Homestead forum diaspora

I had no idea these even existed anymore. The old fashioned farm collie that every small homestead had- part herder, part guard dog, part hunter, part lapdog...all heart.

Alec lost his little Aaron to liver failure (at only 3 years old) and after several months grieving, he said, "I'll miss Aaron forever, but it's just weird not having a dog". and we began looking for his new best friend.

Found these locally- there's a registry and aptitude test (think hunting dog trials) and they can be either purebred or a mix of any of the collie breeds- rough or smooth collies, aussies, border collies, shelties and they must have the temperament- no psychotic border collie temperaments. 

Bonnie's mom is a tested farm collie who looks mostly border collie but she doesn't bark and has the calm look of a pyrenees in her eyes, her dad is a Ch. aussie with an outstanding temperament. 

She chose Alec from the minute he walked into the yard, and we're so happy to have her in our family.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=690786224274536&l=06eb12f49e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=690786224274536&l=06eb12f49e

Yep, the working farm collie thing is still around, where temperment and performance trump pedigrees and cosmetic breed standards.

This is somewhat the case with Curs and Feists as well.  They can vary a fair bit in appearance but they must do the job they were born and bred for, to quite a high standards.

When we took her to the vet for her shots, he said his granddad had had an aussie that was 'mean as sin' and a border that 'wasn't worth killing', but the aussie/border cross he had was the best dog in the world. Maybe there's something to that particular mix.

Beautiful pup, she doesn't look very old. So sorry about Aaron.

Alec looks like a nearly grown-up dude! They sure grow up fast.

Around home they have a lot of ausi/border crosses.

Nice looking pup looks like there's Aussie in her.

Matt,

pedigrees/breed standards and good temperaments/performance are not mutually exclusive. Typical prejudice from people who cannot stand the thought of a well bred dog. Like thinking that a beautiful woman must be stupid.

My dogs do it all on the farm and in the ring and most of them are Champions. When the neighbors cows get out they call for my dogs to help not the ACD down the road.

It's not that I "can't stand the thought of a well bred dog" so much as I've seen a lot of "well bred dogs" that weren't any good for the things they were supposedly bred for.  But they sure did look like they were supposed to.

Not every mixed breed is fantastic and not every pure breed is terrible, but neither is it the other way round.  

Slaeghunder at January 5, 2014 at 11:24 AM

It's not that I "can't stand the thought of a well bred dog" so much as I've seen a lot of "well bred dogs" that weren't any good for the things they were supposedly bred for.  But they sure did look like they were supposed to.

Not every mixed breed is fantastic and not every pure breed is terrible, but neither is it the other way round.  

To me a dog that doesn't have it all isn't well bred. Not sure if that makes sense. I've sold some of my best conformation prospects into pet homes on a s/n contract because they didn't have what an Aussie should be.

Perhaps it's because I live in Missouri that I have such a low opinion of breeders.  Most people I know with hunting and herding dogs got their dogs from other hunters and livestock people whoes working dogs had pups - sometimes registered, sometimes not .  I tend to stay shy of people for whom breeding is an end in itself, such folk here are mostly people who breed for appearance and sell the animals as pets, and they do it for a profit margin, not for any certain love of the breed. We are the puppy mill capital of America, after all.  

K9- her dad is a Ch. Aussie. I was very prejudiced against Aussies- where I'm from in SE Wisconsin, the Aussie breeders I knew regularly were bitten by their own dogs. When I moved here to Texas I was thrilled to see that Aussies are generally really good, even-tempered dogs. Other than a friend of ours who has one that looks continually amazed at...everything, they're solid. 
I know lines of purebred dogs who are outstanding creatures and have seen mutts (and currently own one) that is an emotional train wreck. And I've had her since she was 6 weeks old- it's just her nature.

Alec and Bonnie will be starting puppy class on Tuesday- I think they'd both enjoy some agility work, and we'd like to get her certified as a Farm Collie somewhere down the line
http://farmcollie.com/

Gracie,

Any questions you have about training in any sport give a shout. Also recomendations for reading viewing material or free plans to build Agility equipment. I have 5 Aussies with a combined 145 titles in 6 different sports including 14 prefix titles. Feel free to ask. She looks a lot like my puppy Mozart

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=698335400186285&l=4abf1237c0

She's worried that I'm spending too much time on the sofa being sick lol

Oh, Sheri, there's nothing quite like a doggie nurse!  They worry about their "Mama". Bonnie is just beautiful! 

They had 2 left in the litter- Bonnie and a sable and white one. I almost wish we'd taken both now, but I know Bonnie and Alec will bond better with just the 2 of them. 

My Sidekick has been gone for almost 5 years and I'm just now getting to where I can think about another one...

She is gorgeous!

First night at puppy class- they did great! Bonnie worked for crackers but they both insisted I stop at DQ for Blizzards on the way home lol

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=706383906048101&l=7a9e3d1d74" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=706383906048101&l=7a9e3d1d74

There is a registry for everything. That does not make it quality. Every mutt has endearing characteristics and some level of brains. That doesn't mean that it should be registered as a breed. A breed is something that passes on the same characteristics generation after generation. Mutts with any percentage of any other breed entering on every generation would never do this. And for that reason, this "farm collie" idea really bugs me. There is an actual breed of farm collie. It is called the English Shepherd. It breeds true. 

I avoided this thread, because I wasn't sure how to come across without upsetting anyone when I say that this "farm collie" is simply a mutt. The fact that she's a mutt doesn't bother me. I'm sure she's a great dog, and you love her... But the organization that is registering these mutts as some kind of breed is just another puppy miller registry, and THAT bugs me. Just like the UKCI, APR, ADBA, CKC, DRA, and the pile of other registries. I think supporting such "registries" is sad. They leave the public misinformed, thinking that they own an actual breed, and spreading the wonders of their new breed. It makes them money, and the person thinks they got a steal, when in fact, you could have picked up the same mutt from the local shelter for 50 bucks. It is infuriating to me. Those people should be shut down.

There are a lot of registries that exist to make a little money lending foux credence to puppy mill breeders.

That said, there are WORKING DOG breeders who've bred their dogs over generations to perfect their working traits that don't have aynthing to do with the AKC- Black Mouth Curs and Mountain Curs are both fantastic hunting breeds that the AKC doesn't "recognize", so thats enough reason for me not to "regonize" the AKC as anything but a bunch of fops.  

Farm Collies, same deal.

At the end of the day, I think it's good to remember that the AKC is just a group of people creating arbitrary standards to suit their needs and desires.  There were dog breeds before the AKC existed, therer will still be dog breeds after they cease to exist, and they never were and never will be the arbiters of all things K9.  Dogs like the farm collie, the feist and the cur kept down vermin, hunted game, herded cattle and protected the homestead before the AKC was an idea.  They are someting along the lines of "heritage breeds", the remnants of the American fronteir K9, and far more interesting to me than some nobleman's hobby or queen's fashion accessory, whic was the origin of so many more modern breeds, while others more ancient have had nearly every last vestiage of the bear baiter, courser, or dogs of war from which they are decended purged from their bones.