter, circling far behind of his own accord, often brings in a stray ewe that has slyly dropped out. 

     Yonder is a place where the whole band broke away years ago, and never have forgotten it, but neither have the dogs. Watch them, untold, slip quietly ahead and stand alert, watchful, and ready. Boltgo two old ewes dov/n a sudden turn, swiftly followed by a hundred more. With a fierce challenge the collies vigorously meet the flying band, and force them back to the trail more roughly than we have seen them do yet, in punishment, perhaps, for their presumption and past sins.

     As we go, watch that old ewe. She has bolted away several times, and given Peter much trouble to bring her in ; but his Scotch is up, as she dashes away again. He springs in before her, and with a dexterous hoist of his body sends her tumbling end over end, which is his own cure for these troublesome bolters, and was never known to fail.

     Tweed observes this, and being a most imitative collie, forthwith essays the same thing. Away goes his sheep. Away goes Tweed, and heads it. As if shot from a cannon, the ewe bangs against him, and over goes Tweed, howling rolling over and over, down the steep hillside, all four feet kicking at once, in angry protest as they come uppermost; and his chap-fallen expression, as he struggles to his feet and slinks away, shows that Tweed is both a sadder and a wiser dog. Though all are trained alike in a general way, two collies differ as widely in characteristic methods of work as two men,each possessing a distinct individuality of his own.

     Ah! there is a break the collies did not check, and running at headlong speed down the mountain the men risk life and limb to save the days work. After much hard running the flock is finally under control, but a bunch of lambs has become separated in the confusion, and after circling helplessly, stampedes in wild disorder.

     Peter tries his wise best to work the foolish little things back, vainly attempting to head them off.but they jump over him, halfa-dozen in succession, ears and tails flapping wildly as they cleap over his broad back. Others run under him, pass between his legs, and take other juvenile liberties; so off he trots with them, in their own direction, with a glance at his master that plainly says, These children must be humored.

     As it is a large bunch, after Fred has helped the master safely corral the flock at the foot of the mountain, he too is sent off,one motion telling him to go help Pete.

     While the master separates the sheep, let us sit on this sunny hillside and watch the collies as they circle round the running lambs. They never bark at them as they would at old sheep, but merely follow and slowly check them by degrees.

     The little things are both obstinate and foolish, and at first pay no attention to the quiet collies that trot patiently round and round, quietly gather them together, and at last stop their wild run.

     Slowly, and with marvelous patience they are turned, jumping over each other, then over the dogs, and it seems a hopeless task even to attempt to take them the half-mile to the corral, but in a couple of hours time Fred and Peter come slowly up to the gate with them, not a lamb hurt or missing, and their first acquaintance made with these gentle protectors and friends.

In such a case, many of the lambs would have been hopelessly lost, had it not been for the dogs, men could have done nothing with them.  

     The lambs safely in, the master sends Peter to keep two bunches of sheep separate until he can attend to them ; and though the bands are but a dozen feet apart, and try their best to join, Peter keeps each bunch strictly by itself; and his master says, in response to our surprise, that not even on the range can two bands join if Peter is told to keep them apart.

     The corral work over, we walk away, listening to the masters many anecdotes of his pets. Peter is a favorite, bright even beyond the ordinary collie, his first appearance in the field showing a canine reason. The wooded pasture bewildered the new comer ; plainly he was at a loss. Then he suddenly spied a huge rock; straight for it he went, and springing into sight upon its top, he stood a moment, one paw uplifted, ears up and nose a-quiver, a pretty picture, gave two quick glances, and was down and with the sheep again, and quietly drove them straight across the field to the hidden gate.

     Often, till he learned the hills, did he leave the sheep,, and on some high point literally take his bearings, to return to his charge and take them down the better way, justifying his masters assertion that surely the line between reason and instinct is closely drawn in the Scotch collie.

     He was a ready match for a certain obstinate old ram, that always fought the dogs and delayed their work ; till at last when sent for the flock Peter went first for this old enemy, and there, nose to nose, both heads bobbing excitedly, he would angrily bark and growl, till the conquered ram at last would make a sudden bolt, and the victorious Peter calmly gather in the flock.

