I am the farmer from Ne who finally sent a post the the ES list. Like I said in my message, I don't have any cattle now, and I wish that I had some just for the reason of proving my dogs herding ability. I know that sounds crazy, considering buying cattle for the dogs instead of the other way around. I milked on my own for about 10 years, and before that my family had dairy cattle since I was born. We used English Shepherds then, and they were capable of doing anything necessary with respect to working cattle, and did so many other things that a lot of the newer dogs aren't much good at. I think they are the perfect farm dog.
My 2 English Shepherds at this time don't work cattle, just are companions and excellent watchdogs. They are good at mousing, and I think that they would be good cattle dogs.
Was your pup from Delores born June 25? I am wondering if we have pups from the same litter. Jane is a very pretty pup and I am sure if it came from Delores it will make a good all around dog. I was also wondering if you are a member of the ES club. I had an article in the last issue of the newsletter describing my experience with the breed. Those old time English Shepherds that my family had were such good dogs. I was wondering if you are from New Mexico, and if you breed English Shepherds and also if you have cattle or sheep, and if your dogs work. Hope to hear from you Doug
I am indeed from New Mexico, but my farm is in the end of the Oklahoma panhandle. Traveler, the pup I got from Rick McDuffie lives there, and Susie Q, who is indeed from Dolores Butcher's June 25th litter lives here at the condos with me.
My family has had farm collies that we remember orally since the 20's these were the Scotch collie type, and in the fifties and sixties we had "midget collies" sort of an ES/Sheltie type, that existed in Arkansas and Oklahoma at that time. They weighed around thirty pounds.
In the seventies and eighties I had a wonderful ES, Chico, from unknown lines from Columbus, NE. I looked for another like him but did not have any luck. My family had aussies at this time. They worked witn more enthusiasm, but made way more mistakes. Chico had the ability to learn by watching, and never made the mistakes he saw the aussies make.
Traveler is very similar, but has more guardian characteristics and is larger -Chico weighed about 50 lbs, Traveler, 65-70.
Please subscribe me to the farm dogs list, I would like to learn more about working ES lines. My dog Fynn is from the Oney's and had a lot of herding drive, until she met a hot fence while trying to hold a couple of my sheep. Now she thinks hoofed things= electric things. She's very smart, very vocal and very energetic, definitely a border style ES. I'm planning on getting another, hopefully quieter and more confident ES next spring.
I hope that people on this list will continue on both lists, as there are new folks that may just not know the more rural side of dog ownership.
Pat Stewart (aka Hames@aol.com)Hi, This is Paul a farm manager/ shepherd in the Scottish borders. I earn my living working with dogs and have done for the last 25 years. I began as a young man who wanted dogs as seen on the trial field and TV something stylish and well behaved. I am now happy to work with anything that will do a job giving few commands but let the dog work it out. Breeding is just something that happens and is rarely planned, other peoples being better as they have the trouble of rearing them and normally give them away or charge far less than rearing costs.
Current dogs are;
Glen 13yo B&W rough coat and looks like most peoples idea of a BC
Meg 12yo Jack Russel Terrier Can still do 15ml a day behind the motor-bike and can be useful for hunting sheep out of steep rockky ground.
Ben 10yo Blue merle (owned his grand father) has a soft spot in everyone's heart.
Murphy 5yo Problem child rescued from urban environment no style whatso ever but can save the day with his enthusiasm with a few hundred lambs to move.
Molly 4yo No out run, very devoted to me and will suffer a lot of abuse from sheep.
Bess 2yo Lovely little bitch Lined by Ben last week. Lovely outrun but not a lot of power yet.
Paul
My name is Sandra. My interest in working dogs goes back to my childhood, although I never had much real contact with any dogs of that type. I did always have dogs, though, and learned some basic principles of training. However, it wasn't until my husband and I actually had a farm and livestock that I could justify a working dog.
Because we were a small operation, we wanted a dog or dogs that did everything--guard, herd, and hunt. We finally ended up with two backyard-bred AKC collies and one English Shepherd (a ES-OTFS cross bred by Rick McDuffie). They aren't perfect, but they are great dogs and indispensible to us. We are planning a breeding this year between one or both of our female collies and Jacob, our ES/OTFS. It should prove to be an interesting cross.
