I am delighted to announce that Luna is expecting her 3rd and final litter, due mid November!
I have mated her with Goytre Chapter in Blue – Sox, who is Ounce’s dad. I am very fortunate to have been able to use this gorgeous boy once again.
Possible colours for this litter (from the Anadune database) are as follows:
Black & White – 60%
Red/Chocolate & White – 20%
Blue & White – 15%
Lilac & White – 5%
Goytre Chapter in Blue (Sox)
This means they will probably ALL be black and white =D. It is unlikely that there will be any blue eyes this time. These puppies will be real softies, loving their cuddles and ready and willing to do anything for you.
They are due to arrive in mid November, so will be ready to go to their homes in early January. Luna has smaller litters than Sunny or Busy, and of course they have to be safely delivered. Inevitably, I have already had some enquiries, but if you are interested in this litter, please do fill in an application form?
Applying for a puppy
If you would like to be considered for a puppy, have a look at the FAQs. You can also fill in a Puppy application form.
application form
Please CONTACT ME if you would like to know more about my dogs or my puppies. They are highly regarded and much sought after!
NB: FOLLOW my page and you will receive a notification of all my new posts. SHARE this site with your friends and family using the buttons below.
When you breed a pedigree dog, you are deliberately choosing to mate one particular dog, with another. You examine their breed lines and consider their individual characteristics. I am going to write about choosing a stud dog separately, as this is a whole challenge in itself. But basically, the breeder decides what kind of dog they want to create.
Personally, I started out by wanting a red and white border collie – Sunny. Then I wanted to have more red and white dogs, so I found a stud dog who was also red and white (actually Sunny is a chocolate and white, as she is so dark, so that led me down an even more specific path). The choices I have made since then have created puppies with very particular characteristics.
Family likenesses
I can show you many examples of my puppies and dogs and how alike they look. I can also give you many examples of how alike my puppies are in their temperament. Because I have so much contact with my puppies, I know that they continue to bear a strong likeness to their parents. Here is just one for you:
Bea
I like this particular example because Oz has such distinctive ears! And this is a trait he has clearly passed on to his daughter(s)! If you met these dogs in passing you would struggle to tell them apart, wouldn’t you? When my friend Jane and I put Luna and her sister Nell together, even we struggle to tell them apart!
Bea’s dad, Oz
If anyone has ever told you that you look just like your parent(s), or that your children are the spitting image of you, then you can go some way towards understanding pedigree dog breeding.
What is a pedigree dog?
Let’s look at a definition:
“A pedigree dog is the offspring of two dogs of the same breed, which is eligible for registration with a recognised club or society that maintain a register for dogs of that description. There are a number of pedigree dog registration schemes, of which the Kennel Club is the most well known.”
The Kennel Club is the organisation responsible for managing the registration of all pedigree dogs in the UK and they also register all dogs whose owners want to take part in dog activities, such as obedience or agility competitions – these dogs can included crossbreeds and dog of unspecified origin.
Breed standard
The Kennel Club start off by setting a breed standard for each pedigree. The KC website defines a breed standard as follows: “A Breed Standard is the guideline which describes the ideal characteristics, temperament and appearance including the correct colour of a breed and ensures that the breed is fit for function. Absolute soundness is essential. Breeders and judges should at all times be careful to avoid obvious conditions or exaggerations which would be detrimental in any way to the health, welfare or soundness of this breed.”
In other words, the very definition of a pedigree dog is that it is fit and healthy, with a good temperament and being fit for purpose. Breed standards then go on to define aspects of each breed in more detail, which for a border collie includes:
Characteristics
Tenacious, hard-working sheep dog, of great tractability.
Temperament
Keen, alert, responsive and intelligent. Neither nervous nor aggressive.
Conclusion on pedigree dogs
ALL dogs have been ‘designed’ by humans. Over time, the dogs that are classed as pedigree are the ones that consistently have the same look and nature, or temperament. We are still changing and fiddling with dog design, creating new models all the time, because that is what humans enjoy doing. Speeding up ‘natural selection’ for our own choices and whims.
We need to remember this when we choose a particular look, or type. Has it been bred responsibly and rigorously? Or just to satisfy customer demands?
Buy the Workbook
The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. This book is a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely! Find out lots more by looking at the Contents page.
