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Mike has been involved in dogs for over 30 years. He has always owned dogs, having trained bird dogs for field work and hunting, but it was in 1973 when Mike began pursuing the goal of having a helper for working and gathering stock on his farm. At the time Mike ran 80 to 90 head of baldy cows and 100 plus head of Suffolk ewes.
Mike met a dairy farmer named Jody who used Border Collies to gather the cows up from the field. Mike watched as they quietly worked without doing major damage to fences or structures on his farm. Those old dogs would do whatever Jody asked of them. Jody loved telling stories about his beloved dogs to anyone that would listen. Mike recalled one of Jody’s favorite stories. Jody was in his 80’s his 2000 pound Holstein bull got him down. His female named Bea actually got the bull off him, saving his life. After spending time with Jody it didn’t take Mike long to realized that he needed a Border Collie to help him with his farm chores.
Mike’s first mentor was Arvel
Baxter. Arvel was man who could train anything offered up. He used Indian Runner ducks in a school yard to train his dogs and WOW were his dogs good! Mike’s first Border Collie came from Arvel and he never hesitated a moment to help Mike with his new dog. As they became friends Mike and Arvel spent countless hours together working dogs. Mike learning, Arvel teaching; they became close friends. To this day Mike has a spot in his heart for his dear friend, still recounting lessons learned from Arvel and sharing them with new and old handlers alike.
Another big influence in Mike’s passion is Dwain Thompson. Mike’s two foundation bitches Dot and Pearl came from Dwain out his great dog Karmie. Dwain shared his knowledge with Mike, gaining a lot of useful training tips. Dwain believes in being as good as he could be at whatever he is doing and this held true for his breeding stock as well. He
took pride in breeding excellent “working stock”.
Mike is fast to share stories of his own. One time Dwain, Gary Westbrook and Mike had been working some young dogs at Dwain’s, it was cold and spitting snow. Two men would be in the truck warming while one would be outside working a dog. Dwain asked Mike if he could work Dot because Mike was having difficulty shedding with her. Of course Mike was delighted to let Dwain work Dot for him. Mike jumped in the truck with Gary to keep warm. The two men sat and watched as Dwain put on a clinic with his dog… with him she did everything perfect. Gary turned to Mike and said “That dog’s worth $1500 more when
Dwain works her”. They both laughed and Mike said, “Ya know your
right”.
Other Border Collie handler/owner/breeders who have strongly influenced Mike; Bob Roe, Robert Barlow, Jack King, Danny Schilling and Gary Westbrook. Mike has learned something significant from each one of these men, still implementing these techniques and practices today.
Having been training and trialing Border Collies now since 1974, in both sheep and cattle venues, Mike is ultimately known nationwide for his extraordinary cattle dogs. He takes a lot of pride in his breeding program that has taken over 20 years to develop and his pups are always in high demand.
In addition, Mike has been involved in running the stock dog trials at the
Tulsa State Fair for over 20 years. Mike is dedicated to educating the public on the sport of herding and he takes great pride in supporting and promoting youth involvement in herding. Mike is all about “paying it forward”. He never hesitates to share his knowledge with novices and
experienced handlers alike. Mike has dedicated his life to
Border Collies; promoting, breeding, training and trialing them.
As Mike gets ready to start the next chapter in his life (retirement), he looks forward to many more years of working, training and trialing his beloved dogs!
For information on his foundation bloodlines and available breeding stock, go to the
DOGS section of the website.
Written by
Deb Cleveland |