It will be great to hear about what others are doing with their dogs, and I am especially looking forward to learning more from some of you that have experience with multi-purpose working dogs. I have often felt totally ignorant of what I should be doing! It's a good thing my dogs have some sense of their own.
SandraElaine...........Thanks for taking this on! I'm confident that it will very rewarding.
By way of introduction, I spent many of my early years on a dairy farm. Not a confinement operation, but a general type farm where we milked 40 head, raised all our own replacements, grain and hay, pastured our cattle, and lived a really good life. We had dogs: coonhounds, bird dogs, and of course "farm dogs". Of farm dogs there was generally one, whose job was to stay on top of things. I'm not talking border collie-like, strictly herding dogs that took orders as fast as you could whistle, but rather a dog who knew when the cows were supposed to come up and would see to it, would guard the gate for you, would sound off at night if the cows were out or something else was amiss. One that would dig a rat out of the corn crib, run off stray dogs, stalk and kill woodchucks, put the pigs back in, and load a stubborn cow. I'm talking an all-around working partner.
I am currently employed at the University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine, as a parasitologist. I live on a small (40 acre) farm and have a few head of cattle. No horses at present. My main jobs for my dog are helping with the cattle (like changing paddocks, or finding and bringing up the milk cow before it's light, and especially if it's raining), watch dog, companion, and some hunting.
My current dog is an ES, Buddy. He's an almost two yr old farm bred, sable and white, intact male. He weighs about 65 lbs, And he's showing great promise of being a fine dog. His most outstanding feature isn't herding per se, it's trying to help at anything I do. He is very responsive. He does work the cattle, but still has some things to figure out. If I dig, he digs; if I drop a glove, he picks it up and brings it; if I carry brush, he carries brush; if I look up a tree, he starts hunting squirrels; if I say "What's that!", he's on full alert, growling and looking/listening for whatever I might have noticed. That sort of dog, always alert, always involved. Why am I going on about all this? Because it makes teaching him almost anything a possibility. And because he has initiative, thinks for himself, and is tough. But don't get me wrong, he still has plenty to learn, and I'm hoping that I'll get some insights about some things from the folks on this list.
I'm very pleased to be part of this group.
Ted GreenI guess I should tell about myself I raise English Shepherds, Longhorn cattle and goats. I'm located in cental Arkansas.
TerryMiranda is a pre-vet student at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, and is planning to attend LSU. She wrote the article:
AKCMy name is Miranda Greer, and I raise Catahoulas. I've been around farms and dogs all my life. I love a useful, smart dog. I can't stand to see what some people are doing to these wonderful creatures. I am a firm believer that function should come BEFORE form and that NO dog can be called a "good" specimen of it's breed if it cannot perform the tasks for which it was originally bred. My goal as a breeder is to produce dogs that will work, are versatile, healthy, intelligent, and have good structure and conformation.
I choose my breeding stock carefully and never breed a dog I know won't work or is lame. I try to see that my puppies go to people who will work them and appreciate their abilities.
MirandaMy name's Amy Garner and I live in Edmond, OK, which is just north of Oklahoma City. Since I'm losing my mind in the suburbs, I'm spending my weekends looking at land, land, land.
My husband Robert and I are both long time dog people (you know, we go to parties and end up making friend's with the host's dog instead of the new people we meet). At the same time we're not "doggie" people, our dogs don't wear costumes, they don't sleep in our bed, we don't refer to them as our babies.
Since we really want a small farm someday, we are most interested in a good-smart-big'n scary-best buddy-happy dog. Just like the ones we knew when we were kids and pretty much like my collie Ranger.
After our older GSD mix died almost two years ago we started looking for another dog, just like Ranger, preferrably female, just in case we wanted to bring some more Ranger-like dogs into the world. We, for the most part, were very disappointed in what we found. We loved the big furriness of the rough collie, but what we found were small collies with long flowing coats. Along the way we adopted a lovely stray collie, Prissy, who is very smart but a bit hyperactive. Then just this July we brought home a female collie puppy, Pordnor.