     A most conscientious dog, his work was done faithfully and well till years disabled him; but Fred, more alert to praise, did best were strangers present, when he abounded in bright ways and brilliant work, done with a comically conscious air of superior excellence.

     He had the collie trick of carrying a stock or stone in his mouth, dropping it on barking, only to seize another; and often carried light poles longer than himself, flirting his black body and lifting his dainty feet with all the airs of a danseuse; and proportionately, the longer the stick, the prouder the dog.



     One summer, when shepherding was a weary task on glowing hills, the collies suffered much with sore and swollen feet, caused by creeping seeds that burrowed far between the toes, and caused most painful swellings. Pitifully their eyes met their beloved masters as he probed to remove the cause.

     The young man pondered a little, then to the country saddler he went and ordered made from his description little leather shoes. A stout leather sole was cut the shape of the foot, two curving pieces sewed to it, joined in front and lapping at the back, with strings to tie securely around the leg; then he came triumphantly home to try the new invention on his pets.



   Peter the Wise walked off daintily upon them; held up each foot by turns to look, sniff, and ponder what this new-country idea might be. He took to them kindly, like the wise dog he was, wore them gratefully, and after a long days run through flying seed, off would come the shoes, leaving his feet sound and well.

     But Fred, the rascal! Meekly he would let his shoes be donned, regarding his master quizzically the while, and wear them complacently enough in view, but let him be sent for sheep a little out of sight, a little delay would be noticed, then out from behind some bushy clump or sheltering rock Fred would gayly emerge, with many gambols to divert the eye. But the master knew him! And behind the bush or rock he always found the four little cast-off shoes, tucked carefully out of sight, while their owner scampered gayly in the distance.   

     New-comers from auld Scotia are faithful Clyde, willing Help, and pretty Gyp, who first opened her blinking eyes upon the stormy seas around the Horn, and entered the Golden Gate a feeble specimen of her race.at once the pity and the jest of the good ship Howth, but one feeble sister left to her out of a large and once promising young family.

     Clyde closely resembles Fred, whose days are past; and till the present puppy, tiny Tweed, grows to working age, Clyde is the mainstay of the gathering. Help fulfills his name on other portions of the large range; but either are true types of the working collie, willing and faithful helpers till years disable them.

     Either one is sent for sheep entirely out of sight in a large field, and patiently hunts till he finds them, then brings them in alone; and Gyps mother, Bessie, brings in the entire flock from her owners small range just as readily as from the field. Indeed, it is easier for a collie to drive five hundred sheep than five.

     Volumes might be written descriptive of these collies, but suffice it that this is a truthful sketch of the practical work they have done and are doing today on the mountain ranges of Mendocino.

by Lulu McNab
From Overland Monthly, May 1894

​

     MERTLE BROWNS McNAB HISTORY

In the early 1800s, the Bruce McKinsey family left Northern Scotland and settled in the Grampian Hills of central Scotland. They brought with them their stock dogs, the Fox Shepard, the origin not known, but have survived in Scotland for centuries. Alexander McNab was a neighbor of the McKinseys who raised the Fox Shepherds and started the breed in the Grampian Hills.

Alexander McNab and his family left Glasgow Scotland in 1868, came to the United States of America and settled in California on a ranch known as the McNab Ranch in Mendocino County south of Ukiah. They brought with them one dog, but it died soon after they arrived.

In 1885, Mr. McNab returned to the Grampian Hills in Scotland for the sole purpose of getting some of the dogs he was used to working. He purchased two dogs, Peter and Fred. He brought Peter back with him, leaving Fred to have his training completed, and he was later sent to America.

Fred was strictly a lead dog; Peter worked both lead and drive. These two dogs were bred to select Shepard females of the Spanish origin, which were brought to this country by the Basque sheepherders, and that cross was called the McNab Shepherds because Mr. McNab perfected this breed of Stock Dog, which will head or heel. The McNab is NOT a Border collie.

John L McNab was the son of Alexander McNab and latter became sole owner of the McNab Ranch; John was not only a stockman but also a noted San Francisco Attorney.

