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Breeder Advice Buck Branch Border Collies


Guest RayJD6980
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Guest RayJD6980

Hi, was hoping to get some feedback with any info anyone may have on this breeder I am looking at called Buck Branch Border Collies. This is my first BC and I'm really doing my homework here but my reach into the community pretty much stops at the internet. I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of them before or if one of you seasoned pro's could take a look at their website and let me know what you think. They sound great to me, and I'm able to check off all the boxes of  what to be looking for from a reputable breeder. Just figured it couldn't hurt to ask for some guidance or info. Thanks 

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I'm not seeing a whole lot of detail about their breeding program but what I do see on their FB page and website, much of it not front and center, throws up so many red flags all I can see is a field of scarlet.

  • emphasis on breeding for candy colors
  • ACK registration
  • no indication of any dogs working livestock (so what are their criteria for breeding?), just perhaps some other dog sports

I'm not sure what your definition of a reputable border collie breeder is, but few here would consider these folks to make that list.

These Boards are a continuation of the late United States Border Collie Club, whose reason for existence was to preserve border collies as a working breed with the primary goal of breeding first and foremost for working ability to the exclusion of any other purpose. I'm not sure if you've read the Read this First post, but if you haven't, please do.

 

 

 

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Guest Rayjd6980

Oh man you guys are tough, lol. That’s good though this is exactly what I need and was hoping to get. Thank you very much first for responding to me and secondly for taking the time to look at their website. 

Believe it or not I really am trying to make an informed and educated decision/purchase here. Unfortunately my knowledge and experience with BC’s and breeders for that matter starts and stops with the internet. 

Criteria that I thought was good that I was looking for and had seen on their website. Were things like,

- (AKC threw up a flag I know) but I also see ABCA which I thought was a good thing 

- all their sires and dams have extensive DNA testing stats listed and hip dysphasia testing from OFA 

- according to their website they don’t produce many litters in a given year which I thought was also something to be looking for  

I didn’t see anything that made me think they were breeding for color, for future reference what was it on their site that makes you say that? 

Lastly I definitely did read the, “Read This First” post and totally agree with the preservation of the breed as it was intended to be and I want to avoid supporting breeders that do what they do for any other reason. I don’t care what color the dog I get is, what color their eyes are or how many championship ccompetitors and metals are in their blood line. I’m just trying to make sure I get a healthy dog from a reputable breeder that is doing the right thing by the puppies themselves and the breed as a whole. 

Any suggestions you may have for reputable breeders that you would use would be greatly appreciated. 

 

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Have you considered getting a dog from a rescue organization? 

I know this is not what you asked for, but I cannot help but want to throw this out there. Rather than buying a puppy, even from a good breeder, would you consider going through a good rescue organization and getting a dog that is already here and needs a home? There are many advantages to getting a dog that way, most especially as this is your first border collie. If you get a young adult dog from a rescue you will be getting a dog who has lived in a foster home for two weeks or more (usually more) and the foster person can tell you a great deal about the dog: personality, energy level, favored activities, issues that may need to be trained. If you get a puppy the puppy is adorable but that stage doesn't last long and you don't know what kind of dog the pup will turn into; if it may be a hard dog or a fearful one, etc. and that might be very hard for you to deal with. some people are a lot better with or would really prefer a certain kind of dog. If you go the rescue path, you can get a young dog who suits your own personality, the things you want to do with the dog, and your activity level.

Rescues get puppies in, as well. 

Please consider this.

(spoken from someone who fostered border collies for 8 years and believes it is the very best way for a newcomer to the breed to get the right dog)

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The $1500 is on the steep side (for non-working bred BCs) but is the non-breeding status standard practice? 

The purchase price of my pups is $1500, no matter sex, color or litter. All pups will be registered on a non-breeding status unless otherwise discussed and approved by myself.

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On 11/13/2018 at 8:36 PM, Guest Rayjd6980 said:

I didn’t see anything that made me think they were breeding for color, for future reference what was it on their site that makes you say that? 

According to their website, all of their females are merles.  You cannot get merle coloration accidentally.  It is dominant, so one parent must be merle to produce merle. Likewise, you cannot breed two merles together -- well you can, actually, but you wouldn't want to,  because of increased risk of defects in sight or hearing in the puppies.  So all of their males are solid colors, either red or gold, and each could be bred to any of their females with a statistical probability of getting merle puppies.  Not a single dog or bitch is black or black tri, the most typical coloration by far in border collies.  One is gold (ee red), which is rare, not found in any working dogs that I've ever met -- if you've bought in a gold pup it is in order to breed for color.  I cannot imagine a kennel with that array of colors that is not breeding primarily for "unusual colors." 

The huge red flag for me is that they are not breeding for working (herding) ability.  Both what they say and what they don't say make that very clear.  They are breeding for multi-color pets that run fast.  I would see nothing wrong with that if the dogs were another breed, but that's not what border collies should be bred for.  

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Nothing on their website says breeding for working ability, they are breeding pretty dogs for pet homes. Any time you see duel registered AKC/ABCA it's a red flag, I did not look at all their dogs but none where working sheep. 

This board supports breeding border collies for one purpose, working livestock, those dogs might go and be pets and sports dogs but their origins are livestock work. In the US it's hard to tap into good working dogs but the members of this board can help point you in the right direction.

As others have said rescue is a really good option, you get some amazing dogs coming into rescue simply because their owners did not realize what owning a border collie meant. Our first three border collies were rescues, first two were adults when got them and my older dog was a puppy, all were/are great dogs with very little baggage, some weird traits but all border collies have those. My youngster is an ISDS pup from Scotland and a lot of thought went into getting him, and why I wanted a pup from a breeder (I compete in agility and wanted to minimize the risks of dysplasia and other health issues, my current and previous border collies had dysplasia) 

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