We had been talking with the rancher in Asher, OK, who raises collies and had been very impressed with her dogs. We really weren't in the buying market, but this puppy ended up not going to the intended home so she was offered to us. Strangely engough, after checking the pedigrees we discovered that she is related to Ranger on their dams' side. And thus, we have found a collie who is so much like Ranger it is unbelievable. They don't look alike, but they have the same temperament.
Okay, enough rambling. Here's what we are after:
1)a
smart dog,
2)a dog that listens to what we say,
3) a
dog that will lay quiet at our feet, but sound the
alarm when strange people or animals come around,
4)a
strong dog,
5) a dog bigger than your average 1990's
AKC collie,
6)a dog that will herd when needed but
lay off when not needed and
7) a healthy dog.
There is probably more, but I'll leave them for later. Obviously, we tend to go for collies, but there are many good breeds of farm dogs. I've been around excellent ACDs, catahoulas, GSDs, and just plain Hienz-57s that were great farm dogs.
I am looking forward to some plain, simple, down-to-earth, discussions of farm dogs!
BTW, you can see my dogs from my website below.
Amy GarnerHi my name is Sister Telchilde and I am a Benedictine nun in western CT. My abbey has 350 acres of land and agriculture is our primary work. We do all the work ourselves plus we do have an internship program for students who would like a diversified agriculture experience. We have a small dairy, small beef herd, small pig herd...we also have a Chesapeake Bay retreiver and a sheltie. The Sheltie is a frustrated herder, I am convinced, but he is afraid of big animals. The Chessie is everyone's friend, and she is wary of large animals too, although she is fascinated by piglets...anyway the point of this is that I do not YET have a herding dog but I am anticipating getting one in the spriing or summer of 1999 when I am finished grad school. I really want a working dog who can be calm enough to bring the dairy cows in and smart enough to help round up escaping pigs on an occasional basis.
I have been very interested in the English Shepherds, Aussies and Borders, and I have been to some trials just to watch. I do not think I will attend trials with a dog as I just don't have time! all the hip dysplasia stuff on the ES list recently has put me off a bit.
Thanks for starting up this list.
Sister Telchilde
My name is Tina. My family will hopefully be moving to a farm in Kentucky sometime in the near future. We thought we had one all tied up and I was ready to take the mini-van across country with the kids - picking up a dog from Elaine on the way, and dropping another off for her - BUT... Sometimes things just don't work out that way.
Anyway, I am hoping that if we get another farm in the works soon, that maybe
I can still get Elaine's dog, but if not, I'm sure I can find a good one
somewhere soon. I'm really looking forward to hearing all about these
wonderful ES types. (OK, what do all these initials mean anyway? I have no
idea what ES means, I just used it.
Let's see. I'm happily married and we are both in the 30 something range
with three little children - 5, 4, and 3. Right now we live in Oregon, but
should be in KY soon.
Right now we have two mini-schnauzers, which I realize is not the same thing at all, but we do enjoy them. Or at least, we enjoy the male more than the female. We have certainly learned the difference between a smart loving dog who wants to please and picks up on every little thing you do, and a stubborn, not-so-smart dog whose saving grace is her big brown eyes and her strong desire to love and be loved. (Also, she has a strong desire to protect us and the kids from any other dogs/ which is a good thing!) But I'm sure you know what I mean.
Looking forward to being on this list!
Tina HoffmanMy name is Stephanie, and I live in North Central Indiana on a >small< farm where we raise Suffolk sheep for 4-H. My husband and two daughters (10&11) enjoy the "simple" life out here where we have long cold winters, and a small community that is tightly knit.
I am trying to incorporate a dog into this lifestyle, and I have been looking for a while. When I asked around about a dog that could guard my sheep, help me to move my sheep when necessary, keep strangers at bay, and still be a member of our "family" I was told that there was no such thing.
I could find a dog to herd, I could find a dog to protect, and I could find a PET, but those three combinations did not coexist together. Then I ran upon the OFS, or ES.
Since I only have 11 head, and haven't had predator concerns yet, I am able to take my time and evaluate any new members to our extended family. I might not buy a dog for 5 years, but when I do, it will be the right one.
We currently have a "house dog" named Ranger. He is an Australian Shepherd with no formal training with animals at all. Both parents were house pets also, but he is really torn between wanting to be in the great outdoors with the animals, and in the house with us. Since we spend a great deal of time in the barn or just meandering about outside, he gets both most of the time.