John L. made several importations in the 1900s from the Grampian Hills, one importation made about 1906 was red Fox Shepard named Clyde later another red dog called Ready was imported and that was the reason there will be an occasional red pup in a litter.

Ed G. Brown put in an order for a McNab pup in 1895. These dogs were in such great demand that he didnt receive his pup until 1915 when Mr. McNab imported a female with pup. She whelped three weeks after arrival and Mr. Brown got pick of the litter.

He named this pup Jet he was black with a faint white line up his face, a white chest and a small amount of white on his feet. Some of these dogs will have a wider strip up the face (Bentley Stripe) and a ring around the neck, there are also instances of pups with brown on their face and legs but will still be mostly black. They are never longhaired, nor will they have looped ears or speckled legs. Their ears are mostly prick; some will tip at the top.

The strain Ed Brown raised from Jet were true McNabs, as he never outcrosses with other breeds.

This is not a pedigree, but just a bit of History of the McNab Dog we have raised and known.

Mertle G. Brown

Melanie Leigh-Deux's McNab History

Several times throughout the year, I receive phone calls from people who are inquiring about the McNab. Many times these people have heard of the name, but know little about this unique canine, and thus ask the age old question, "What is a McNab?"

I am thrilled to share with you my knowledge and personal experiences with the McNabs in my life, as well as a short version of the McNab origin.

First travel with me in spirit, back in time to the Gampian Hills of Scotland, year 1866.

Allow me to introduce you to a man by the name of Alexander McNab. Alexander McNab and his family raised sheep in Scotland, but longed for a warmer climate and enticed by the news of the West, set out across the Atlantic to America. They ended up settling in Northern California, Mendocino County to be exact, and built their new ranch upon 10,000 lush acres, and gave their new homestead the name of the McNab Ranch.

Alexander McNab originally imported one Scotch Collie from Scotland, however it died a few years after arrival. Apparently, Mr. McNab was not satisfied with the type of working dogs he found locally, and in 1885 he returned to Scotland for the sole purpose of importing the type of dog(s) he had been accustomed to working with. Mr. McNab purchased two Scotch collies, Peter and Fred. While Fred stayed in Scotland to complete his training, Peter joined Mr. McNab back to California, and Fred joined them later.

Fred was a natural head dog, and Peter was a natural head & drive dog. It was said that these two male dogs were bred to female dogs of Spanish origin, which were brought to this country by the Basque sheep herders. I have searched (and continue to search) to find out the type of dog the Basque may have brought with them to California, and my findings were contradicting. A Basque researcher informed me that most Basques did not come to this country with native dogs, but used working dogs that were available to them in their area. However, another individual who grew up near a Basque community told me that some Basques did bring dogs over to America from their native land, and the type of dog in question was described to me as a medium sized, tight coated, brown dog with pricked ears.

From this description the first thought which came to my mind was that of the Kelpie, however the Kelpie is very different than the McNab, and without going into great detail over the origin or characteristics of the Kelpie, we will move on and assume that whatever breed of dog the Basque shepherds were working with, they must of certainly been keen animals to of caught the eye of Alexander McNab! The story from Myrtle Brown states that both Peter & Fred were bred to these dogs which were used by the Basque shepherds, and over time and careful selection their offspring were given the name of the McNab shepherd. Written documents also read that some of the collies which were imported were not bred to these Basque dogs, but rather to other collies of the same origin (Scotch Collies). Both males and females were imported and on (at least) one account a bred female.

Mr. McNab perfected his breed of dog; one that could head or heal. Over time the McNab family brought over several collies from their homeland Scotland. Some of these collies were red and white (described as Fox Collies) while others were black and white. Their coats were of short to medium length in order to better suit the warmer California weather. The McNab is not a Border Collie, however they share the traditional collie markings, as well as the same original grand daddy - the Scotch Collie.

The McNab shepherd worked the sheep on the hillsides of Mendocino for generations. Little did the McNab family realize then that their dogs would still be working livestock in California today -- well over 100 years later.

