Pipedream Farm

The bottom line is how well your dogs do on the food you feed them. Mark

When dog food is discussed, price is rarely brought up. However, if the caloric content is similar and you’re okay with the ingredients then why not choose the less expensive product. It's no different than choosing the generic/store brand over the name brand. I see ME and price as overlooked pieces of the decision making process. Mark

Metabolizable energy (ME) is the caloric content in the food, the calories in the food. There is an accepted method to calculate the ME in food based upon the measured items in the food (like protein and fat). ME is how the manufacturer determines it's feeding guidelines. Like humans, dogs will need a certain amount of calories to function based upon their activity level and body weight. What I have done is calculated how much these calories from each food will cost. For a human example: There are 69 calories in 4 oz of plain yogurt. The cost of those calories will vary depending upon if you purchase the store brand, Dannon, Yoplait, Stony Field Farms, etc. Also the cost of 69 calories will vary depending upon if you get them from yogurt, cereal, beef, lamb, candy, etc. Mark

I understand that the quality of the ingredients is very important; but I also think the following data from the Diamond and Pet Food Direct websites is also informative. Taste of the Wild $42.99 for 30lbs Calculated Metabolizable Energy: 3719 kcal/kg Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete $33.99 for 40lbs Calculated Metabolizable Energy: 4710 kcal/kg Diamond Hi-Energy $23.99 for 50lbs Calculated Metabolizable Energy: 3820 kcal/kg Diamond Premium $23.99 for 40lbs Calculated Metabolizable Energy: 3886 kcal/kg From these I calculated how much metabolizable energy you get for your dollar from each food. Taste of the Wild: 5,721 kcal/USD Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete: 12,220 kcal/USD Diamond Hi-Energy: 17,552 kcal/USD Diamond Premium: 14,284 kcal/USD Just some food for thought. Mark

M.L., Any dog food company that uses any grain in their kibble can end up with mycotoxin (alfatoxin is one of several) contamination in their food. The only way to prevent mycotoxin contaminated food from getting to the stores is to test the finished product as well as the incoming raw material (which Diamond does now). The reason for this is raw gains come in by the tractor trailer load and the moldy grain (certain molds produce the mycotoxins) will have come from a small section of the field and will therefore be confined to a small section of the load. Samples of the load are taken and tested, if the sampling method did not find the moldy section in the load then it will pass the incoming tests and the grain will be used in making the dog food. Testing the finished product as well as the raw materials is the result of recall and the realization that the incoming tests were insufficient. I wonder how many manufactures are testing their finished dog food. I don't believe Diamond had cross contamination of alfatoxin; I believe you are thinking about the Menu Foods adulterated gluten (melamine) recalls. As Julie stated, dog food with no grain will be risk free for mycotoxin contamination. Mark BTW we feed Diamond and currently have 120-160lbs at home.

I, too, would have no hesitation in recommending Fieldstone Kennel to a potential puppy buyer. In other words, what Eileen, Denise, Diane, and Caroline have said. Mark

It seems to me that many dog behavioral theories start with the premise that being a canine and genetically similar to the wolf also means that the dog has similar behavioral genetics as the wolf. Source: How Did Dogs Become Adept at Playing to Humans? These studies would suggest that using the behavior of wolves as a means to understand how a dog is genetically predisposed to behave is problematic at best and likely incorrect; the behavioral theories that use wolf behavior as the starting point could easily be wrong and therefore myths. Mark

I've seen a few shelties but really don't know how uniform their personalities are across the breed. Border Collies can be as you describe (always in motion); they also can be very sedate off stock but will turn it on for stock work. The latter is often described as having an "off switch". Border Collies also do not bark to move stock and are less prone to bark than the Shelties I've seen. Mark

I agree with Eileen that you'd want to start with a trained dog vs. a puppy; a trained dog is by far the best teacher you could have. There are retiring Open level dogs that become available and your situation would be one that many open handlers would love to have for the Open dog they are retiring from trialing. These dogs often have many more years of work in them but are being retired from open because they are no longer able to run the big courses (or for other reasons). The best way to find these dogs is to network with the open handlers at trials. Mark

A friend found this place at MD Sheep & Wool last year. She was very happy with the blankets from them. Shepherds Mill Farm 158 Jefferson Rd Elmer, NJ 08318 856-358-2329 Their cost is $85 for a queen sized blanket and they need 20 lbs of raw wool. Thank goodness no washing required just reasonable skirting. Mark

I strongly suggest you and your family take a trip later this year to visit..... March 28-30 Long Shot Trial Church Hill, MD One Novice & Two Open Trials USBCHA/NEBCA Sherry Smith 410-758-3363 Mark

Greenakeys, There are several of us in this part of MD (>8); below are just a few. There are a few more just over the line in PA. We're in Knoxville (20 min west of Frederick near Brunswick). Carla King is in Davidsonville (west of Annapolis) Linda Tesdahl is in Mt Airy Mark

Woops, I forgot to logoff my other persona (used for ABCA H&G Committe stuff) when finished last night. Mark

The ABCA does not give out nor can it take away herding titles; it can and does remove dogs from it's registry (registration not title). The only titles available within our herding system are from the USBCHA National Finals and to my knowledge no USBCHA National champion has had its title revoked. As far as confirmation dogs not being allowed to win herding titles; there are no real herding titles to be won (except the annual national champions) within the USBCHA herding program. The AKC, AHBA, and ASCA herding programs are the ones with herding titles. Mark