Here is a clip of Brian saying hello to Ounce. She adores him, so she jumps up and that suits him, he can make a fuss of her far more easily that way, without having to bend down. He loves to be welcomed by the dogs and they love to say hello to him.
But that is not always what is wanted is it? One of the most annoying things about dogs is when adult dogs coming rushing over to you and jump up into your face – most people hate it. Quite a lot of people are frightened of dogs who do this and no-one wants a load of mud on their clothes and slobber in the their face; it’s just rude.
Be less exciting
What can we do about it? Here’s another video clip:
Once again, Ounce is very excited to welcome her dad and Chris is pleased to make a fuss of her. This time though, he remembers his training and when she comes back to him he resists when she jumps up. He waits until she has got back down before making a fuss of her.
Now see what happens when Maggie comes in to see all the dogs:
You can just about see Ounce in the middle of everything. She is trying really hard NOT to jump up and to wait for Maggie to fuss her. She then gives up and runs over to tell me how exciting it all is. Ounce goes back, forgets again, but then sits and Maggie makes a fuss of her, rewarding her for stopping jumping up.
The solution
So what can we learn from all this? The best way to stop your dog from jumping up is to turn away from them and to ignore them when you come in the door. This clip is me trying to demonstrate this:
It’s not a very exciting clip, because the adults all know that I won’t reward them for being really pleased to see me (Zippy the spaniel doesn’t quite know that, but she has just been staying for a week). When Ounce does jump up at me, I turn away from her and she immediately gets down.
Train your family!
The real challenge is to try and encourage others to turn away and ignore the jumping up behaviour. That is the really difficult part, and why so many people find it impossible to reinforce the desired behaviour. When someone makes a fuss of your dog while they are jumped up, they reward that behaviour. So when I’m out with Ounce, I really love it if people can resist the urge to fuss her when she bounces up to them.
Another part of this challenge, is that when people don’t like the dog jumping up and they push them and shout ‘get down’ at them. Jumping up is a demand for attention and guess what? When you push them and shout at them, they are being rewarded! Again, turning away and ignoring is the absolutely best thing you can do.
Remember..
If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you have a problem you would like me to talk about? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.
I took Ounce out to somewhere new this week and people were (as usual) completely entranced by her. Everyone comments on her eyes (can’t think why) and often on her colour and breed – what is she? On this occasion one person asked me what she was called. Ounce I said. Blank look. “What?” I repeated myself. “What the f*ck?” I could see her thinking, but she was an elderly lady and much too polite to voice her incredulity at such a bizarre name for a dog.
I went into my explanation that she is named after a snow leopard, because she looks just like one. They were not convinced, I could tell.
Yes, ounce is another name for snow leopard and she does look slightly like one. (Look it up if you don’t believe me).
However, that is not the only reason she is called Ounce – it’s a bit more complicated than that… Here are the names of my previous 6 dogs:
Rue – we were into herb names at the time, had Dill, Parsley, Sorrel etc
Buzz – had 2 young boys, got cat called Woody
Sunny – born Midsummer’s Day, hence Sunshine. Also character in the Series of Unfortunate Events (sharp teeth, didn’t say much)
Luna – one of the Harry Potter litter. Also goes with Sunny rather well
Aura – one of the princesses. Also born the year we saw the aurora borealis
Busy – hmm, now I need to tell you about the other reason…
Look at the list above and the way the names are spelt. When I had Aura, I planned to spell it ‘Ora’, as that is the end of her name. However, my son Adam pointed out that if I spelt it ‘Aura’, then all the dogs would have a letter ‘u’ as the second letter of their names! Wow, we were excited about this coincidence.
After that, we started to think about words that have a ‘u’ as the second letter but also sound different. It’s great fun when you get going. Here are a few examples:
Sugar
Quin
Purse
Ouzel
I’m sure there are others – what a fantastic language English can be!
So that was how Busy came to have her name. I thought she would be busy, rushing around all the time and it’s true, she does rush around in the woods and at agility, but of course she is also the calmest dog you have ever met 😉 Usually people think it is spelt Bizzy, as that is more of a ‘name’ way of spelling it, but of course the whole point is that it makes a different sound but has a ‘u’ as the second letter. I don’t care, Busy is a great name.
Ounce also has a link to me, as we can both be associated with pounds.
I decided that perhaps that should be the reason for her name. After all, she did steal an ounce of my heart when she arrived.