So, what was it that has kept the McNab such a secret from so many for so long? Originally, the McNab Shepherd was strictly used on the McNab ranch, and were later sold to ranchers nearby. They were bred for function and not looks, so therefore they were not a fancy looking collie type and not a desirable looking show dog. The lack of attention given beyond the stock yard and ranches in Northern California, in part kept the McNab a bit isolated from the rest of the world.

The McNab to this date is not recognized by any kennel club, and this is a great blessing to the breed. The day breeders start breeding the McNab for a club standard is the day we will loose the true essence of the original McNab. The McNab is registered through the National Stock Dog Registry, where pedigrees can be recorded and preserved.

Today, the McNab is growing in popularity as more and more McNabs are popping up on the agility course, Fly-ball teams, and even on search and rescue teams.

There has never been a formal *standard* written for the McNab, however informally I give you a standard which is shared by myself as well as by other knowledgeable McNab breeders, historians and McNab aficionado in California.

Height: 15 to 25 inches at the shoulder. Some males may mature taller.

Weight: 25 - 50 lbs. Some males may mature heavier.

Coat: Short to Medium -never long.

Coat color: Black with white markings, or red with white markings or occassionally tri colored. Never meral.

Ears: Pricked, also a variety of sets in between - some even flop over.

Tails: Long however some old lines throw a natural bob. (Tail docking was NOT originally traditional, and is not encouraged by many breeders - especially myself).

Eyes: Almond in shape and loose.

Eye color: brown, hazel, or copper. Never blue or marbled.

Shape of head: Sharp

Feet: tight - cat like on their feet.

McNabs have always come in a variety of 'pajammas', meaning ear sets, coat length (however never long), and coat colors - except meral.

References:

The McNab Dog by Donna Seigmund & Alvina Butti. I am eternally grateful to the work that both Alvina and Donna have accomplished in providing written documentation of their personal interview with the late Myrtle Brown, as well as other McNab research they have surfaced so diligently. It was their document that gave me my starting place towards further reseach regarding the McNab and the core to their origin by way of the Scotch Collie. Both of these two ladys, I tip my hat.

Collie in Mendocino by LuLu McNab - 1894 - Overland Monthly - page 481

Herding Dog: Their Origins and Development in Great Britian by Iris Combe -1987

The History & Description of the Collie or Sheep Dog in his British Varieties by Rawdon Lee - Published 1890

In depth conversations & interviews with Alvina Butti, Roy Ordway, Art and Jackie Goldsmith, Rocky Bounds, Billy Prewitt, Linda Rorem, Walt Freeman, Earl McKee, Ira Reed, Alan Cyde, and many, many other old (& some not so old) wise & wonderful ranchers of Northern & Central California. I thank you all for your time and for sharing with me your McNab knowledge and memories of the good ole days of ranching in California.

Recollections about McNab Dogs

Bud & Eunice Williams History

Melanie Leigh-Deux, who is working on a project towards "Preserving the Working History of the Original McNab Dogs in California" asked Bud and I to give her our recollections of the McNab dogs we have known. Following is the information we sent to her.

Bud & Eunice Williams
PO Box 1497
Bowie, TX 76230-1497
Eunice@stockmanship.com

The McNab Dog

by Donna Seigmund and Alvina Butti

In the years we have worked with McNabs, I've often wondered if Alexander McNab truly realized what a helpful friend he imported from Scotland for work on his sheep ranch outside the town of Ukiah, California. We, the ranchers and farmers, up and down the coast and the great central valley of California, thank the McNab family over and over again. Because after over a century, the McNab shepherd is still working and is now even more popular with the cattlemen and sheepmen.

Many questions arise from all over the US of A about the origins of this dog. We have been fortunate in obtaining the following information, actually two histories. There has been little written about these dogs, but what there is available we are more than willing to share. Because we care, we try to keep the quoted word "as is". Please note our personal footnotes and take them only as our opinions; the reference footnotes, however, are from previously published articles, speeches, and letters.

The following are direct quotes from an article published by Al Testado, Times Sports Editor, entitled "A Dog Detective Does a Scotland Yard Job" . A letter was written in 1955 by Robert W. Scott, son-in-law to John McNab, to Cliff Waterman who was rewarded in his efforts to obtain a history of a really fine working dog.

