Our eyes “perked up” the other day when we read that a detector dog recently led biologists to an exciting sighting in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. ” Slater,” a member of Hawaii Detector Dogs, had detected the nest of a rare seabird buried underground in the lava of Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world.  What Slater had found was the roost of the endangered band-rumped storm petrel, known as akeake in Hawaiian.

Some readers may be more familiar with petrels than with Slater’s breed. He is a McNab Shepherd.

As veteran readers of NPDD know, we sometimes talk about landraces as well as ‘breeds’ not recognized by any major registry. Why? Our answer is two-fold. Education is key to knowing what is and isn’t a purebred dog, helpful to those considering a lesser known “breed” of dog. We’ve also learned through research that today’s landrace or breed type just might be a future purebred breed.

In the interest of edification, let’s learn more about the McNab.

The “CliffNotes version” is that the McNab Shepherd (also known as the McNab Collie or McNab Cattle Dog) is a working herding dog developed expressly to handle the heat, rough terrain, and burrs of Northern California’s Mendocino region.

The longer version begins with Alexander McNab, a sheepman who left Scotland in the late 19th century to establish a large 10,000 acre sheep ranch in Northern California.  Alexander had brought with him “Flora,” a Scotch Collie who became the first official dog on his ranch. After Flora passed away, the McNab family tried to manage 3,000 sheep without a dog.

It was ugly.

On one occasion, one of the castrated rams (known as a wether) bolted through the corral gate and headed into the mountains, the entire flock following. That next day, Alexander was on the next boat to Scotland to get a new shepherd dog.  He got two! Peter and half brother Fred, both Scotch Collies. Bred with local lasses, the puppies were the genesis of the McNab Shepherd as it is known today.  Other ranchers noticed how differently these dogs worked from other dogs and wanted their own because these dogs were extraordinary herders with impressive stamina in the heat.  McNabs have been known to drive stock 100 miles in a day.

Alexander continued to ‘tweak’ his dogs to further develop his perfect loose-eyed herding dogs and bred Peter and Fred to dogs owned by local Basque sheepherders. When Alexander died in 1901, his son took over the ranch and the breeding program. The dogs came to have a distinct look: A black body with a white ruff, a tail tipped with white and often with a white stripe between the eyes called a “Bentley stripe.”  The McNab Shepherd’s abilities and reputation grew to the extent that in Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, the term ‘sheep dog’ came to mean a McNab Shepherd. Over time, refinement continued and included long coated dogs, and a red one.

Locally, the McNab Shepherd is treated like its own breed, but it is not recognized by major kennel club, nor does it have a formal breed standard. The primary goal has always been to breed a highly effective herding dog with a focus on functionality over form. That said, an internet image engine for “McNab Shepherd” brings up photographs of dogs that are more similar than not.

There is a McNab Shepherd registry and a Facebook page, but potential owners with an interest to show their dog should know that this will not happen at AKC or UKC events anytime soon.

Image: McNab Shepherd by Lois_McCleary/iStockPhoto