By Jessica Crabtree

As you watch the man of average height and stature with a straw hat and boots maneuver amongst his working Border Collie dogs, it is apparent almost immediately the bond between trainer and dog. As he goes about, you hear the horseman and dog trainer murmur cues or lightly whistle. When stepping out into a pen of goats, a sequence begins, almost as fluent as a dance, a dance between dog and trainer. From it, in a calm tone, the trainer Bob Hooker says cues such as “come by,” “away” and “walk up” or “steady.”

Retired and residing in Weatherford, Hooker spends the majority of his time training his working dogs, all of which are Border Collies. “I can trace the Border Collie back to 1570 and maybe even farther. It is the only [canine] breed that has never had a physical characteristic manipulated,” Hooker explained. Aside from their pedigree, Hooker stays loyal to the breed for their agile temperament and mindsets, even saying, “They are sensitive dogs. You can hurt their feelings really easy.” Hooker’s interest in canine companionship started way back as a boy growing up in Sherman, Texas. Later on in life he would meet people who would influence his love for training.

Raised in the Grayson County town, Hooker had one sister and one brother. The three children were raised around horses and ponies, and plenty of them. “My dad [Howard Hooker] imported horses here from South America, mostly Argentina and Chile. At one time he had 350 horses,” Hooker explained. As a youngster, Hooker helped his father, learning various parts of the horse industry. Taking a liking to horses, Hooker worked several years for veterinarian, Dr. Roy Riddle. No stranger to hard work, the young man managed to work alongside the vet as well as earn extra money washing dishes at the school cafeteria and riding colts for the assistant vice principle. “I remember at about 12, my dad saying to me ‘you need to get you a town job,”‘ Hooker laughed. That was followed by his first paid position as a youth, stocking at the local grocery store.

With a work ethic and a desire, after graduating high school, Hooker set his sights on college in the early 1960s enrolling at Tarleton State University. Soon after arriving, Hooker found work. “It was hard times, then. I had to earn money as I could to pay for school. It took me a while, but I finally did it.” While at Tarleton Hooker began riding colts at Whit Keeney’s, the first man to introduce Hooker to working dogs.

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Hooker while director at Redlands Community College in El Reno, Okla. (Courtesy photo)

Hooker and Border Collie during a demonstration at the race track for a cowboy symposium. (Courtesy photo)

Hooker with his wife, Lynn of 30 years. (Courtesy photo)- 01