"The McNab Dog is truly a unique breed in that it is a native stockdog of Northern California via the Grampian Hills of Scotland. The first mention of this breed is in 1885 during the ranch and farming days of the young state of California. Alexander McNab came to the United States from Glasgow, Scotland in 1868 and settled on a large spread, which is now known as the McNab Ranch. A year later he returned with his young family and a Border Collie ¹. In 1885, sixteen years later, he returned to Scotland for the expressed purpose of obtaining new sheep dogs. He purchased two Border Collies from the Grampian Hills of central Scotland named Peter and Fred.

Peter worked either lead or drive, while Fred was strictly a lead dog. These two, breeding with selected females ², originated in the United States, the line of McNab shepherds. The original stock was supported from time to time by importations from Scotland. Border Collies are of two varieties, long haired and short haired. The long haired type is particularly adapted to the severe weather of Scotland, but the dry, steep ranges of Mendocino County required a short-haired dog, both because of the summer heat but also on account of the burs, fox-tails, and stickers which are not picked up so easily by the short-haired dog. For these reasons, the importations by the McNab family have been mostly of the short-haired type....

A McNab differs markedly in appearance from the usual English Collie. The McNab is medium size, alert and cat-footed, has a black coat with white markings -- white muzzle with a white streak running up the head between the eyes, usually a white neck and chest, white tipped tail and one or more white feet. Its ears are medium sized and somewhat pointed; usually the upper half of the ear flops over. The tail is not bushy. These dogs have been bred primarily for performance in working stock--not for color conformation -- although experience has shown that the best performance usually is obtained from the original type." ³

I think we also should include Robert Scott's remarks on the Kelpie in this same letter as they do bring up a relationship to the McNab Dog's 2^nd history.

"McNabs should not be confused with the Australian Kelpie, which is a reddish-brown, short-haired dog of about the same size, but with fully erect ears and often with a bushy tail. The origins of the Kelpie seem to be in dispute -- once school of thought contends it is a cross between the Border Collie, imported into Australia from Scotland, and the Dingo, or Australian wild dog; a second contention is that the Kelpie is a development, in Australia of the Scotch Border Collie, without the infusion of dingo blood; while still others state the Kelpie originated in the "Fox Collie" ⁴, which was different in every way from the Border Collie. At any rate, if you see a Kelpie you will see immediately, primarily from its color, that it is not a McNab."

The second history of the McNab was given to me a few years ago. However, many of our older ranchers here in Northern Sacramento Valley of California have known this for decades. This history is called the Ed and Myrtle Brown McNab Shepherd History and was verified by a personal interview with Myrtle Brown.

"In the early 1800's, the Bruce McKinsey family left northern Scotland and settled in the Grampian Hills of central Scotland. They brought with them their stock dogs, the Fox Shepherds, the origin is not known, but have survived in Scotland for centuries. Alexander McNab was a neighbor of the McKinseys who raised the Fox Shepherds, and started the breed in the Grampian Hills.

Alexander McNab and his family left Glasgow, Scotland in 1868, came to the United States of America, and settled in California on the ranch known as the McNab ranch in Mendocino, California south of Ukiah. They brought one dog with them, but it died soon after they arrived. In 1885, Mr. McNab returned to the Grampian Hills in Scotland for the sole purpose of getting some of the dogs he was used to working (with). He purchased two dogs, Peter and Fred. He brought Peter back with him. Fred was left in Scotland to have his training completed, and was sent to America later. Fred was strictly a lead dog; Peter worked both lead and drive. These two dogs were bred to select shepherd females of Spanish origin which were brought to this country by the Basque sheep herders, and that cross was called McNab shepherds because Mr. McNab perfected this breed of stock dogs which would head or heel. The McNab is not a Border Collie.

John L. McNab was the son of Alexander McNab and became the sole owner if the McNab ranch south of Ukiah in Mendocino County. He made several importations in the early 1900's from the Grampian Hills in Scotland. One importation in about 1906 was a Red Fox Shepherd called "Clyde" -- later another red dog called "Ready" was imported, and that is the reason why occasionally there will be a red pup in the litter.

