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Should BC puppies only go to sheep/cattle herds


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To start - I have found this board to be very informative. I understand to pet store issue - no good breeder would ever place their dog with a pet store because they would always want to know who was getting their puppy. I have visited websites that have been posted on this board about herding. Again - a whole new world for me, makes me feel a little bad for my BC. Ours is out of rescue ( as I have said before). He is kept very busy and stimulated so I think he is well balanced. But most of all- he needed a home - we took him, so I don't feel as bad that he is not getting to do what he was bred to do. ( I also think that I might have a defective BC - really big chicken) Back to my question, after these boards and other websites indicated on this board - would a good breeder sell a BC puppy to a non ranch environment and/or should they? Sometime I think it would be great to have a puppy - but at this point I would not get one because I could not give it its true calling. I am sure that we will continue to adopt out of rescue. I quess my question is - if you have fallen in love with the border collie, but don't do the activity that the border collies are bred for - should the ownership of good breeder puppies only fall to ranches?

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A good breeder will sell to anyone who is qualified to own a BC and may not sell to someone who is not regardless of where the puppy is going to live. In the case of Bas amd Glyniss I had to convince the breeder that even though they would not be herding the dogs were going to a good BC qualified home.

 

I think all of you know what I mean by a BC qualified home.

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I for one am delighted that a responsible breeder WILL sell to people w/o livestock or that do not have the time or $$ to go herding. I cant imagine being without my pups and the closest thing I have to sheep is the two Icelandic sheepskins on my floor! I dont think that sales should be restricted to just ranchers/livestock owners/ but, I do think that ONLY breeders of working lines should be able to breed (oh perfect world) there by eliminating the sport breeders and byb. Enough dogs are produced each year that would keep those that wanted and were able to provide the proper stimulation mentally and physlcally happy for years to come, reguardless of whether you were herding, doing agility or flyball or a beloved family pet that simply plays frisbee, ball, and long long wlks. It would also put rescues for the most part out of business

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The important thing is that the dogs are bred for the right reason. I know there are many big hats and trialers that prefer, after they keep their picks, to put the other pups in qualified "forever" pet homes. A lot of times, when you sell pups to trialers, they are sold and re-sold before finding their permanent homes, and who knows what happens to them in between. This is not to say that trial homes are not good for pups. That's not it. But pups do tend to get moved around a bit while handlers are looking for the "right" match. Pet homes tend to be more permanent from the get-go.

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" not every dog bred to work will be a good working dog" - but when is it evident that they are not a good working dog. If I got a puppy - that I never intended him to be a good working dog - and he showed with time that he would be an excellant working dog - I could not image myself being unselfish enough to give the dog up. My dogs are my family - even better, they never give me a headache.

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Ownership should not be resticted to homes where the dogs will work livestock.

 

As someone who has bred (and will probably breed again), I prefer our pups go to working homes because this way we are better able to evaluate how good the cross was (in terms of working ability). The pups don't always don't stay in the initial home (as stated above) which may or may not be a problem. If only a couple of working bred pups go to working homes, you have limited information about the cross since not every working bred pup will be a good working dog.

 

Having said all that, the bottom line is we want our pups in good homes. Our last litter has the best of both; all in good homes and all but one in working homes.

 

Mark

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I pretty much agree with Mark. I would put a pup in a pet home before I'd place it with a working home whose standards of care or training I didn't agree with. As with any working breeding, the more pups you can get into working homes, the better ability you have to evaluate that breeding, but I wouldn't dismiss a great pet home out of hand by any means.

 

J.

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