Comment to 'Collie Breeder'
Comment to Collie Breeder
  • Gary,
    I had no idea the OC was being wrecked as well :(  I know there are people who would fight me like a rabid squirrel but the fact of the matter is the working dog's largest enemy is the show ring. 

    I had many such herding dog breeders who sought to prove me wrong & used to bring their champions or titled dogs to have me test them for breed worthiness. Some of these folks have enough grit to understand their dogs 'should' possess the internal grit, the natural born instinct to herd. It doesn't require teaching. I've seen the natural dogs with my own eyes. Dogs brought from the city who have never seen a calf, a sheep, a goat or a duck. You put them in with 'dogwise' stock & hush, just watch. What you see is at first the dog begins to chase. Then mother nature flips the switch & the dog is no longer chasing but beginning to circle, to begin to learn the art of staying out of strike range from the cow's hoof, how if he drives too hard he splits the sheep & for many dogs the first split of the herd & figuring out what to do with 2 herds will create a moment of panic or worry, for some they try to keep them separate other immediately try to reunite them which relaxes the livestock. It's a beautiful thing to watch. I love nothing more than to watch a truly well bred herding dog take their first herd. I get chills thinking about it.
    Sadly many of those folks who brought their herding dogs were often devastated or angry at what happened. I had cattle. I did not allow them to start on cattle because I knew my cows. It would be a massacre. I had a 4 month old Belgian Malinois who owned my herd of cattle. She was the real deal had been working my cows, goats & even the horses when needed along side my old German Shepherd's Dog & they could control the roughest livestock.
    It has to be really hard to see your breed go this way. I knew the Collie had been damaged but I had no idea they were this bad. I can find some dogs that are gorgeous to the eye but when listening to litter owners from various kennels I'm hearing things like: Collies are yappy, destructive chewers, dogs who don't do so well in training. I discount half because this can be handler problems, poor training because folks don't always have the best education themselves to work with them but I've never met a Collie that was a yapper. When mine or my mother's collies barked you'd better go see & if it was that certain bark you didn't go look, you took, the rifle.
    I'm staying tuned.