Want Cattle Dog, Border Collie, or mix pup Spring '10

[tdkmom]

Thank you!! We love her. She has her moments but really 95% of the time she's perfect.

 

[babalubird]

OK, I'd urge you to investigate this a little more closely. I'm hearing "great camping dog" and "great family dog" but I'm not hearing "great chicken dog".

I was looking into a kelpie, another good Australian cattle herding dog, but was advised not to because this woman had not had good luck with a number of the Australian types around her chickens. She did with a border collie. Granted, individual dog ability and temperament varies even in the same breed. I was also told by a man who trains herding dogs that he preferrred the border because he believed they had more finess in herding than the Australians.

I would do some more research, as I am. I am also trying to make this decision.

For instance, Borders are listed as the most intelligent:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligence_of_Dogs#Brightest_Dogs

But as this man says, a border collie is not for everyone (and an Australiain probably isn't either:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=KcWFombfGLM

And if you do a Youtube search of "border collie poultry," you will see borders working poultry without hurting them:

That's not to say all border collies are "chicken-trustworthy. What I'm learning is that it may be beter to look for a slightly older puppy or a dog to see if they are showing the right and/or wrong instincts yet. We plan to go look at two 5 month-olds in a couple of days. The female is chasing the chickens more in play mode (not good) rather than the low tail, fixed eyes of a herding dog. On the other hand, her brother has never shown an inclination to chase the chickens or goats except to quietly herd. I called about a 1 yr. old and a 2 yr. old, same breeder, same parents. The male had killed a few chickens, the female never had BUT did not show any herding instinct either.

Also that same trainer who recommended the border over other breeds added he never lets his herding dogs run loose where they can be with the livestock EXCEPT when he wants them to herd. Otherwise they would just wear the livestock out with their constant herding.

OK. I know I've confused you more but I think you need to consider some other factors as well.

Connie

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

I LOVE my herding dogs. I got Marli, my 4 yr old ACD from local animal shelter to be my trail dog when out riding my green horse Kitty who didn't like being out alone.

I had to train her to run ahead so Kitty could see her rather then bringing up the rear she instintively wanted to do. She was great!! So smart and calmer then most ACD's. I made trips to the shelter a few times a week for two weeks to find just the right one. No doubt she has something else in her, as she's taller and the ears don't stand up but I wouldn't trade her for a pure blood.

Good luck with your search and I just wanted to add not to be afraid to get a mix.

My aussie's pretty great too but hyper. She has taken on the task of watching the fence line for a coyote that visits my back pasture.

Little Roofus is the red heeler/shihtzu mix. Not getting very tall with the shihtzu legs but sure is CUTE and very sweet.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Below is an update posted on the ACD Agility group I follow since my girl Marli and I were involved in agility - a great thing to do with them if you wish.

There are breeders and lots of pictures of ACD's if interested in joining.


Re: [acdagility] German ACD Dog Hero story cont.þ
From: [email protected] on behalf of Jim Beckley ([email protected])
Sent: Fri 9/18/09 2:38 PM
To: [email protected]

This really is quite impressive. I don't imagine it'll change many minds in the police force, but it will certainly give a lot of people something to think about. I just hope it doesn't start a flurry of popularity for cattle dogs. Of course, I understand dog ownership in Germany is a bit more stringent than it is here.

Ned and Christos are sure great dogs!

Thanks Suzi,
Jim and Rocket

--- On Fri, 9/18/09, Suzi Ironmonger <[email protected]> wrote:

Friday, September 18, 2009, 11:45 AM

Just an update on the story of Christos, the German ACD who found the severly injured little girl this week........

First off, the little girl is concious and is stable, but they still do not know the extent of her injuries. Apparently she has severe head injuries.

Secondly, I just found out that the police had already searched the area with their dogs! It was only when they could not turn up any sign of her, that the local SAR group was notified. They were told not to re-search the area as the polic dogs had already done so, but they said, no - they would search the WHOLE area. It is a good thing they stuck to their own protocol, as Christos succeeded where the police dogs failed!

The manhole covered a storm drain system and due to the rains the unconcious girl would have drowned if she was not found when she was, not to mention the effects of exposure in her weakened condition.

Kassandra was reported missing by her parents when she failed to arrive home after school. At this time it is not known what happened to the child. But thanks to one handsome and dedicated Cattle Dog named Christos and his handler Birget, Kassandra's parents still have a daughter. Hopefully the person or persons responsible for this horrible crime. will be apprehended and brought to justice.

Wallaby Kennels congratulates Christos and Birget Oschmann on their successful search and rescue! And we also congratulate Anja Kroener of Woylie ACDs on breeding this awesome ACD Hero! Ned really is a proven "Super Sire". We are proud that a dog from 100% Wallaby bloodlines was able to succeed where professionally trained Police Dogs failed and save the life of a little girl!

Suzi

Suzi Ironmonger
Wallaby Kennels ACDs
TEAM Wallaby
Fallbrook, CA & Childers, QLD
From: Suzi Ironmonger <[email protected]>
Subject: [acdagility] German ACD Dog Hero story cont.
To: "acdagility" <[email protected]>, "ACD-L" <[email protected]>, "CattleDog-L E-Mail List" <[email protected]>

 

[txchickie]

We breed cow-bred border collies, and we have some awesome, awesome dogs. They'll make any other dog look like a dunce

Well, except for Hangin Tree dogs, that's our next purchase. We're on the waiting list still