bcnewe2 Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Cricket, my wonderful little working dog, is no more or no less "wired" than my regular ol' BC I find this an interesting statement. What is considered a regular ol" bc? I thought that's what a real working dog was...a reg. ol' bc. Now I think there's room for where the dog falls on the scale of breeding for work and how well the instincts have transfered to a particular dog but I've always considered the "working dog" to be the true beginnings of this breed. Hence a reg. ol' bc. I just had a conversation last night with a young man in one of my classes. After a long chat about why I have so many dogs and why I don't breed them, he went right into a story about his ex girlfriend who just got a mini Aussie for agility as she didn't like the bc she had trained. Plus she is already planning to breed this very young "mini" aussie. Cause you know.... he's a merle and has those special "blue/white" eyes. Did he really hear anything I had just said??? No it's not hopeless but OMG...sometimes just breathsucking long. As soon as it warms up I'll start wearing my terrimans T-shirt. The one that tells of kennel clubs being Darwins worst nightmare. I know most won't take the time to figure out what it means but it makes me feel better. Now to go find the "on" buttons on the dogs cause they have to go out and potty before I leave for school. Darn dogs with hard to find "on" switches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaBluez Tess Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 >>The upshot is that they did in fact get a puppy from working parents - from a reputable breeder who has (and needs) working stockdogs. She's a lovely young bitch, and I've thought many times of dognapping her (except that if the dog ever disappeared, the FIRST place they'd look would be my house, because they know what I think of her.) They LOVE this puppy.<< Is this the puppy that I am thinking of? ;-) Diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 Is this the puppy that I am thinking of? ;-) Diane The very one. She's turning into a lovely bitch. Mind you, they haven't started training her for sheep yet - she's due to go into heat any day, and I think they'd consider that to be a potential distraction so not the best start-time for that* - but she's in all reagards a charming, beautiful dog. They tell me nearly every time I'm there how much they love her and they thank me over and over, most sincerely, for helping them find her. She appears to be a perfect personality match for the primary owner. As an added bonus, I was there last night and the owner said she wasn't going to breed her unless she turned out to be a good worker. So, two more converts to the "We will breed no dog unless it's a proven stockdog" fold. *Also, we got almost a foot of new snow and the off-road going is tough for people right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conner22 Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 My brothers live in MT, and when a dog needs gone- whether health reasons, upsetting stock or going after kids, or simply old age- many vets do NOT live close by (and euthanasia is expensive), and the nearest dog shelter I believe is 3 hrs away.... So that pretty much leaves one option..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herdcentral Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 I knew nothing about BCs when I landed on the board with my show/sport bred BC. I had a few debates etc, but it was all very clear really. My new BC is a well bred working dog. I now have sheep which is an added bonus. He has a nice off switch, is really a very well behaved pup, everything that I could have asked for. There is nothing wrong with my showbred girl either, on the behaviour and personality stakes, but I can tell that my working bred is going to be a much better dog to work with. I would take a working bred from good parents and knowledgable breeder that doesnt do health testing, over a showbred that is tested. One of my showbred ACDS has ED despite coming from tested parents. A working life soon sorts some of these issues out although nothing can be guaranteed. As to shooting failed or whatever dogs, yes farmers and station owners do routinely. Isolation, time and logistics often dictates it is neccesary. Their best old working dogs usually get to travel around in their vehicles with them or lie on the porch at home, when they get too old. My neighbour just lost his old bitch and I could see he was upset. For a good dog they will do a fair bit, including surgery if required. Breeding is never on my horizon, regardless of the quality of the dog I own. I just dont know enough about it and it sounds like a whole lot more time and trouble than I need. It really irritates me when people breed dogs without proper knowledge of what they are doing often for ridiculous reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaBluez Tess Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Hil, I just saw the full sister to your friend's dog. She is working stock and works like Nan, her grandma....it's a younger version of Nan!! Diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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