Ed G. Brown put in an order for a McNab pup in 1895 These dogs were so much in demand he didn't get one until 1915 when Mr. McNab imported a female with pup. She whelped three weeks after arrival, and Ed Brown got the pick of the litter. He named the pup "Jet". This pup was black with faint line of white up his face, white chest, and a small amount of white on his feet. Some of these dogs have a wide strip up the face and a ring of white on the neck. Also, some will have brown on the legs and face, but they are mostly black.

They are never long haired, nor do they have loop ears or speckled legs ⁵. Their ears are mostly pricked, some will tip at the top. The strain Ed Brown raised from "Jet" are the true McNabs as he never outcrossed on other breeds. This is not a pedigree but just a history of the McNab dog we raised and knew" --- Myrtle Brown.

As you read both of these histories you will see, as I did, several agreements in the "tellings" and also the interesting comments regarding the very near "probable" relationship of Border Collie, Kelpie, and McNabs via the "Fox Shepherds and/or Fox Collies".for working ability, the McNab is very cat-footed, very fast and agile.

He generally is a more direct and forceful stockdog than his "cousin" the Border Collie, not as excitable as the Kelpie, and not as strong minded as an Australian Cattledog. He is very easy to teach, giving you his alert attention and complete loyalty. He is usually a one-man (or woman), one-family dog, does not tolerate stray dogs, strange people or animals.

He is known throughout northern California as an avid hunting companion, deer, wild pig, squirrels, and rabbits. The dog is also known as a protector, what's his is his, and if you are his companion, everything you own is his to protect, your spouse, children, livestock, truck, ranch, boots and saddle.

The McNabs are recognized as working stockdogs and are registered through the National Stockdog Registry of Butler, Indiana. I hope this will help your in your questions regarding the versatile McNab dog. The Breeding and working of these fine dogs have been one of the pleasures of our lives here at our place, they are truly unique in their devotion and loyal companionship to our families.

In regards to the development of Stodghills famous Black-Tan English Shepherds: In the 1940s, Tom D. Stodghills longtime friend, Mr. Frederick Preston Search, of Carmel Valley, California, Co-Founder of the ESCOA, researched the history of the John McNabb Shepherd of 1885, and the now-almost-extinct English Smithfield [a black, collie-type dog with white trim, having a natural bob-tail]. They learned that the McNabb and the Smithfield had been crossed with other shepherd-type stockdogs, e.g., the Border Collie, the Australian Shepherd, as well as many other breeds. As Mr. Search continued his research of the McNabb Shepherd, he found that the true McNabb was the same dog as the true Black-Tan English Shepherd found in Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia. From the very beginning, Mr. Stodghill and Mr. Search worked hard in making the ESCOA a success. Mr. Stodghill, and his second wife, Eunice, handled all the members paperwork. He wrote the "ESCOAs Whos Who", organized the first training school in Murfreesboro, Tennessee [the first "Cowdog Rodeo" ever held in America], and additional training and cowdog trials at his ranch in Quinlan, Texas.

Unfortunately, in less than five years, the ESCOA was in turmoil, as there was a division in ideas on how the "Club" would operate. There were those who thought they knew more about running a club/business than Mr. Search or Mr. Stodghill. Therefore, individuals influenced
by Mr. E. G. Emanuel [the first English Shepherd Club judge licensed by Mr. Search and Mr. Stodghill, on July 23, 1952] distanced themselves from the ESCOA by creating their own organization, the International English Shepherd Registry [IESR]. Mr. Search and Mr. Stodghill soon learned who their true friends were, and, with their help, they saved a good portion of their members. However, Mr. Emanuel was so bent on taking over the English Shepherd Registry from Mr. Stodghill that he sent individuals to Mr. Stodghills yearly dog trials in Quinlan, Texas, for the purpose of collecting names and addresses for a fee.

Mr. Stodghill presenting the 1st place check to Fred Preston with his 1st Place Check.