How it came about

As our love and commitment to dog sports has grown, so has our appreciation and understanding of the need for well built, powerful, intelligent, trainable, and athletic dogs.  Dogs that can use their bodies, brains, and drive to be solid, fast and reliable sports dogs which also serve as wonderful companions to their humans.  Coming from families whom were breeders and lovers of purebred AKC breeds, our original intent was to find a breed that would give us these traits and characteristics.  The Border Collie quickly was at the top of our list to meet all of our criteria. 

 

 

With flyball being our dog sport of choice, the need for breeding performance dogs measuring under 16 inches with these same attributes became evident.  Our research brought us to the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Staffies).  However, it didn't take too long for us to find out that, while the staffies (which we absolutely adore) are wonderful dogs and do well as flyball height dogs, their muscle bulk and ofter low stature frequently keeps them from being able to consistently meet top competitive levels.

 

 

Since I had spent many years breeding and raising horses for a specific purpose, I found myself contemplating the concept of breeding dogs for a specific purpose as opposed to a specific standard.  It brought us to step outside the boundaries we once held tightly - that dogs had to be purebred to be considered for breeding and that mixing breeds was only for "accidents" and irresponsible people.  With those chains released, a specific need, and a very strong belief in responsible breeding that includes health clearances, careful selection, and consideration to all the aspects of the dog (health, structure, temperament, drive, etc.), our vision was created!

 

 

OUR TWO-FOLD VISION

 

 (1) Strong efforts to continue the betterment/improvement of both the Border Collie and the Whippet breeds.  Creating dogs which will for years will be able to be successful sport dogs for power, agility and speed.   This is to be accomplished by a dedicated and critical focus on quality selection and responsible breeding of superior purebred dogs.

(2) The creation of a "line" of dogs that are ideal for the under 16" dog sport categories.  That "line" will meet all of the following criteria and when bred will continue to produce consistent litters of pups that are similar in type, size, structure and temperament.   The ideal characteristics will include;

·        Height which ranges between 13" and  16" at the withers

·     Structural soundness. That includes great shoulder layback, solid powerful rear end construction, good length of back with a strong stable top line, good length of neck and functional leg to body ratios.   OFA good or better hip ratings and overall soundness of body.

·        Agile movement which allows for free and fluid movement, superior ground coverage (speed) for a dog of its size, flexibility, and quickness of muscle

·       Temperament that is easy to train and live with.   A dog with an "off" and an "on" switch.  Which posesses the comical fun loving spirit of the terrier and the solid work ethic of a herding dog.

·        Prey drive which includes passion, desire and heart.  A dog that loves to do its job and loves working for its owner but also loves competition and will do its best to be all that it can be 

We plan to accomplish this "vision" by using both superior quality purebreds and mixed breed dogs of the following breeds:  (Primary Breeds) Border Collies, Whippets, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Jack Russell Terriers.  With the future generations possibly including some secondary Breeds (such as Miniature Aussie, or Patterdale Terrier), if the mix can benefit from such an addition).  The plan is to very carefully "weave" these breeds together to create a consistency of type that is consistent with our vision.  We will adhere to very careful evaluation of each breeding animal, which will include an overall evaluation of the dog's pedigree, including siblings, the dog's temperament, build, performance results, movement, and health.  We will choose to only do breedings which we feel will both provide high quality sport dogs for today, as well as give us animals to build upon our vision, so that someday we can accomplish our goal of producing consistent full litters only 16" and under dogs, that excel as superior sport dogs.