Well I have to get her somewhat under control for next month! Don't want her to look too shabby next to Moss, Mae, and her bro Ted! You do realize she's never worked anyone else's sheep before? Nervous yet? Renee

I actually think BJ's light bulb started to come on yesterday. I worked her in our run in shed with a small group which I think helped her a lot. Then we brought them out and did, lots of wearing (something I normally can't do with her --we usually just end up driving) with me moving really slowly. we probably worked about 40 minutes. She does better with long sessions. I normally only work young dogs about 5-10 minutes at a time --but that just doesn't work well with her. Then I took her back out a few hours later and decided she could sort her own group. She doesn't have reliable flanks for sorting, but I figured she could just park it while I sorted the sheep at a gate. I had to stop periodically and tell her to get back, but she seemed to be getting what I wanted. Anyhow, we did outruns and really slow wearing again. I'd grump at her when she started speeding up and I'd tell her take time. She actually started getting it. By the end of our session (probably another 40 minutes) she actually had "gears" and was acting like a real dog (I knew it was in there somewhere!). It was really nice to see her bringing the sheep at a controlled pace. I think it occurred to her for the first time that she was the cause of the sheep being unsettled. She and I were both wiped in the evening yesterday! Hopefully things will keep going like this because her stamina is way better than mine! Renee

Becca, I think BJ and Ted need to meet. I think they have a lot in common. Of course maybe we don't want them exchanging ideas! Actually BJ's not bad about calling off or freelancing, but she's about as tightly wound as any dog I've ever seen. She really wants to please --it's just that her excitement level gets the better of her. She's extremely reactive to the slightest change in balance the sheep make. I think sometimes she knows what the sheep are going to do before they even do --that would be great if she didn't do everything ninety miles an hour! I end up working her really long sessions being slow, boring and methodical to settle her mind. I have to say she can get the better of me in terms of making her lie down too much. I can't help it, when a freight train is coming at you, self-preservation becomes instinctual! Renee

Good news Julie. Mark

Yolo Wool Mill is in Woodland, CA. They can make throw, full, and twin size blankets; and they are expensive. St Peter Woolen Mill St peter, MN Wool => quilt batting, custom mattress pad, custom comforter. Mark

I know about McAusland's; I'd like to find one closer to MD to save on the shipping. At a trial last fall a group of us were discussing processors and someone mentioned there was a processor in the northeast (USA) that will processes raw wool into blankets. Does anyone know the name of the mill? I did find Waterside Woolen Mill on the web and have asked if they process raw wool. They have not answered me. Mark

Sheena, Sorry for your loss. Mark

I trained the two dogs I'm trialing now in open (Bette and Rae). Both of these dogs were so steady and easy going as youngsters, I worried to death that they would fizzle out with age. I thought maybe they'd make nice novice dogs, but not make it to open. I actually considered selling both of them as youngsters because I thought they weren't keen enough. Instead, both dogs only got more keen with age. Now I have a youngster (BJ) who is incredibly intense and I'm worried she's too over the top --see, I just can't be happy! Also, my first dog Starr did not turn on to sheep until she was about 15 months. Now I never actually tried to work her before that, so I can't say for sure that she wouldn't have worked younger. She was allowed to watch dogs work sheep and wasn't all that interested. When she did show an interest though, she was all intense from that point on. She started right out balancing and progressed more quickly than a younger dog would have --except for the part about her being my first dog! I did make it all the way to open level with her. Renee

The sex linked differences (other than size differences) I have seen appear to be within certain lines, not breed wide. We are moving towards all females because we do not care for the marking, chattering (after sampling female urine), and sex drive that can be bad with some males. Mark

From the ABCA website: ABCA Disciplinary Rules. The "ABCA News" page lists the Diciplinary Actions and why. Mark

Pearce, As one individual on the committee I view the eye exam as one tool to monitor the eye health of the breed (acquired and unknown emerging diseases). I don't believe it is the best survey method (in terms of sample size and distribution) but it's the best method available at this time. There is such a vocal objection to the mandatory eye exam at the finals I cannot imagine the uproar we'd hear if the sampling was increased to include additional trials. I don't see a voluntary eye exam as being useful in that many would not volunteer and those that did would be the same people every year (yielding poor distribution). I would hope we'd catch an emerging disease early enough with our current sampling rate to elicit help from the academic community; best still we have the researcher (Dr. Acland) we would turn to for help performing the exams. ABCA by itself represents approximately 10% of the BCs tested; there is some error based upon how the registry numbers were entered (which number was chosen by owners of dual registered dogs and if the entries included alpha components needed for the search) into the Optgen data base and the output of a search of that data base. Overall we can safely say AKC dogs are more likely to be tested than ABCA dogs. This difference could be due to the desire to have the test results indicated on pedigrees, difference in spending habits on dogs, a better understanding of the implications of the results, etc. The communication problem is two sided. I would like to see more/better communication from the H&G Committee to the community, I will work on this. When we attempt to communicate with the community we are often interrogated and berated by a very vocal minority which overwhelms any reasonable discussion. Some of this is seen in the public forums and an equal amount occurs privately (email or PMs). I will need to end my thoughts here, my paying job requires my attention. Mark