I am dealing with a mid-size dog in a house situation that does not
appreciate being left alone, and is terribly agressive with strangers or
people he doesn't know well. That is keeping me busy enough!
(not to mention my OWN children)
So thats it. In a nutshell.
Stephanie
I'm Rick McDuffie, and I live in eastern N.C., about 90 miles from the ocean and one mile off Interstate 95- between the towns of Dunn and Benson.
My family and I have 6 acres of land- about 5 acres is in pasture (we have 2 mares and one stud colt, 5 months old, that I am presently weaning) and our house sits on one acre. My wife is named Debbie and we have three daughters- Sarah, Faith and Catherine- 18, 16 and 10, respectively.
We have several English Shepherd/Old Time Farm Shepherd dogs:
Bullet- the patriarch. He is Top Dog around here and don't you forget it! He apparently has nine lives, like a cat. He has been run over several times (3 that we know of) and keeps regenerating. It's amazing. He doesn't really like to chase cars, he just loves to run and will run with anything that's fast.
Sassy- Bullet's litter mate. I bought the two of them, plus Diane (run over by the neighbor last Spring) from Roger Albright of Thomasville, N.C. They are out of Ranger (an English Shepherd of unknown origin- Elaine has had a photo of him on her site) and Lassie, a registered ES female raised in North Wilkesboro, N.C.
Beethoven- A tricolor male out of my dad's Old Shep dog and his Moline female. Beethoven's a big, powerful dog with an easy-going attitude.
Zip (the kids call him Slobber, but I refuse) A beautiful clear sable/white male out of Beethoven and Diane.
Diane (no. 2) is a young tricolor female out Beethoven and Sassy. Catherine named her in honor of the late Diane, whom we dearly loved.
We also have four pups- about 10 weeks old- for sale. There were 9 in the litter, and we've placed 5.
We have some great dogs, but this is largely due to my Dad's work and to some good luck, rather than anything I've done. We had the extremely good fortune of finding the Ranger family, then my Dad came up with Old Shep and we were "in business," so to speak. The dogs are great- healthy and apparently free of the maladies that afflict some bloodlines. They are sociable, outgoing, eager to please, tough and smart.
I'm basically just a country boy who was raised around hunting, farming and horses. My view of all animals is that God has given Man dominion over them, and they are here for our pleasure and use. This does not mean that they are to be abused- on the contrary, the Lord expects us to be good and kind to all creatures and good stewards of his creation. This DOES mean, however, that humans and animals are not equal. These are not "babies"- they are animals. I am not their "father"- I am their master. I don't believe that animals have immortal souls- that's a theological statement, not one based on emotion. I don't think that I have a better or truer friend in the world than Bullet- I just don't believe that he's going to live eternally!
Vocationally, I'm a bivocational Baptist minister. I pastored churches fulltime for 18 years, but my wife Debbie and I bought an interest in a music store in Dunn, N.C. three years ago (we sell guitars, amps, PA gear, band instruments, pianos and just about everything musical). Last August, I resigned my fulltime pastorate and went to work w/ the store, where I maintain our website, do all our web sales, sound system installations, guitar repair, piano tuning, bill paying, toilet scrubbing, etc. I serve churches as interim pastor, which means that when a pastor resigns, I do the preaching, visitation and church leadership until they find a new one (it can take up to 18-24 months for a Baptist church to find a pastor these days). I finished an "interim" July 1 and have been freelancing since then, although I am in hopes of taking on another one within the next few weeks- I miss being in the same pulpit every Sunday.
I'm busier than I've been in my entire life, so my list participation may be limited. I am, however, very interested in hearing from all of you and your dogs. I'm sure you'll learn more about my dogs as time goes by.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Rick McDuffieHi, I don't think I've posted a "formal" intro. I have four Shetland Sheepdogs and an elderly Collie. I've also had German Shepherds, and have trained several breeds for herding including a Border Collie, a Briard, and others. Even though I live in town -- A friend of mine has a ranch a little further south and I go there to work sheep, and another friend has ducks.
I grew up on a farm in Iowa, all-round family farms with fields of different crops, orchards, some cattle, chickens, pigs, etc. I saw when visiting these farms years later that they had all been turned into one-crop operations, all the orchards, pastures small sheds, etc. had been taken out.
