Breeding is something we weigh very carefully here, and take a very nuanced approach--there are a lot of factors that go into breeding a dog, and we've broken them down into several important categories. There are some traits that are non-negotiable, and others that have some leeway, but here I hope to explain the thought process behind why we do what we do.
The Big 3
These are three principals that we will not compromise on, and must be present in every dog we breed here at RBR:
Temperament
We will only breed well-adjusted, solid dogs. I talk about 'solid' dogs in multiple places, but what does that mean to us? A solid dog is (1) friendly with strangers--while we will accept different levels of friendliness, we will not breed dogs that are afraid of strangers/will bite/etc. They are (2) friendly or neutral with strange dogs--we don't expect our dogs to love and play with every dog they meet, but we do expect at minimum they are neutral to other dogs in all situations (at home, at a trial, on the trail). They can (3) coexist in peace - we own multiple intact females, and do not crate and rotate - our dogs live in our home, sleep on our bed, eat beside one another. As we both work full time jobs, we do not have the time to 'manage' dogs that fight, snap, resource guard, etc. Our females all live, play, and sleep together with zero issues, and we will not keep one that cannot adapt to this lifestyle. They can (4) exist calmly in public spaces--this may be downtown Knoxville, a hiking trail, or a brewery--our dogs must be stable enough to handle these situations and all the sounds it entails. They (5) have an off switch--our dogs settle in the home regardless if they are worked or not.
Health
All of our breeding dogs have been tested genetically through Wisdom (the Optimal Selection panel), and have had hips/elbows verified through OFA. We check both our dams and sire's pedigrees through the epilepsy database, and try to breed our females slightly older to give time for non-testable health conditions to pop up. We will never knowingly breed carrier to carrier for the sake of performance, as trials, work, and games are ultimately for us, not the dog--we would never knowingly condemn a puppy to blindness/deafness/orthopedic issues if we can help it. If our dogs have any issues we do not think are genetic (for instance, an injury) we will be as forthcoming with any testing/information we have available.
Ability and Versatility
While this is part of our "Big 3" values, it is the last for a reason--we never think that a dog's talent on stock should trump the other two. Dogs that can work but go blind; dogs that can run agility but are dog aggressive, or a tremendous disc dog with elbow dysplasia-- for us here at RBR our goal is to breed team players, not management issues or broken dreams.
With that being said, ability and talent still plays a key role into the dogs we breed. First and foremost, all of our females can work livestock and are solid farm dogs. We believe this is central to selecting border collies to breed, as the ability to reason, listen at a distance, and focus on complex tasks is imperative to the breed. Our dogs range in natural ability, and not all of them are trial dogs, but all are capable of ~100-200m outruns and driving the sheep. As we have a farm and also compete in USBCHA trials, we have the ability to test our dogs on a daily basis. We also stand by being honest about our dogs' assessments--we won't tell you one of our dogs is an excellent worker when we know she could not work to the demands of a trial environment.
Other than working ability, some of our dogs also compete in sport events (disc, fast CAT, etc). We like to see disc/toy drive, ability to track discs/objects well, tug drive, and food drive. Our dogs individual accomplishments can be seen on their personal pages, as well as videos of their individual skills.
Other traits
These other traits are all taken into consideration -- some more than others -- before breeding any one of our females. These are listed in no particular order:
Conformation: We breed for solid bio-mechanics and longevity--not to an arbitrary standard.
Pedigrees: We look for a line of healthy dogs, consistent type and temperaments -- sometimes this will line up with that is popular, sometimes it will not. We take genetic diversity into account, and try to research any potential health issues within a line before making breeding decisions.
Reproductive Health: Some lines of border collies are affected by poor reproductive health -- issues with getting pregnant, small litters, poor mothering behavior, or overly aggressive dams.
As you can see, a lot goes into every pairing here at RBR. If you ever have questions on something we did no answer or make clear, never hesitate to ask!
Comments