16 replies to this topic

[emilyfalk]

Hi all,

I'm a mixed animal vet and I have a client looking to purchase a pup to eventually work their cattle. The breeder they asked me about raises numerous red flags in my book, and as an active trialer in the South and NEBCA, I've not heard of these folks. Their McNab-BC crosses are registered with the Working Stock Dog World Registry (though no pedigrees can be found on their website). Not having heard of this registry, I followed the link:

WSDWR

Didn't really learn anything there except "We want your progeny!" Out of curiosity, does anyone know who/what this is?

Not to worry, I will steer these folks toward a better investment for their operation. Just want to have my facts straight.

[Eileen Stein]

Whoa! That's taking "You send us your money, we'll send you a piece of paper" about as far as it can go.

Can't say I've ever heard of them. But after reading their website, for some reason "All your progeny are belong to us" has popped into my head.

[Gloria Atwater]

I'm glad you asked this, because I've also wondered what this outfit's game really is.

For one thing, they say (spelling theirs, not mine):
"The breeds we want to work with are herding canines, the breeds will be: Australian Cattle Dogs (blue and red heelers), Australian Sheperds, and Border Collies, or a crossbred combination of any of these. Our goal is to help the customer build the best stock dog possible. The customer can choose to raise a full blood strain or cross breed the animal as he or she sees fit. There are many unregistered stock dogs and we want to give you and your canines the right to compete."

To which I ask, compete in what? If a dog is recognizably a working breed, it can get an ILP to trial in ACK, and if the dog's owners want to trial it in AHBA or ASCA, they don't need to be breed-registered at all, just a tracking number.

Plus their pointed preference of those three breeds, to the exclusion of all other stock dog breeds, is arbitrary and odd.

So ... I'm kind of curious about them, too.
Cheers ~

Gloria

[Gloria Atwater]

Eileen, you just gave me the best laugh of my day!

~ Gloria

[PennyT]

I just followed the first link to a horse breeder then on that page found a dog link to what is probably another dubious operation.

Anyone ever heard of it? I am making an effort not to use the name.

[juliepoudrier]

I haven't heard of them, and they're right here in my state. I wouldn't get anything from them, that's for sure.

J.

[stockdogranch]

then on that page found a dog link to what is probably another dubious operation.

Uh, yeah..."Border Aussies" due this coming January.
A

[MyTDogs]

Uh, yeah..."Border Aussies" due this coming January.
A

Don't you mean Bossies??

[emilyfalk]

Ok, thanks! Like I said, I had my doubts...but years ago I was uneducated about the Hanging Tree Cowdogs, so I wanted to be sure that this was not a legit registry with a less-than-stellar website. I am not as informed in cowdog loops, but figured this was essentially a scam.

Anyway, it served to strengthen my argument for steering these people away from the original breeder. The good news is that these people are very excited for me to help them find a puppy (the wife even stopped by to watch me work dogs today!) and now understand why this purchase would not have been a good one.

[Sue R]

Wow, Emily, you did great!

[Kelliwic Border Collies]

I just followed the first link to a horse breeder then on that page found a dog link to what is probably another dubious operation.

Wow! Those dogs sure have some fancy names!

Probably because:

the dogs we raise will be some of the greatest working dogs that exist today.

Too bad not one photo documents how great those registered "Working Stock Dogs" are at working stock.

[AlexC]

Huh. And an eight month old up for stud. Excellent.

[jdarling]

FWIW, I wrote to the owner of the registry and asked him to explain this:

There are many unregistered stock dogs and we want to give you and your canines the right to compete.

He danced around and danced around, mentioned something about horse registries, then threw something out about having an "amazing aucado" when he was younger, and he wanted to "show and make him a champion and also compete." So he called the AKC to register it and they laughed in his face. When I asked him why anyone with working dogs would want to register them with the AKC, he went on to ask me how many cows I own, and tell me that the the registry is basically for people "who work their dogs and want their bloodlines to stay true to workability and trainability,grit,staying power,longevity,loyalty going in low, staying low scissor bite and turn around and reproduce those qualities."

If you don't have registration papers on your current dogs, all you need to do is take pictures of your dogs and send them in. That's the way to stay true to your bloodlines.

[Gloria Atwater]

Huh. And an eight month old up for stud. Excellent.

And in case we weren't sure, those are male stud dogs. As opposed to ... uh ...

I'm trying to figure out what a "Texas heeler" is, that the Aussie-ish looking one has purportedly sired.

Wow. That there is the future of stockdogs, by gum.

I do feel kind of cheated, though, that it never dawned on my hubby and I to call our two old BC/Aussie-mix cowdogs "Border Aussies" all those years. "Bossies" would have worked real well with the eldest!
Cheers ~

Gloria

[juliepoudrier]

the registry is basically for people "who work their dogs and want their bloodlines to stay true to workability and trainability,grit,staying power,longevity,loyalty going in low, staying low scissor bite and turn around and reproduce those qualities."

But if that's the case, then wouldn't it make sense for breeders featured on the registry to actually show dogs who work? I mean it sounds good, but I suspect the reality is that anyone can register any "working stockdog" and whether it actually meets the criteria described above is immaterial as long as the registration money comes in.

J.

[jdarling]

I mentioned that very thing to him, and his response was "... of course we have to have some money to produce papers catalogue animals etc..For instance your dogs go into 4 seperate databases one of which is 20 miles from our office in a fireproof safe we have to pay employees also we can't do things free...Our last seminar cost almost 3 grand....We have thousands in computers printers ink......Jodi you know a business costs money to run it costs 50,000 to start it....."

[Crawford Dogs]

I just followed the first link to a horse breeder then on that page found a dog link to what is probably another dubious operation.

Anyone ever heard of it? I am making an effort not to use the name.

I want a puppy out of "Wormy Dog". Man, that'd be an interesting conversation starter. And since they think 8 month old dogs are good stud dogs anyone want to breed to my 14 month old boy? No takers, huh, wonder why not? lol!