appyridr

The Metchosin Sheepdog Trial draws quite a few spectators, many come back every year. They clap & cheer when sheep make the panels. It is a very pastoral community with the Parry Bay flock grazing in numerous small fields & farms in the area. So some people may have a personal 'connection' with the sheep. The community assoc. does a bang up concession with all the fixin's plus lamb burgers & home made mint relish. The Buchanons haul a truck load of hay bales for seating under the shade of the Garry Oak trees. It is a spectacular setting with the beach only 5 mins. away and the Juan de Fuca Straight in the background. They also have an announcer. cheers Lani

You might want to check out this group: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/DogsLovetoRun/?yguid=59751046

I like color and chrome in dogs & horses. But I wouldn't breed for it. I won't breed anything. There are too many more experienced good breeders around. World doesn't need another for a long long time. My first BC is a red dog with freckles & I love him. He has a lot of good working trial dogs before him, around him and after him. I could rhyme off a dozen good red dogs in the PNW but none were bred FOR color. They also have nice black&white relatives too. I also knew of an older brother that took a novice handler to Open. Which is important because by the time you get to Open, you may be ready for a very different dog. I am not a big fan of white heads, blue eyes or tri-colors. I have one with all 3. I got him because his mother is same way bred as my red dog and I own his father(co-owned for stud). Who happened to produce 3 nice Open level trial dogs in a previous litter. I picked him because he looked like his white headed/blue eyed sister from that earlier litter who is a REALLY nice trial dog. Hoping maybe if the puppy looked like his sister, maybe he would work like her & his father with same white head. Turns out he doesn't work much like them but is doing just fine. White headed father came to me as a started 2 yr. old. I got him because my young red dog wasn't started yet but I wanted to start trialing. I also knew about 4 of his littermates that I liked. My other dog came sight unseen. She turned out to be fairly classic black & white with a bit of tri. She also has one ear up. I want prick ears next time and freckles and red not just any red but deep dark red and medium rough coat - no slicks for me. Natural outrunner, good feel, nice pace, hunts for sheep, good listener, couch potato off sheep, good hips & CEA Clear or Carrier. LOL Lani

I do not own sheep or live on a farm - weekend hobbyist. My Dusty is 'farm bred' although his sire was a grandson of Berhow's Nick and he may have competed in a couple nursery trials. Then he spent the rest of his life working a 600 ewe flock with next to zero help from the farmer. He was treated like a tool and sometimes left forgotten in a field while the farmer went home for lunch. His mother never trialed but has siblings who did. She works a smaller flock but also by someone with no trial experience. Dusty is not a trial dog as he suffered my 'first dog learning curve'. However he can do set out almost all on his own and has moved half the flock of range sheep from the Open field to the P/N at Lacamas. He does have siblings who are successful trial dogs and work small farms. My other dog, Blair comes from trial lines that also work commercial cattle & sheep on the prairies. I also have his son, Owen whose mother never trialed but works a small herd of dairy cattle. She is the same way bred as Dusty. They only breed to replace. My other dog, Jayne has same sire as Blair and is out of a bitch sired by a trial dog that I love. She may be the best trial dog but is the last one I'd use for farm work. But she did win a silent gather tie breaker last year. ;-) So I guess my dogs are sort of 50/50: two are sired by very famous successful trial dog while the other two are out of non-trial dogs but also have some trial dogs in their pedigrees. Like what others have said, it is the individual that works like you what you need. cheers Lani

Here are a couple sites that list a LOT of Border Collie names: http://www.bcdb.info/dognames.htm http://www.usbcha.com/sheep/archive/points/open_pts.html I have two that came with their names; Blair & Dusty(which often is shortened to 'Dust' on & off sheep). I named my other two; Jayne & Owen(shortens to 'O' more off sheep than on). Owen is gaelic for 'son of nobility' as he is a son of my Blair. ;+D cheers Lani

Michael & Sport placed 45th out of 150; almost making it into the semi. I'd say that is pretty damn good. Congrats to them!

I like color that is not common(had Appaloosas, a palomino, 2 buckskins & a red roan pony over the years). I love red dogs. And freckles. I have one - I didn't choose him, he was the only one left available. I am not keen on most tri's or white heads or blue eyes but I chose a pup with all three. He does have both black & brown freckles which kinda saved him. LOL I like prick ears but only got a classic bl&wh with one up/one down; didn't choose her either, only female left. Never even saw a picture of her before she arrived. I got Blair as a 2 yr. old & wasn't keen on his big white head but now I kinda like it as he isn't getting grey in his old age. :-) cheers Lani

Thanks for the replies. Best of luck to Mike, Elizabeth and everyone at Finals. Like I said, was just curious. In the same light, I wonder if someone can report how many other 'colored' dogs will be running? Merles? Red dogs? Just a useless piece of information but interesting. cheers Lani

It is obvious that this dog is running to a high Open level so is an accomplished working dog. Just curious about his pedigree; is it all 'sport' or is there some good working dogs a generation or so back? Is this an exceptional handler who has access/$$ to top clinicians or ? Plus his Nursery dog is a well bred working dog.... Like I said earlier - just curious - no iron in the fire/don't know the guy or his dog. Just wondering from folks who have seen the dog run in CA? Or know the pedigree behind?

Yes but interesting that this dog is NOT registered with ABCA. Only with AKC. And from a breeder who is primarily an Agility/Flyball = Sport breeder.

Not trying to stir anything up, just curious if anyone knows anything about this dog? He has obviously earned points in some big trials in CA. It looks like his breeder is Contact Point but I can't find the sire/dam on her website. Burks, Michael CA O Sport(Just Do It) M 2/06 Karen Moureaux Hibs X Tilt HSAS AKC cheers Lani

I don't live on a farm but I also use all those items; binder twine, duct tape, zip ties, bungee cords. lol Lani

There is an long time Open handler in our area that has been competing successfully for over 10 years with MS. Many times qualified for Nationals. She lives on a sheep farm and takes young dogs in for training. She did have the skills before the onset of MS. cheers Lani

I have a covered deck the length of my house and attached garage at the back yard. I have 2 6' X 6' kennel runs with dog houses in them. In addition I use an X-pen to divide the other half of the deck into two 'runs'. I sometimes leave two dogs at home for a few hours in the afternoon. One other dog could be left loose in the house. The Chi gets put in a BC size wire crate if I need to leave him at home. But mostly they all come with me. When I am home, I often leave 3 BCs loose outside in fenced yard for a few hours every day...they run around and play for about an hour then sleep on the deck waiting to come in. My two youngest have been wire crated in the evening in the living room all their lives. The eldest has been a 'house dog' but for the last 3 or 4 years I crate him also; he is noise sensitive to the TV and would get out of his 'bed' constantly. In the wire crate, he is settled and happy. I just got home from being away for almost a week where they spent the majority of time in my truck topper(frequent potty breaks but also a day of hanging out in a big yard and two days at a dog trial). Pretty happy dogs tonite to be back in usual routine. cheers Lani