Border Collie Breeders General Chat

Pretty much all collie id say, if anything else then 3/4s, BC x BC/GR, shes fab!

Thanks I always get the best compliments on her. I got her at 4 months and she is the best! I raised her how to have good manners, and she is an excellent guard dog (had to teach her how though, by barking when someone was at the door lol) I got her to the point that she doesn't need a lead at all, I still use it near busy roads and in the pet stores, but even when me and the Boyfriend run Storm in the street (it's easier that way with the roller blades) she always stay's on the sidewalk and runs along side. She's so smart it's no question why I want another one

Have you had a look on the Border Collie Board? Just Google and it should come up. It is US based and is a fabulous place for information on working collies and different lines/breeders etc.

I don't know any of the breeders you have considered so far, unfortunately, as I am in Scotland, not the USA.

However, in general, my view is that the border collie should be kept primarily as a working stock dog. The beauty of the working collie is that is excels in all spheres (except the show ring, but that is due to the type of collie being shown), and so if you were to get a working line dog then there is every possibility it would be suitable for any of the dog sports, as well as herding.

Personally I am not a fan of the merles and have never really come across a good working one. That isn't to say they don't exist, but I have yet to see one.

I love the diversity of the border collie - in size, type etc, but working ability, health and temperament should always be bred for before colour even gets a look in IMO.

Have a look at a couple of these links to see some of our dogs working, as well as a really prolonged and interesting debate we had on Dogsey a wee while ago, regarding collies, and some of the same queries posed here

http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=67901

http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=68963

Yes thank you for those threads!!!

I personally think that the KC should rethink their thought's on what qualifies a border collie... take into account more then just looks. and really they should do that for ALL working dogs to keep the dog's true to the breed, weather or not people show them or work them or anything.

What do you think of this dog Kirsty?

http://www.coriesbordercollies.co.uk/cories/dogs/breac.html

Sorry Irena, I don't know him and have never seen him work. You can't really tell from a photo. He is a bonny lad though Are you considering a merle?

I do like the merles. And love this dog. But I haven't seen any puppies available. He does seem to have good working ability though.

hmm well he is bonny, but basically saying he is avaliable to stud for any with the correct helth checks
To me there should be lots more to it than 'OK they are healthy, they are the same breed - lets put them together'
and a slate merle tricolour!! people are gonna be using him as a stud for his colour

Er no they won't because Louise will not let him be used on just any old bitch with good health results-the pedigrees, character & working ability will be taken into account first

Maybe, maybe not, He has other attributes.

well I am glad to hear it, I still dont like to see a dog touted for stud on a website
I dont mean offence to a friend of yours, only my oppinion

Personally I am v sad the vast number of 'candy coloured' collies that are being churned out at the moment - in the past 2 years I cannot think of a single person who has got a pup that is a trad black and white marked collie
I know they are not as flashy as the other colours - but as that is the dominant colour in a collie for there to be so many of the other colours people must be breeding far more for colour than anything else

- and out of all them pups - 2 have been PTS with epilepsy, one has horrificly bad hips and most have not the best tempraments
and these are from what many of you would consider 'good' breeders

But I have a preferance for B&W, so i , if or when i bred Zola, id try to find a B&W stud dog for her.....

But if she didn't have him on the net someone looking for a working dog with his abilities & health would not be able to find out about him !

No offence taken

Not by me a responsible breeder only breeds to improve the breed-lol like our good friend Borderstorm-whose latest"granddaughter"is asleep at my feet !!!

again its up to you, but for me finding a healthy dog with temprament and working ability that compliments the bitch should be the major consideration

I dont agree with that as a way to find a stud - not that I would ever breed but if I was going to I would be watching dogs work, getting to know experts in the breed and taking my time to find the best dog for my bitch. If I had a male then if he was good enough then again I would expect to get to know people, and if my dog was good enough then people would come to me

sounds lovely and you are posting here not having snuggles and taking fotos

I have corriedhu breacs half brother and I'm over the moon with him.
Tbbs has just used him on her bitch Skye and kept a pup from the litter,star. Her pics have been on here she's a lilac and a real honey. I'm sure she will post on here about breac.
I spoke to Louise about him at an agility show earlier in the year and she is really pleased with him. Two of his offspring I know of are training in agility and coming along really well.