Whatever, it is fun to have such a different and unusual name. It’s not hard to spell and it isn’t as odd as Spoons, Boots, Toggle and Jumble, some of my other pups (or is it?) Lovely puppy xx
Remember..
If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you would like me to write about a specific topic? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.
Before we moved to the wonderful Milton Keynes, we lived in Essex and I used to trudge round the same, pretty tedious walks. It was a Country Park, with a small lake and next to some fields, but it was newly built and not very exciting. For me, one of the best things about living where I live now is the quality of my walks (and our proximity to John Lewis!) I now have the opportunity to walk round a large lake, beside a river, or up in the woods and on the heath.
Just as I feel passionately about being able to walk my dogs off lead for at least 90% of their walk, I really love the fact that they can experience different places to walk as well. I think it is very stimulating for them to be exposed to different smells and varied terrain. Of course it’s brilliant for me if it’s not too muddy, but it is much more important that they have the chance to do something different.
It was lovely to be able to take Ounce out with her cousin Bea (from the Beatrix Potter litter) and her family. I wanted to give her the chance to go somewhere different and it was great to see her running around the fields.
It was also good to see her relaxed around other, strange dogs. She had not met Bea or her family before the walk and was thrown straight into this new situation. As you can see here, she was quite happy to take treats from Charlotte (much tastier than mine!) and to sit nicely next to Nico. When we got back to the house I was able to have a chat and a coffee while Ounce and Nico ran around in the garden, playing really well. I also took Ounce up to my favourite woods, on Aspley Heath, but I forgot my camera! She enjoyed it very much, though, just like the girls do. I can’t wait to walk them all together every day, so that she can run around with her family. However, I know that every day I walk her separately is a day that strengthens my bond with her and improves her obedience.
It astonishes me that people walk their adult dogs on lead up in these woods. Of course you have to be careful if you don’t know the area, as there are roads around. But surely a bit of hard work on recall is worth it, so that your dog can enjoy running in and out of the bracken? Yes I do know I have collies, not spaniels – it’s not always that easy!
Remember..
If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you would like me to write about a specific topic? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.
Border collies generally have long coats, with a fluffy undercoat and a silky top coat, so they should not need to have any additional clothing. However, in my view, any dog who lives in a lovely warm, centrally heated house, is going to appreciate a little extra comfort on a chilly day.
In addition, dogs moult at different times of year and to varying degrees. Busy has just lost all her coat having had puppies. She has gone from this:
to this!
Another consideration is if you are taking more than one dog to training, or to a show, and they are running around for a bit, followed by a period in the car, they will definitely feel the cold. Of course short-haired breeds definitely benefit from a bit of extra warmth.
So if it gets frosty soon, I will be popping on their Equafleece Tankies! You can see here that they are warm and comfortable, without affecting the dogs’ movement in any way.
Remember..
Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think. If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
Question 3: How can I deal with my dog’s persistent barking?
Thinking about various problem behaviours and how to tackle these, I have realised that there are a number of options:
ignore it
work round it
tackle it
I have also realised that the reason that so many dogs have so much problem behaviour is because we are often scared to tackle the problem, or we simply don’t know how to work through it. Unfortunately, tackling a problem is the most difficult solution; ignoring it or just working around it are much easier options.
Many dogs bark incessantly. They usually do this for a number of reasons:
because they are lonely or stressed, suffering from ‘separation anxiety’ – I will talk about this in a future post
because they are bored – asking for attention
because they are over-excited – this is the one I am going to talk about here.
A good example of this type of persistent barking is when a dog is waiting for a ball to be thrown. They are basically shouting at you: “THROW THE BALL THROW THE BALL THROW THE BALL”. Usually, we want to shut them up as quickly as possible, so we throw the ball. Now the dog knows that when they shout “THROW THE BALL” you will do as they say! Hmm, not the best solution then.
What we want is for the dog to learn that when they shout “THROW THE BALL” at you, nothing at all happens. Boring. Then when they stop shouting at you, hey presto! The ball is thrown. There are a number of steps to follow here:
When the dog starts barking hysterically, distract them. This can be by calling their name, or nudging them, or offering a toy for them to tug on. Or you could ask them to do something else, such as a ‘down’ or a ‘twist’. Or failing all that, you could shake a bottle with some stones in it. This usually makes the dog say “What?”
As soon as the dog stops barking, click the behaviour. This can be using a clicker, or by saying ‘Yes!’ You need to pay attention and do it as soon as the barking stops.
