Breeding Dogs –
thoughts and grumbles
A section for notes, thoughts on the challenges of breeding, raising and selling puppies.
13-Feb-2-25
Thoughts While Cleaning Kennels
Some years ago, I was referred to a book called, ‘Thoughts While Tending Sheep‘, written by a retired Episcopal minister, living on a small farm in California, up in the hills from Carmel. A delightful book about sheep, dogs, faming and nature, which I recommend.

The title of that book is my point of departure for thoughts while cleaning puppy kennels this morning. I have several puppies from litters this summer who I have not yet moved into the adult quarters, where conformance to the “no uh-oh’s” policy is a requirement. The puppies have individual kennels, with a bedding of pine shavings, which absorb urine and hide feces, while providing a warm, soft base. I try to clean up the solid bits (that I can find) every day and change out the whole base every 5 days or so.
While I spent 40 minutes cleaning out the kennels today, these thoughts rumbled through my mind.
- I went from managing a corporate strategy group in a major international consulting group in the City of London to cleaning kennels and dog/puppy ‘accidents’. How did I get to such a place?? I’m sure none of my former peers are doing this. Is this really a retirement dream? And how is it that I kind of like it???
- Some puppies never seem to ‘get’ the idea of keeping a clean kennel. Am I doing something wrong in training? Does everyone have such problems? Dogs and puppies are supposed to not like sh***ing where they sleep. I’m sure I’m doing something wrong.
- After I have cleaned the kennels, disinfected them and put new shavings in, the first thing the puppies coming in from outside to urinate in the middle of their fresh shavings. Ahhh!!! Feelings of despair and ‘why bother?’ …kind of like changing a diaper and cleaning only to have junior do a free-for-all right away.
- The volume of feces generated bewilders me. It just keeps coming. I try capturing the new waste every day, but it hides (or is hidden) until the grand cleanup, when I am shocked by the accumulation and feel guilty for not doing it days earlier.
- Why is it I never remember to change my shoes/boots before beginning the task of cleaning …and end up having to spend time cleaning my treads –sometimes not remembering to take them off before entering the house?? May be early signs of dementia. More likely my chronic lack of mindfulness. $#it in the house to clean up (as well) is the price I pay for that.
- Why do dogs insist on burying their bowls in piles of shavings by the door, pushing the shavings out of the kennel into the walkway?? I scold them for doing it. They don’t have a clue what I am talking about.
- Winter has benefits -the outward signs of the kennels needing a cleaning are less noticeable- but my fingers are freeze while cleaning.
- People think no puppy should every cost more than $1000. They have NO IDEA what goes into raising a puppy, cost or time. Cleaning shi++y puppy kennels and accidents in the main kennel is not to make money. Puppies are a tax loss for me –never mind my time (which never gets accounted for). I do this because I like the few dogs I get out that truly suit me. The price complainers should go purchase an 8-week wonder, fluffed balls for $1000 and see how that goes…
- It is nice to see new life emerge. It is also nice when the little ones are off to forever homes and I can close the puppy kennels down for a while.
- The ability to understand crate training is correlated to ability to train sheep dogs for work. Those who take a long time to get with the clean kennel program also tend to be those more difficult to train. Nothing scientific about that and there will be all sorts of naysayers, but It is nonetheless my observation.
- …and finally… Wouldn’t it be nice if there were Huggies/Pampers for dogs?!!!
Puppy Prices
11-Jan-2025
I keep getting unsolicited ‘invitations’ to list my pups on a site from Lancaster County, PA, advertising itself as the largest border collie puppy listing site. Lancaster County is known for its farmland (rich soil and mild climate) and Amish community.
I have tried blocking the sending numbers / addresses, but the solicitations keep getting through, so I finally clicked the link to see what it was. The site is chockablock with cute AKC looking 7 week old border collies for around $600, coming from Pennsylvania addresses.
When I searched for Lancaster Puppies, Google returned this:

As someone who breeds working border collies, I find it hard to imagine how a breeder could break even with $600 or $800 puppies, except at some absurd and unprincipled breeding volume. My costs are 4 times that. That is partly because I keep my pups for 4 mo. or longer but also most litters are done via frozen artificial insemination, requiring stud fees, storage / transport costs, testing and insemination costs. Vaccination and worming costs alone are $150 / pup plus registration $35 / pup
Puppies at $600 – $800 are just a ‘commodity’. That is very dangerous for buyers. A dog is much more than a commodity. It is a sentient companion and working animal. Quality of breeding and fit matter. The budget puppies I see have a dull look / feel to them. They are typically poorly socialized and can have behavioral issues. I was bitten by one such dog crushing the bones in finger, permanently disabling one hand.
