Starlight English Shepherds &
Red Fern Farm Collies
Where companions come home...Where love circles round...
Where companions come home...
Where love circles round...
UKC and ESC Registered English Shepherds
Specializing in the Collie/Shepherd Breeds for over twenty-five years
UKC and ESC Registered English Shepherds
Specializing in the Collie/Shepherd Breeds for over twenty-five years
Red Fern Farm Collies Now Located Here:
Red Fern Farm Collies Now Located Here:
Starlight English Shepherds
Smart Loyal Healthy Dependable Affectionate
Starlight English Shepherds
Smart Loyal Healthy Dependable Affectionate
Bonnie & Peter Puppies Playing
(video)
Bonnie & Peter Puppies Playing
(video)
“Because of the dog’s joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this world be like without dogs?”
— Mary Oliver
“Because of the dog’s joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this world be like without dogs?”
— Mary Oliver
Laddie with the Lambs
Laddie with the Lambs
Litter Announcement!
UKC Purple Ribbon Bred
"PR" Red Fern's Eddie of Lost Ways&
Red Fern's Bonnie
Registered English Shepherd Puppies
Embark DNA tested Ancestry.
Puppies Born March 7th 2025
Litter Announcement!
UKC Purple Ribbon Bred
"PR" Red Fern's Eddie of Lost Ways
&
Red Fern's Bonnie
Registered English Shepherd Puppies
Embark DNA tested Ancestry.
Puppies Born March 7th 2025
"Dewey"
Bobbie & Tessapuppy (previous)
"Dewey"
Bobbie & Tessa
puppy (previous)
"Lakota"
Laddie & Emmapuppy (previous)
"Lakota"
Laddie & Emma
puppy (previous)
"Dewey" doing tricks...@ 4 months old.
"Dewey" doing tricks...@ 4 months old.
The English Shepherd and the Diversified Small Farmby: Kristin Kimball of Essex, NY
from issue: 30-3
A while back, with the farm slumbering under a full moon and a clear winter sky, my husband Mark and I decided to take a stroll down to the mail box, ostensibly to see if the outside world had delivered to us anything of interest, but really just to enjoy the night. Jet, my one-year-old English Shepherd, was with us.Just out the door in the driveway, Jet suddenly puffed up and let loose with his woo woo woo bark that means, in his language, something’s wrong here, folks. Then Mark and I saw a big black shape lumbering toward us...[continue reading here]
The English Shepherd and the Diversified Small Farm
by: Kristin Kimball of Essex, NY
from issue: 30-3
from issue: 30-3
A while back, with the farm slumbering under a full moon and a clear winter sky, my husband Mark and I decided to take a stroll down to the mail box, ostensibly to see if the outside world had delivered to us anything of interest, but really just to enjoy the night. Jet, my one-year-old English Shepherd, was with us.
Just out the door in the driveway, Jet suddenly puffed up and let loose with his woo woo woo bark that means, in his language, something’s wrong here, folks. Then Mark and I saw a big black shape lumbering toward us...[continue reading here]
Landrace - vs - Purebred
The following excerpt is from an article posted at: http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/current-collie-articles/landrace-vs-purebred-scotch-collies/
.....From this perspective we can see that the primary difference between the Rough Collie and the Old-Time Scotch Collie is that one is the purebred breed and the other is the landrace breed. To be sure there are differences is appearance and temperament between the two breeds, but those differences originate from the different breed selection methods enforced on these dogs. They are from the same root, the indigenous herding dogs of Highland Scotland, and share more in common than in difference. It is also true that not all modern Rough Collies have lost everything that made the old Scotch Collies unique and therefore fall within the acceptable range of the Old-Time Scotch Collie standard. This sort of breeding between Rough Collies and Old-Time Scotch Collies would not be cross-breeding any more than breeding different types of Jack Russell Terriers would be. Since the number of Old-Time Scotch Collies available for breeding is currently quite low (as of this writing there are 54 dogs in the registry and not all of those are even alive), bringing in new blood is critical to survival. Where else can this new blood come from?
Q: My breed is a rare breed, so where am I to go to outcross?
A: [One] way is crossing with a related breed. While there is great reluctance because of the still prevailing “pure race” dog breeding system, this method was of necessity used repeatedly in various breeds. Already after four generations of back breeding, breed type can be nearly restored, so even when greyhounds were crossed with bulldogs, or Boxers with Pembroke Welsh Corgis!
Dr. Hellmuth Wachtel
Diversity FAQs
http://www.farmcollie.com/divfaq.htm
So we have several potential sources of new breeding stock.
Rough Collies with old fashioned looks and temperament.
Related breeds, of which there are several, English Shepherds, Australian Shepherds, Ovelheiro Gauchoand others.
This outcrossing is in fact not just necessary for our breed’s survival, but is recommended for the health of the breed. Many problems suffered by modern “pure bred” dog breeds are the result of inbreeding, these kinds of genetic diseases can be avoided by maintaining a wide range of genetic diversity.
Last year the time-honored mother of modern pedigree breeding herself, the English Kennel Club, has changed her basic and principal centennial rule: dogs of unknown or “impure” origin are no more absolutely excluded from being registrable if officially admitted! In fact this would not destroy a breed’s characteristics if well planned and followed by back-breeding and appropriate selection. On the contrary, as few as just one strange animal per hundred breeding dogs and generation in a population would very effectively prevent genetic losses and thus counteract the advance of inherited diseases and improve viability, health and general fitness of the breed!
Dr. Hellmuth Wachtel
Breeding Dogs for the Next Millennium
http://www.givskov.it/Diverse/AnneGrete/Breeding/hellmuth.htm
Who knows, maybe some day in the distant future the healthy collie genes in the Old-Time Scotch Collie breed may be able to help the inbred Rough Collies survive, just as Rough Collie blood is currently helping to increase the limited gene pool the Old-Time Scotch Collie.
The previous excerpt is from an article posted at: http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/current-collie-articles/landrace-vs-purebred-scotch-collies/