Reward the behaviour you want, ie the stopped barking. Either with a treat, or a ball throw, or a play, or even just a pat or stroke.
Repeat this. How many times? Probably ten times more than you want to. Then maybe a few more times. Oh and then a bit more. Again and again.
It’s a natural instinct, a persistent habit and a self-stimulating behaviour for the dog. But it can be controlled, and you can train it away. The absolutely easiest way to do this is to simply pay attention to your dog and play with them. Then they won’t get frustrated and bored in the first place. Easier said than done of course.
You do also need to be able to say ‘Enough!’ or as I say ‘Finished’ and then stop throwing the ball. I put is away and show the dog my empty hand. Then I ignore them for a bit.
Please note: I am not a qualified dog behaviourist or trainer. I have owned border collies for many years and raised a number of puppies, so I am an experienced dog owner, that is all. Information provided here represents my opinion, based on my experience.
Remember..
If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you have a problem you would like me to talk about? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.
Here is a pupdate of some of the Rainbow litter. Roxi took part in Bark in the Park show and came 3rd, followed by a 2nd for Junior Handler! I suspect there will plenty more rosettes for her!
Here’s a photo of Lenny with Nell, his ‘big sister’. Lenny has been up to all sorts…Going on a boat..
..and going camping, where Nellie took part in a triathalon! Gorgeous boy!
Pixie enjoys being about and about with Blue, her big brother.
And Robbie has been to Scotland! Running around on the beach and playing with a whole host of other dogs.
Meanwhile, the Princesses have been winning in both obedience and agility.
And the Fairytale boys have been getting prizes for agility and for looking handsome!
“We wouldn’t get a puppy from any old breeder. Dentbros Dogs tick all our boxes and more. Highly recommended!”
Puppy owner
As I pause between litters, I thought it would be useful to ask my forty-two puppy owners for some feedback. So I sent them out a ‘Customer Satisfaction Survey’. I thought it would be helpful to establish whether they were generally happy with their dogs and felt they had had a good service. Can I improve on how I do things?
Survey results
The results (from almost 50% of the homes) are embarrassingly positive. Almost everyone would recommend me to a friend and are very satisfied with their dog. The dogs were universally described as:
good temperament
healthy
beautiful
easy to train
good value for money (50%)
“Both of our boys have been the most wonderful temperaments , being very affectionate and characters in their own right.”
In addition they are confident, fit in with the family and are a pleasure to own. I was described as being extremely or very responsive to any questions or concerns about the dogs. Most people would like to have another dog from me.
“We are delighted with the puppy we bought from Dentbros. She is beautifully calm and affectionate and very well behaved at home. She has also settled well with our older dog.”
What should you be paying for?
These are some of the costs I incur when producing a litter:
health tests for bitch, including hip scores and annual eye test
mating
scan
wormer
specialist food and milk for bitch while pregnant
KC registration
Assured Breeder fee
KC Breeder affix
toys for puppies
run and fencing
bedding
puppy food
eye & hearing tests for puppies
puppy packs and books
In addition to this, there is of course my time. I spend the whole of the 8 weeks I have puppies at home, with them. During this time I receive around 150 different visitors, including many different people for the pups to experience.
“Really appreciate the time and effort Penny puts into breeding and raising these dogs. She does a tremendous effort, and it really shows in the dogs temperament. Highly recommend her.”
I cuddle the pups every day, checking them over and generally handling them. They are part of our family life. I spend time communicating with the potential owners, sorting out who is having which puppy and making sure they are the best fit possible. It’s important for me to get to know the owners during that time, and I am available to discuss any worries or concerns that they have.
I spend time dealing with the associated administration of having puppies. Registering them with the Kennel Club, organising their health tests and generally making sure they have a great start in life.
As seen by a Veterinary Nurse
“We couldn’t have asked for a better service. We feel very lucky to have found such a quality breeder. I had high standard before but other breeders will really have to work hard to come in line with you. My very trusted vet and friend who also breeds and is a behaviourist was incredibly impressed with the information we were sent home with also the lovely touches like his puppy bag and all the little details. The book as well. Just everything.