When I was small we also had sheep for a year or two but didn't have a sheep dog; most of the time we just had a "yard dog" mutt of some kind, although for awhile we had a great old-fashioned collie and at another time we had a half-English Shepherd. I learned to walk holding onto the collie's fur so maybe that explains my obsession with old-fashioned collies and all-purpose farm dogs!
Linda R.I would like to join your list. My name is Charlie Bubbins and my dogs are Dexie an English Shepherd, Max a Blackmouth Cur, and Molly an Airedale. Dexie and Max help out on the farm and Molly is just learning.
About my dogs. Dexie the English Shepherd is about 8 years old. I use him mostly in the barns when we have to move the cattle around and when we have a down cow he is better than a cattle prod. He will mostly heel cattle, but will hit a nose if he has to.
Max the BlackMouth Cur is from Texas I wanted him mostly for hunting coyotes, but since he has managed to get himself run over twice. I now use him if I need a lot of bite or two dogs with dexie. As for what a BlackMouth Cur is, Old Yeller was the same type of dog from the same area. AS far as I can find out they are a three way cross between a hound, a bulldog, and a cur. They developed in the 1850's for hunting bear down south. They got the nose from the hound, the power and bite from the bulldog and the brains from the cur.
Molly the Airedale is almost 8 months old I got her to do a little bit
of everything, hunting, and cow work. So far she is turning out pretty
good on both.
About the farm, we are milking about 380 head of Holsteins. When I was
growing up we had Guernsneys. We have a confinement setup now.
Charlie Bubbins
chaslynn@northnet.org
Hi, our names are Jerry and Cait Johnson. We and our youngest child (7 yr old Meg) live on a small family farm in Michigan. Our livestock includes a Jersey/Guernsey milk cow; a Dexter heifer; rare breeds of chickens, ducks; an Old Time FarmShepherd named Jake (which we purchased from Rick McDuffie); a rough collie, Felecia; 2 Maine coon cats; and soon a Gloucester Old Spot piglet named Gwyneth.
As you can see we love dealing with rare breeds. We educate local residents and schoolchildren on our farm about the rarer breeds of livestock, heirloom seeds(non-hybrid seeds) and teach the 'old time farming and homesteading' skills. We hope to have pictures of our livestock up on our homepage soon, especially pictures of our two (we think) wonderful helpers (farmdogs), Jake and Felecia.
Glad to meet all of you and enjoyed your intros.
Hi, it was interesting reading about all you folks.My interest in farm dogs stems from my collie 30 years ago that exhibited many "Lassie" traits. Little did I realize how difficult it would be to find another dog with that kind of temperament let alone enough dogs to have a breeding program.Both doggy and nondoggy people mock me out for having the "Lassie syndrome" but I've seen some pretty wonderful behaviors. Over the years I've been involved in conformation and obedience,and have spent too much time studying dogs in my husband's opinion. We have had livestock in the past and hope to again as soon as we decide whether to stay in NY or move to VA,so the dogs figure in there too. Moving sheep without a useful dog is the quickest way I know to start a family fight.
I've had a number of different breeds and due to my policy of allowing my 7 homeschooled children to choose their own dog when they reach an age responsible enough to train and care for it, we currently have a Siberian husky, field bred English setter, Collie, and German shepherd. My personal dog is an Aussie pup from top working stock. Having the different breeds is a real education in itself. When you see good traits/temperaments in other breeds it is more difficult to justify some of the extrememly poor traits breeders in some breeds accept as "normal".
I am currently considering getting an Old Time Farm Shepherd or an English Shepherd. I'm looking for an all around thinking ,helping dog with nurturing and protective instincts, that has a reasonably easy care coat,sticks around the place,is a calm, stable dog that loves kids,gets along with unknown dogs and people unless there is a problem etc etc.
Not asking for too much am I? If you have one I'd love to hear from you!
