Border Collie Breeders in SA?

[Rosemerryn]

Hi,

We're looking for a great Border Collie breeder in SA. Has anyone had any experiences with the breeders in this region?

We had a beautiful Golden Retriever who we love absolutely, but she wasn't bred well, had many health problems and died a year ago. We can't go through that again, so we're quite keen on finding a well known and vetted breeder. Yes, I know there are no guarantees, but we just want to try as hard as we can to make sure we have a healthy pup and we're not supporting bad breeders.

Thanks,

Rosemerryn

[Rebanne]

try your states breed club for starters

[Mjosa]

I would suggest that you attend the shows that are held every weekend at the David Roche complex, Cromwell Rd., Kilburn, judging usually commences at 8.30 or 9 am, the Border collies would be practically the first breed in the ring, ring 5, working dogs, so you would have to be there early.

You would be able to watch the judging of the Border Collies and after they have completed their showing you could go and talk to the owners of the dogs and get a feel for which breeder may suit you may be give you a guide as too puppies.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I would also check out the agility competitions or herding competitions... There's a massive agility (and obedience and etc) competition being run in Mt Gambier over Easter.  And there will be agility all day at West Beach on the 29th April. 

There are some breeders that also do agility - but anyone with a border collie at an agility or herding competition would be worth talking to.

A working line border collie might be more robust than a show line one - tho there are some breeders who do both - that's what you want - someone who keeps good records of what pairings they do (pedigrees) - and also selects for robustness, strength and ability to do what border collies do.

There are some really nasty hereditary diseases border collies can get like - exercise induced collapse, or Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome (possibly the worst one - your puppy will die young) or adverse (death) reaction to common flea treatments.    And both parents can seem fine but if they're both carrying the wrong gene and it doubles up - the puppy will have the disease full blown (not just a carrier and unaffected directly).

Always ask to see the testing results for the parent dog choices - in writing.  Eg photocopies.

Border collies can be a lot more demanding than Golden Retrievers.  Border collies like to have a job to do all the time.   And a bored fit border collie can cause major problems at home.  So it really helps if you are into daily trick training and exercise.   Wearing their brains out with learning new things is more important than taking them for long runs but long runs are also important.

Ps have you looked at "Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers"?  They also can have their health problems but the ones I see around (Agility competitions etc) seem healthier than the golden retrievers I see around. 
 

Edited April 10, 2017 by Mrs Rusty Bucket

[Rosemerryn]

Thanks Mrs Rusty Bucket and Mjosa. That helps a lot. =)

[Mjosa]

Over Easter there are no dog shows at Kilburn, they do the country circuits in the SE and Pt Augusta around that area, but next weekend they will be back at Kilburn.

[piper]

The wait for a well bred border collie in SA can be very long. A popular breed, not a huge number of breeders and quite a few of us that only breed occasionally. 

 

Just beware of anyone claiming certain colours are worth more, are rare, unusual or special or calling them by anything other than their actual colour name. Eg red and whites can get advertised as honey, champagne, wheaten, gold, caramel etc. All of these are shades of red. Also those breeders who are selecting purely for the colours they can produce in a particular mating - colour should be a by product of the mating when selecting the best dog for the bitch, not the sole reason for doing the mating.

 

Good luck!