English Shepherds

[Freeholdfarm]

Thought I'd start a new thread on my favorite breed!

I have two part ES -- Scout is 6, a dark sable male, 3/4 ES and 1/4 Collie. Bonnie is 5 months old, a black tri-color, 13/16 ES and 3/16 Collie. Scout is her uncle. They are beautiful dogs, very intelligent and sweet-natured, good watchdogs, protective of our animals, have herding instinct, and will hunt. Their coats are 'teflon' -- they may get dirty, but nothing sticks. These are the old-fashioned farm collie or farm shepherd that lived on nearly every farm or ranch before Border Collies and Australian Shepherds (the latter are probably the English Shepherd's closest relatives, but all these breeds -- ES, BC, Aussie, Collie, Sheltie -- are all descended from the ancient Scotch Collie. The ES is probably the most direct descendent, and the most like the original ancestor.) came along. ES's didn't disappear because they were less well suited for their work than BC's and Aussies, but because there are fads and fashions in everything, including dog breeds. Off with the old, and on with the new! But a few people began to wonder what happened to those old farm collies, managed to unearth a few remaining ones, and are now starting to breed them back up into something viable. My two dogs are descended from a male ES who was bred to a Collie before his owner managed to find a female ES to breed him to. (The Collie ancestry gives a bit heavier coat and a little bigger size, both probably desirable if we ever manage to move back to Alaska.)

So, here are a couple of links for anyone who is interested enough to delve further:

www.farmcollie.com/

www.englishshepherd.org/

Kathleen

[Jenny]

Glad you started this thread. Do you think an English Shepherd would do well in a harness. I'm not talking any serious mushing or major pulling. I just don't like motorized things at all, and I much prefer using a dog to haul things when it's left up to me. In the past we always had dogs that were somewhat trained to work, and they could and would. Although Chuck does most of the hauling (wood, water, etc.) with the snow machine or 4-wheeler, we kept the dogs in shape by working with them regularly. When Chuck wasn't around, I could use them to haul supplies back from the lake, water, firewood, etc.

So, what we are looking for is a dog that is good with children (we have three small boys, so that's a must), will help herd the animals (and the boys), be a good guard dog, one that will hunt & track, and one that will pull a sled sometimes. I'm not asking for much, am I?

Once we had a dog that was 40% wolf and 60% McKinsey River Husky who was a very good herd dog. Wasn't good for much else though, but he was sweet (but as Chuck would say, dumber than a box of rocks). We had another dog once (he was my favorite) who was really good in all the areas except hunting. His view of other animals, especially bears, was "maybe if I ignore it, it will go away". The only way I knew if there was anything around was if he tucked his tail and hid behind me. He certainly would not track. He thought it was insane to go looking for something

Sometimes I think I just want to go to the pound and find a nice, big, friendly mutt. Other times I think we should plan a little better. Any suggestions on a dog that might meet our needs?

Thanks,

[Freeholdfarm]

I think you should get a puppy next year from the people who bred my male, Scout! (Or if you want to wait a little longer, in a couple of years, barring an 'oops litter', I'll be breeding Scout and
Bonnie.) The Collie/ES cross is a little bigger than purebred ES, and yes, they will pull a sled. Scout practically pulls my arm off if I have him on a leash without a choke collar! He weighs almost eighty pounds, so is big enough to pull a load of water or something.

My friend in Tok who has had sled dogs most of her life used to also have a couple of Australian Shepherds, and she used them for her daughter's sled team because they would stop on command (the huskies wouldn't). Christa was racing with them for a while. Aussies have a lot in common with English Shepherds, but ES's are a little calmer and more laid back.

Have you had a chance to look at the AWFA site that I posted a link to? There are a lot of stories about these dogs there -- I think they are just what you need.

Kathleen

[Jenny]

They do sound like wonderful dogs! I'd love to have one from the folks who bred Scout, but I think the cost of buying a dog and having it flown up here would be prohibitive. Maybe I can find a breeder up here. Do you have any idea of what to expect to pay?

Thanks,

Jenny

[Freeholdfarm]

As far as I know, nobody in Alaska is breeding farm collies or purebred English Shepherds. (If anyone knows of someone who is, please let me know!)

Farm collie pups, with some crossing, are generally going for a hundred to a hundred fifty dollars. Shipping can be a bear, though. I paid almost three hundred dollars to get Bonnie shipped out here to Oregon from New York. I don't know how much more it would be to have a pup shipped to Alaska. I did have a lamb shipped up there years ago, but prices have gone up, I'm sure.

If you can wait (or get another dog in the meantime just to have one) I'm sure that when I do have puppies, I'd be able to send one up the highway with a relative. There's usually someone traveling out here each year. One of my aunts, who lives in Valdez, is often out several times a year, though she usually flies. But either way, I'm sure she'd be glad to accompany a pup back to Alaska. Flying accompanied brings the cost way down, to probably under a hundred dollars.

Purebred ES pups go for a little more, around $300 or so. But there is a breeder near Portland who has some VERY nice ones -- I'd like to get a pup from her someday (and that's her price, by the way; I checked with her a while back). I can give you her e-mail address if you want -- or take a look at the ES site I gave the link to above -- her name is Mary Peaslee, and she runs the site, and I think is the ES assoc. president, also. I'm pretty sure the dogs on the front page of the website are hers.

Kathleen