Our Dogs
A good dog is a necessary part of a farm, at least, in my opinion. We are blessed with six excellent dogs, Kep, Inez, Duncan, Cleone, Flossie and Fiona.
Occasionally we have a litter of ABCA registered Border Collie puppies available. They are be suitable for pet or working homes. Contact me for more info.
Occasionally we have a litter of ABCA registered Border Collie puppies available. They are be suitable for pet or working homes. Contact me for more info.
Please visit our Border Collie website: Sandspur Ranch Border Collies
Duncan
ABCA Border Collie
Traditional black and white
CEA tested normal. Hip dysplasia official status coming soon.
Duncan is a strong and handsome black/ white Border Collie. He is from great working lines (breeder is Dawn Boyce, Carnesville, GA), and already shows a strong desire to work our animals. He is not as high drive as Cleone, but is not easily intimidated by the animals. He is lower key and more laid back than Cleone, but loves people and work.
I plan to breed Duncan and Cleone to produce high quality working and family dogs.
I plan to breed Duncan and Cleone to produce high quality working and family dogs.
Cleone
ABCA Border Collie
Blue Merle
CEA tested normal. Hip dysplasia official status coming soon.
Cleone came to our farm July of 2015. She is a pure bred Border Collie from Michigan, where her sire herds cattle on a large ranch. She is the most intelligent puppy I have ever seen, and in basic training at 12 weeks of age, seemed to understand what I wanted her to do by instinct. As a young puppy, she amazed several visitors by her prompt obedience, especially in coming when I called, and lying down on command. She is very much in tune with me, and what I want from her, and is already a big help on the farm, saving me from having to walk all the way out in the pasture to bring in the cows. In fact, on one or two occasions when I was late in going out to do the evening chores, she brought the cows to the barn on her own, and waited for me to come feed them!
Because of her color, many people think Cleone is an Australian Shepherd, but merle coloring is not uncommon for Border Collies. She is a particularly evenly colored and very pretty blue merle, and I look forward to seeing her puppies.
I am looking forward to continuing her training, and plan to breed her in the spring/ summer of 2017.
Because of her color, many people think Cleone is an Australian Shepherd, but merle coloring is not uncommon for Border Collies. She is a particularly evenly colored and very pretty blue merle, and I look forward to seeing her puppies.
I am looking forward to continuing her training, and plan to breed her in the spring/ summer of 2017.
We feed our dogs raw bones from one of our home-raised hogs whenever possible. This gives them nutrition in the most natural form for dogs, and also helps keep their teeth healthy. (They also love the bones, and it gives them something good to do.)
Kep: Springer Collie (Border Collie/ Springer Spaniel)
Kep is a great dog with a very friendly and loving personality. If you ever come to our farm, expect him to be your buddy the whole time you are outside if you give him any attention. He loves to be petted, and can actually be a little annoying sometimes constantly begging for attention. He wants to please me (usually), and knows a few little tricks (nothing really special- shaking hands, jumping up and climbing on things on command, closing doors, etc.) When he was a puppy I talked to him constantly, almost like he was a person, and he understands a lot of what I say, and especially the tone of my voice, so that he will often do things for me if I just ask him in a normal tone, without giving a command or anything. He also would make a great seeing-eye dog with training. Whenever I go out at night in the dark I take him with me and send him in front of me to help me avoid obstacles. If I had more know-how when I was training him, and stayed consistent, he could probably have learned any trick I wanted to teach him. Now that he's a little older... I'm not so sure. He rounds up the goats for me, and is such a help with them. I don't know what I'd do without him sometimes. He loves the animals, especially the babies, but still does his job. He would never dream of hurting them though. (But the goats don't know that!) He is a great blessing to our family, and we are thankful to the Lord for providing just the right dog for us!
*Kep is neutered.
*Kep is neutered.
(Kep in his younger days (I think he was 2 in this picture), helping me put away Gretel, the most stubborn goat I ever owned.
Inez: Great Pyrenees
We traded three cross-bred goats for Inez when she was 11 months old, and have never regretted it. Inez is just as intelligent and sweet as Kep, but didn't have the early training he did, and displays her smarts and sweetness in different ways. She won't constantly beg to be petted, but loves it all the same. Her primary job is guarding the animals at night, and she does it amazingly well. Predators are always the least of my worries now with my goats, and the only ones she couldn't guard the chickens against were hawks and snakes (and she did her best with them, chasing them off and/ or alerting us to their presence whenever possible). She is very mellow when not defending her farm, and loves children (and adults too, but she is especially gentle with children). She can be a little stand-offish with strangers at first, but that is just because she is a Pyrenees guard dog, and wants to be sure you are a friend before trusting you. When she sees us talking to someone and obviously allowing them in our territory, she is happy to come over and say hello, if the weather isn't too hot. When it is, she prefers to take a nap under the van or deck.
She has had five litters of puppies before (not exactly on purpose, but we took care of the pups just like it was a planned breeding.) The sire in the first four cases was a chocolate Lab owned by our neighbor. I think there were multiple sires for the last litter, but sadly, all but one of the pups died, despite our best efforts to save them. For pictures of puppies and information regarding past litters (including check-ups with the new owners after five or six months), please visit the posts under the label "Puppies" (left-hand side of the page), or see my blog index to see all posts, there are too many to link here. :)
She has had five litters of puppies before (not exactly on purpose, but we took care of the pups just like it was a planned breeding.) The sire in the first four cases was a chocolate Lab owned by our neighbor. I think there were multiple sires for the last litter, but sadly, all but one of the pups died, despite our best efforts to save them. For pictures of puppies and information regarding past litters (including check-ups with the new owners after five or six months), please visit the posts under the label "Puppies" (left-hand side of the page), or see my blog index to see all posts, there are too many to link here. :)