Looking forward to reading more on the list. I think that this list may fill a big gap as this is truly a unique dog we are talking about - the true working farm dog. Unfortunately most people don't understand the incredible value of this kind of dog even if they breed one of the so called herding-working breeds. Conformation shows are worth nothing, obedience is better but really any reasonable dog can do it with all the food training they use today, I've seen herding trials and training clinics that were a travesty-the dogs are so rough no real farmer would ever allow those dogs on his/her livestock. And there are breeders who breed dogs that herd, but it is mechanical, they have no real savvy.These dogs can do the work to get a working trial championship and produce a pleasant pet for suburbanites or competition, but would be worthless on the farm! Thus we are quickly losing the instincts that the small farmer/homesteader values most. Everyone has the right to breed toward their own goals but let's be clear about what we are doing. Just because it's an ES or an Aussie doesn't mean it is a farm dog!
Didn't mean to step on any toes or ramble on so long.Looking forward to learning lots from the list.
Barbara HollandsI'm Marianne Dwight and I live in Shelburne, Mass. with my 6 English Shepherds. Maggie, Oakie, Patty, Annie, Abi, and Sally, make up FoxHill English Shepherds, although Abi and Sally have only been here two weeks. We also have an English Bulldog and a Shih Tzu.
We live on an"Old MacDonald type farm" meaning we have a few of everything - cows, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, rabbits, guinea fowl, geese, chickens, ducks, and cats. We needed a dog that could help us with the farm work and the family (5 children). So we have owned Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, and now have decided the English Shepherds are the best for our needs.
I just came back from a herding clinic so have to catch up my work otherwise I could easily write more about the dogs. I look forward to "meeting" all of you and learning about your dogs and your life with them. Bye for now.
Marianne DwightMy name is Jill Rose, I have Australian Shepherds and I hail from the Pacific Northwest, Olympia, Washington to be exact.
I have been showing dogs for 29 years now, first with Rotts and then more recently, the Aussies. Amazingly enough, there are some strong temperament similarities between the breeds, although their drives tend to differ.
I've completed two years of prevet studies at UCD, followed by two years of AHT studies at CRC. I then worked as an AHT for ten years before going through five years of nursing school. I have my ADN and BSN, and have spent the past two and half years working as a med/surg/ICCU nurse. I have a hubby, five children, seven Aussies, horses, ponies, big cats and barn cats.
Our dogs are all family/farm dogs first, show/trial dogs second. :-)
You can see my dogs at: http://members.aol.com/AustShpds/aussies.html
Now that I have learned so much, I am longing for a chance to see some of the Farm Collie restoration dogs. I am so interested in this! I could see myself with a dog that had Vegas' brains and agility, but a steadier all-around temperament and a nice wide backskull and a laughing face!
Now that I have built a name, and people do know who I am, and I have good word-of-mouth referrals from established obedience people, it seems silly that I ever looked for respect in this venue at all. I find that a lot of the dogs that are great in the ring are obnoxious everywhere else, and their owners don't give a **** about promoting healthy, happy relationships in pet homes by giving constructive, caring advice when people ask. It's not really about the relationship with the dog at all! It's about winning, just like racing cars or playing poker.
I guess what I wanted to say is, I don't care if I get another purebred
again. I could satisfy some of my "need to compete" in the Agility
field and in the North American Mixed Breed Registry, and by competing
in ASCA obedience trials with a "mixed breed" if I felt the urge. I
feel like I could help make history with my dog by trying to help you
guys out, and I would sure love to have a puppy from the type of cross
you've been talking about. I also strongly agree with the reasons for
wanting to have those types of dog again. That's very important, as I
have big opinions on how people relate to their animals, how I can help,
and how a lot of the dog world has forgotten that dogs are not just
status symbols.
I have 2 Aussies ( working bred )> I raise Dorset Horn sheep ( 21 ewes ) as a hobby but with an eye on commercial considerations. I practice a pasture-based form of management and dogs are used every day to move and hold sheep.
I own and operate a pet food & supply store, with emphasis on premium pet food brands. I am also on Sheep-L, Herding-L, several grazing Lists, and several Australian Shepherd Lists. I am concerned with the situation within the Aussie breed as it becomes less a working dog and more a pet.I am a member of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy I am not a member of any local or National Australian Shepherd organization.
I feel that herding trials are only as good as the individual judges who preside over them. I feel some herding judges have VERY different opinions about herding than my own.
I have worked with and watched herding dogs since around 1964. I appreciate a good working dog, no matter his breeding and ancestors, & prefer talent over training.
