From the back cover: "I really mean it, Katie. I can't tell you how sorry I am, but I mean it," "But, Dad..." "No Katie, it's no use arguing. You know as well as I do that there's no place on a farm for a badly behaved dog, and since you've been at school, Skip has got out of hand. He'll just have to go." Katie was shocked at the news. As she told her older cousin, Tom, the worst part was knowing that it was all her own fault. She had enjoyed playing with Skip and hadn't tried to make him obedient, and that wasn't fair to any dog. Tom thought Skip might still be young enough to train-just. After a frustrating start, Skip responded to his lessons, and soon Katie dreamt of entering into the huntaway sheepdog trials. But well-laid plans can go wrong for all sorts of reasons..."
National Library Entry
Skip for the huntaway / Eve Sutton ; with drawings by Ernest Papps. Date: 1983 By: Sutton, Eve., Papps, Ernest. Identifier: ISBN 0705508048 (pbk.), ISBN 070550803X (hbk.) Series: Price Milburn kea book Notes: Story for children.
Publisher: Wellington [N.Z.] : Price Milburn, 1983. Format: 45 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.
When I was a kid, I remember watching on telly, "A Country Calendar". The show had a segment where farmers would compete against each other with their working dogs. They would have to get 3 sheep up a hill around posts and into a pen, then close the gate. They would whistle and call to the dogs to get the sheep to do this. It was to see who had the best-trained working dog at the best time. This book is called, The Huntaway after the dog breed used in rounding up sheep.
Skip is Katie's dog and during the school holidays, when she is not at boarding school, she has promised to retrain her dog so he better behaves, otherwise, he has to go. Her cousin Tom has agreed to help. Katie returns to school and Tom continues with the training. Skip improves so much that it looks like he could enter the huntaway competitions, but suddenly things don't go as planned. The story then takes a dramatic but very touching turn. The book is very short, only 40 pages and Katie's character can be very dramatic at times, but a wonderful story about compassion and perseverance which children will love.
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