I used Breac on my Skye. Louise wanted Skye to have all the health tests done, which I would have had done anyway. She invited me over to see Breac and to bring Skye to meet her last year. Breac has an absolutely brilliant temperament and Louise showed me him working sheep, he's done a few sheepdog trials and done quite well. I kept Star from the litter, she's a really friendly, happy pup with a great zest for life, she is just 4 months old now, so we'll see how she develops. His 1st litter are nearly 17 months old and I know 3 of them are in agility homes, so will be starting competing in about a months time. I don't know if he's been used since Skye's litter, but Skye's litter was his 4th litter and I know Louise has turned a few people away as she doesn't want him overused.

Without getting into the rest of it, I have Felix an Astra Ghost son, and couldn't be more pleased with him. His temprement is second to non and had it not been for injury i'm sure he would have excelled in any field - even with me as a handler

Best 'family' dog we've ever had x

Of course the Stud dog would have all of those things as well, Thats obvious.:?

Equally , Im not going to breed a litter of dogs that i dont like the look of, either conformation wise, coat wise or colour wise.

I want to produce the BEST pups i can, both to breed standard & MY prefrence.

Zolas BF will also have to be a prince, as shes a princess & nothing less will do.

At the moment the Dogs on the list.

Tri Colour Dog with Freckles. I LOVE his attitude but hes Curly, very Freckley & Drop ears, & they would ALL be tris.

Blue Merle with No Tri, & dose carry tri. Id be likely to get a B&W from this, also Blue Merle, Blue Merle with Tri & also B&Wtri, (but he has a blue eye )

Blue Merle (the above dogs son), but he carries Red & possibley Carries Tri. So i might get some Red & Whites, Blue Merles, Possibly Red Merles,B&Ws & maybe tris & All the above with Tri. I really dont like Red& Whites , Im not sure If Zola Caries Red (It IS possible) So im better off using his dad.

Breeding For Colour, Is completley Diferent , IMO, than using colour as a consideration when planning a mating. They are "your" puppies after all, & they should be the Best you can get/like in ALL aspects.

Lets remeber in Border Collies we are talking STANDARD colours here, Nothing not Accepted by the breed standard.

I've noticed a few people on here that seem do disagree with having the color of the dog on their wish list (weather breeding or pet) and I was wondering why? Are we not aloud to fancy a color when we look for dogs? Even when we're still looking at all of "what's inside" the dog, and choosing a good healthy one.

Just curioius

and I do like the B/W ones, but as I already have 2 B/W dogs I fancied something different, and my boyfriend likes a high contrast in the colors of dogs, so we settled on blue merle tri for the color preference. I'd rather have a dog that we love the looks of (not to say that we would hate an ugly dog, we wouldn't, but we still have to look at it) because we'll be looking at it for the next 15 or so years. Also temperament will be a HUGE consideration because we're planning on kids in the future, and I'm sure as heck not waiting 15 years to have a kid because the dog has the wrong temperament. And of course the dog would have to be properly bread to hopefully avoid any health issues.

I am so looking forward to having an actual puppy. I also know that we could handle any dog that came our way, we have Storm (a Siberian Husky), and her previous owners deemed her "out of control" and she's doing excellently! She is a handful, and we gotta keep the lead on 90% of the time, and she takes a lot more concentration. Jessie on the other hand, is just so "mommy" oriented, that she won't go vary far from me unless I tell her to, and that did take quite a bit of training, BUT once she learned it (or anything else) it's like she's programed and she don't forget.

As long as it is an accepted colour and the breeders have not bred specifically for colour ignoring other considerations (health, temp working ability etc) or bred colours that carry higher health risks (Merle/Merle or Ditute/Dilute), I do not see a problem with wanting a specific colour.