You now know more about me than my wife does, oh yeah, and my Cholesterol is 199 ( not bad for a big fat guy who is barely in his 40's..........OK 49 )
-ALI've always love farm collies, and feel very fortunate to finally be sharing my life with one. I also happen to be the creator and listowner of Engshep-L, a listserv email list for all things English Shepherd. My list is not affiliated with the ES club in any way, I'm just somebody who knew how to start an email list, and wanted to meet other English Shepherd owners out there. I'm proud to say there are over 250+ subscribers now!
Cheers, KateMy name is Jennifer Hughes and have just joined this list. I live in Texas and raise English SHepherd dogs. My husbands family has had them for many many years on their central TX farm. They have been wonderful, allpurpose dogs. They recently have gotten where they cannot take care of as many things, so I decided to take over raising the ES, because I did not want to see their dogs disappear. They had old Stodghill Black and Tans and my husband has many a "Hero-dog" story from his youth of these dogs and how invaluable they are on the farm.
My husband John, is a "farmboy" at heart who happens also to be a chemist and environmental equipment specialist. He is truly a jack of all trades as he can build or fix anything and everything. I was raised in the country, but not really on a farm, but we always had an assortment of animals. I am a microbiologist with an interest in genetics and dog genetics in particular. Currently I am a stay-home mom and am enjoying the most important job in the world. We have some acreage near Granbury TX, where I currently play country wife. We have sheep, milk goats (I make cheese) heifers, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, cats, and dogs. I am happy to say that everything pays for itself as we sell offspring and I also sell eggs, fresh produce , and milk etc.
My in-laws have three ES, and we have three. I decided when I took over to outcross my beautiful B/T Mona with a line of S/W dogs in Mississippi. We needed new blood, and I wanted color variety as well. We had a beautiful litter of S/W puppies ( which I believe Elaine used on her website) and I was pleased ( ONe of these days I ll send a post on ES and crossing colors and the shrinking genepool etc.) I kept one of the pups Dollie, who is a sable but only has a little white on her. She has just had pups though and they are beautifully marked.
Our dogs are very tough, very loyal and are great family dogs. Mona and Dollie are the best ratters around and love catching field rats. They also tree racoons and snakes and will kill them as well if necessary. We are completely surrounded by a VERY LARGE ranch and therefore have several groups of coyotes, but we have never lost an animal. THe dogs are 0n patrol all night and keep things safe. Mona and Dollie have been used on cattle and sheep and will head and heel. I currently have a round pen and am training both to official commands etc. I want to trial them and get official titles on them and show this breed off to the public! My father in laws male dog is an excellent hunting dog.Mona and Dollie have also had good hip x-rays although I am not a CHD/X-ray fanatic, I do believe in knowing all I can about the dogs I am breeding.I have some pictures of my dogs, and also some action shots (hard to get!) of them with sheep, calves, and a raccoon. I am enjoying this list and its focus and I love all farm collie type breeds. I will be looking for another female sometime in the future and I like to have lots of options.
Jennifer HughesWe never have done an intro in the 8 months we have been on the list, so here it is!
We have an OTFS/ES (with a little Aussie and ACD thrown in) named Beau. He is a son of Traveler, Elaine's OTFS/ES. We found Beau by searching the internet, trying to find the right dog for our small acreage (5 acres). I had always loved Collies, although I'd never had one; but we were both turned off by the modern show collie. So we were happy to have found this list and see what people are doing to preserve these great farm dogs. Beau is a mahogany sable, about 55lbs, with "freckles" of sable on his front legs. His face looks very English shepherd to me.
Our acreage is in beautiful Idaho; one of the reasons we wanted a good farm dog was the number of coyotes around. Beau has proved to have a very strong predator instinct, and loves to hunt the mice/voles that infest the pasture. He is typical of the OTFS in that he wants to be where we are, "helping"; he usually brings a stick of wood back on trips to the woodpile. He is pretty good about staying home; and is good with children. Unfortunately we have no livestock at the moment, this should change this summer and it will be interesting to see how much guardian instinct Beau has, not having been raised with livestock.
We are hoping to get another of these wonderful dogs- Beau has been a great addition to our place.
Brad and Dotty Harala | | |
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