Adding to our pack of Border Collies

[BCSnob]

Last fall one of our pups (owned, trained, and run by a friend) placed 5th in the 2013 National Sheepdog Finals. This dog was out of my Peg and is a litter mate to our Nell and BJ. We decided we did not want to lose our line of dogs we've been running for over 10 years. We found a male to breed to our BJ; they bred today. Assuming all goes well we will be whelping pups during lambing season in March. Our plans are to keep 2 or maybe 3 pups from this litter and we already have a couple of other pups spoken for without advertising.

Our pack will grow from 7 Border Collies to 9 or 10 (the absolute maximum number of crates for our van).

Mark

[BCSnob]

One month to go.......

[BCSnob]

BJ is picking at her kibble but has been very happy with scrambled eggs.
Her litter sister Nell was spayed Monday and is starting to eat again; she too has enjoyed eggs.
Our 11 young hens stared laying in November and we've been getting at least 6 eggs every day so there plenty to go around.

I'm home today, we got at least a foot of snow over night and another half or more is predicted today.
Time to feed the chickens, ducks, sheep, barn cats and to check on Sam.

[CA_POPPY]

Poor BJ, I well remember morning sickness, blech! But it does turn into good news and fun awhile later. Best of luck for a batch of healthy pups!

[corgi-traveler]

Any news?

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Oooohhh - puppies on the way!!

[xteacher]

Puppies coming! How exciting!! Photos, please, as soon as you're able.

[BCSnob]

BJ, who is normally a very good eater, has not eaten the last two days.
This is a good sign.

[corgi-traveler]

BCSnob wrote:
If the breeder is not planning on keeping a pup they are solely breeding for the money.

Agree! I would add "planning a litter to improve the breed" as well.

[BCSnob]

Thank you for the well wishes on the litter.

We're hoping on a moderate sized litter (4-6 pups) since there are many other working Border Collie litters this year. We breed for ourselves but we will still need to find appropriate homes for those pups we do not keep.

In my opinion the underlined statement is key in determining breeding goals. If the breeder is not planning on keeping a pup they are solely breeding for the money.

[corgi-traveler]

Best wishes for a healthy litter, may your worst difficulty be in choosing which pups to keep!

[BCSnob]

We've heard wonderful things about the trials held at Shaker Village; except for the year it rained so hard during the trial that the creek overflowed its banks flooding the road to and from the trial field. Many handlers were stranded and had to wait for the flood waters recede.

I'll have to call my cousin in DC for her help with socializing the pups; I'm sure she'll endure the task.

The male has been a joy to have around; his temperament is rock solid. BJ came into season earlier than we were expecting. The male was in UT breeding another female. The male was shipped from UT to us. He stepped out of the crate at the cargo pick-up as if everything was normal. He walked into our house (after a long car ride back in his crate), checked everything out, and acted like this will work. Between whining for BJ and chilling he'll come over, lean into us looking for attention.

[xteacher]

I hope the breeding takes! I also wish more breeders were like you - breeding dogs that will complement each other's strengths/flaws.

[CatandJim]

🙂

[motorhomi]

I have a wonderful memory of stopping at Pleasent Hill Shaker Village in Ky and they where having Sheepdog trials. It was amazing to watch. What beautiful dogs and so intelligent, it just blew us away. Just stumbled across it and it continues to be one of our best memories.