This is Nell who is Breeze's mom. Breeze was a part of her last litter and now she has a home with some people who seem really nice. I have seen Nell at some herding trials and she has went on to be a super star at herding. It was cool to see her looking really happy and in a great home.
Crickets beautiful mom is named Rumor. Rumor does Rally and agility and is co owned and lives with Lori. Lori is the best puppy grandma around. It does make me feel really great knowing that Rumor has a wonderful life and is a treasured pet. Getting a puppy from a mom that was really part of a family was a big requirement when I got Cricket, and that was not that easy to find.
I do not know the mothers of the other dogs ;-(, they are just names I could look up. I do wish I had known better at the time and had thought more about what I was supporting-which might have been a good situation, but I will never know. I know now that it takes a little time and effort and planning to really choose a good place if you are buying a puppy, to check out and confirm the health testing and how the parents live and are treated, how much work the breeder does with the puppies and that the breeder is really concerned with health and not breeding questionable dogs. I also have found that people that get dogs from some pretty crappy breeders will give glowing recommendations because they have never checked it out and their dogs are wonderful...so they assume everything is terrific,...I take that with a grain of salt now. My theory now is that you have to check out everything for yourself, look up the health testing and ask a lot of questions until you are satisfied you understand everything.
Lizzie came from a ranch in the wine country. I never even saw her mom, because I got her when she was like 14 weeks old and her mom was a working dog. As far as I know she is living in Northern California and herds cattle as a real job. I think part of Lizzie's problems come from being bred to herd cattle. Dogs that herd cattle react very quickly without thinking a lot. Think about a cow that could kill the dog- reaching out to kick them. They have to react quickly. Not saying most dogs that are bred to herd cattle as as challenging as Liz, but I think her breeding went amuck with those traits. I do know her sisters seemed very spacey and one had a LOT of fears, and I do know they spayed her mom after Liz's litter-humm, think that says something.
Skyler was a rescue, he had parvo and no one wanted him because they were scared of the parvo, so I really did not know his mom, but I did find out his dad was a very scared, fearful, reactive dog.....hummm, wonder why he is? Sky's dad was a dog that never should have been bred, but I am surprised at how many reactive, fearful dogs are bred. Skyler came from a back yard breeder who had two dogs....and wanted to make a little money, not necessarily breed healthy dogs-mentally or physically. I would not go that route again without knowing a whole lot more about what I was getting...but Skyler really needed a home, so..guess he was meant to be here.
Chloe came from Salt Lake City, and I never met her mom, can you tell my dog picking criteria has changed a lot over the last few years? Chloe was just a really cool dog my mom ran across....they were some funky stories about the actual home she came from, the place I bought her was like a co breeder with her actual first owner. I did not do a whole lot of checking at that time. She is a great dog and it worked out, but I truly have no clue what type of breeder I was supporting with my money. I just lucked out that she is a terrific dog.
6 comments:
Yea, Ive learned a lot too!! I think I did right by Miley, but Ive learned even more since then and I would pick her again. Life has so many lessons for us. Diana
What an interesting post about all your dogs' origins.
Funny how much I've learned over the years too. My first dog was "free" out of a walmart parking lot. My second came from a pet store. The walmart dog was certifiably nutso! I have to say the pet store dog was one of my best dogs ever. I'd never buy one from a pet store again, now that I know better. I think I just got lucky.
Happy Belated Mother's Day!
Thanks for this post! I appreciated hearing what you have learned and will apply these lessons the next time I get a puppy. With Ricky I did some research but didn't know what I was doing. He is a great dog but I am not sure what I supported with my purchase either.
I enjoyed reading about all your dogs and where they came from. My old dog, Emma (BC) came from a BYB/Ranch and has many temperment issues and fears. She taught me a lot about behavior. Sage came from a working farm. My friend was looking for her next stockdog and I was looking for a puppy so let her pick the litter. Excellent working bloodlines but breeder didn't fully research any health issues (found out later that deafness was in both lines). I spent a year researching bloodlines and breeders and that resulted in Summit. If I decide to get another BC someday, I would defininetly go back to Summit's breeder.
My research in Shelties has been a real eye opener. It is MUCH more difficult to find a good performance Sheltie and it is a BC. But I'm learning a lot.
I can't edit a post without deleting. That last sentence should read....
It is MUCH more difficult to find a good performance Sheltie THAN it is a BC.
It is interesting to see where dogs came from and how they turn out. I don't know the parents of any of my dogs. Zodiac is beautiful, level headed, healthy (genetically healthy anyway) and had good herding instincts, and a perfect tempermant. But no responsible breeder would have put him in the home he came from. Go figure. Legend is high energy, healthy, kind of freaky acting sometimes and had little herding instinct. She too was sold? to a poor home choice for a BC of her energy level. I presume she was bred for color and cuteness but we will never know I guess!
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