“We really cannot leave any constructive criticism or negative comments because there just aren’t any. You should be incredibly proud as a breeder and dog owner as you are sadly the exception and will feature heavily in my advice when I speak to clients who want to buy a puppy. As a nurse I see many different types of breeder, some good, some just awful and some just don’t know what they are doing. So thank you as a nurse for being such a fabulous caring and committed breeder. It’s really refreshing. Also Lenny is just the most polite, laid back handsome happiest puppy ever we are so lucky. THANK YOU!”
Here’s one happy puppy owner!
Why I do it
My favourite part of my life is having puppies! It’s lovely spending time with the pups and the mum of the pups, focusing particularly on her and strengthening the bond I have with her. I love producing healthy, happy, confident dogs, who enrich the lives of the families they live with. I am proud to be a Kennel Club Assured Breeder and I consider myself to be a responsible breeder.
A responsible breeder
“What could possibly be a better job than this?”
If you want to know more about being a responsible breeder, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you would like me to know more about me or my dogs? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think?
Buy the Workbook
The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!
We have continued to have adventures – going to another agility show last weekend. It’s a lovely place to take a Border Collie puppy, because there are so many collie families there, so everyone thinks Ounce is amazing! She was pretty well-behaved on the whole, considering that it is quite a ‘full-on’ environment to be in.
Most of the time though, we just go down to the field by the lake, or along the river, wander around for a bit and then have some fun and games, before heading back up to the house.
New training to consider
I have continued to work through the list I described in an earlier post training progress @ 3 months I’ve also started to add in some additional things. These include:
Formal recall. This is where the dog is put into a sit and told to ‘wait’. You then turn round and walk away from the dog, increasing the distance over time. Turn to face your dog. Wait for a second or two, to make sure that the dog is not ‘anticipating’ the recall. Call your dog to you, bringing your hands down between your legs, so that the dog is ‘guided’ into position. Reward with them up against your legs, in nice and tight. Reward from both hands, so that the dog stays central and doesn’t try to wriggle over to one side.
Catch. Having seen a video of Ounce’s brother Lenny catching a ball and a treat, I realised I needed to work on this with Ounce. Puppies can’t automatically catch and need to practice, just like us. They learn quickly of course, especially when a treat is involved.
Twist. I have been trying to teach this to Aura and Busy as well. I was told by my agility trainer to work on ‘impulse control’ in both of them, as Busy in particular becomes EXTREMELY excited when doing agility. At the show last weekend she was pretty hysterical in the ring and couldn’t concentrate properly. She went under poles and past the weaves, rather than listening to my instructions. Teaching dogs to ‘twist’, ie to spin round in a tight circle, is a great way to get them listening to you.
Impulse control is actually the main lesson your dog needs to learn. It’s what I was talking about in my last post when describing desirable behaviour in dogs as it is the way to get our dogs to listen to us, even when something very exciting is going on nearby. The starting point for this to be really exciting yourself, with lots of play and rewarding behaviour. Be better than the other thing going on – very challenging I know!
Here’s a video showing our progress with a general wait, aka stay. Again, I am working on this from the point of view of ‘formal obedience’ as I have done this training with the others. You don’t need to be so formal about it, but having a great wait is so important; it’s worth spending a bit of time on this every day.
As you saw a few weeks ago, I started by trying to stand facing Ounce and helping her to wait, giving her treats for even a few seconds’ waiting. Here you can see that I am a bit further away, standing sideways on (so I can still see her but am not so much in her face) and waiting for a few seconds longer. I then move to stand beside her and give her some positive reinforcement, but without releasing her. I then walk calmly around her, so that she gets used to me moving about. Not bad eh?
Here are some targets for waiting/stays:
Waiting for 30 seconds to 1 minute in a sit position
Waiting for 1-2 minutes in a down position
Waiting while I am out of sight
Waiting while I move about, moving towards me running around in front of her shouting and waving my arms around (I know, it’s a treat in store!)
Waiting while I throw a ball (it’s a really tough one this)
How long before I can do these, do you think? Of course as well as that she needs to learn to wait to cross a road, or to wait while sometime walks or cycles past. Some people teach a wait to have their dinner, or a wait with a treat balanced on their nose – I think that’s a bit mean.
All of this helps improve focus and control. It keeps the dog with us and not running after someone else. Best of all, it keeps the dog happy and mentally stimulated, rather than bored, neurotic and snappy.
Remember..
If you enjoy hearing about Ounce and want more, why not FOLLOW ME? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post. Please CONTACT ME if you would like me to write about a specific topic? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think?