If a puppy is cheap, the latin phrase ‘caveat emptor’ applies: “let the buyer beware”. Price doesn’t assure quality and fit, but a low price is a warning sign.
When purchasing a puppy or dog, let quality be your guide: quality of pedigree / healthy, quality of breeder, quality of early life. A good puppy or dog is worth paying for.
The typical lifetime cost of a dog is $40,000 – $50,000, including purchase cost. …something people don’t usually think about when choosing a puppy.
$1000 – $1500 more up front for the right dog is a wise financial as well as emotional investment. You will have to live with this dog. The advice I give to buyers is to take your time, know what you are buying and choose well.
Puppies with hidden / undisclosed health problems can cost thousands and tens of thousands of dollars in veterinary costs over their lifetimes and suffer agonizingly. A bargain puppy with problems becomes a financial drain.
Expect to pay $1500 – $3000 for a high quality working collie puppy. Expect to see genetic disease profiles and where possible OFA or other health scores.
Buyers should not purchase very young puppies (7 weeks) in any case. Puppies need time to socialize and mature. They are always changing. The puppy you see at 7 weeks may not feel like the same puppy at 12 weeks.
The 8 week standard (rule) is a breeder’s convenience, to clear them out. Each pup and litter is different, puppies mature at different rates. More time with the breeder / litter is better than too little. The best pup I have ever bred would not have been my choice at 8 weeks. He was my clear choice at 16 weeks.
Buyers should avoid volume breeders. The American Border Collie Association (the working collie registry in the USA) publishes an annual list of high volume breeders as a service to its members:
“The ABCA does not endorse high volume breeders. The main purpose of the ABCA is to protect and promote the working Border Collie. Good working Border Collie breeders rarely produce more than a few litters per year. It is the intent of the ABCA to encourage breeders to use livestock working ability as the primary criterion to select potential breeding stock. This is very difficult to do when breeding at a high volume rate.”
Line Breeding
10-Jan-2025
I have never tried line breeding. By accident, Sue and Ormond Mirk (a then 7mo-old pup) mated, and Sue’s paternal grandsire and Mirk’s sire, Dewi Jenkins’ Jock, an International Champion.
Teun van den Dool, who maintains the ISDS pedigree database and reports on working border collie genetics told me not to worry about it. A coefficient of inbreeding of 6.25% is not that high and when the overlapping dog, Jock, is as healthy and venerable as Jock, it isn’t a problem.
I asked Dewi about the mating and he replied:
“I would be very very excited about that cross!!!
You have to line breed to get something special!!”
Rumors
5-Jan-2025
I was chatting with sheep dog handler in S. Wales about an upcoming breeding, Sue x Ormond Mirk. This was an accidental breeding …I didn’t know my 7 mo-old pup was fully potent. The pup’s sire is the dam’s grandsire, Dewi Jenkins’ International champion, Jock. This is ‘line breeding’ for sure, but the coefficient of inbreeding was 6.25%, not enough to work the ISDS resource studying sheep dog breeding, because he said the common ancestor, Jock, is known to be a healthy dog.
...or is he?
The person I was chatting to said, ‘rumor’ has it Jock has hip problems. And he added, ‘where there is smoke, there is fire’.
This is a very serious accusation.
The reputation and business of one of the very top handlers in the world, Dewi Jenkins, is on the line. I was stunned to hear that ‘rumor’, because some time ago, Dewi had provided me with Jock’s certified hip scores. They are very good, esp. for being taken at 7 years old, and a working life. Most dogs have theirs done at 2 years old. Jock’s BVA hip score is 7 / 7.
Dewi is a friend and one of the most upright and genuine people in the sheep dog work. He is a hugely successful trainer / handler, commanding record prices for his dogs at auction. I don’t know why people trade in such ‘rumors’. I can only speculate.
When I told Dewi what was being whispered, he said, “Why didn’t they just come to me?”
That is a very good question!
Dewi trains and sells excellent dogs. Rumors exchanged / whispered in private conversations, offered up almost salaciously, can do great damage. Dewi’s question is right on: why did they not just come to him?
When people have a breeding concern, they should be ethical and strong enough to bring it to the source and check it out, rather than spreading harmful gossip. I was more than disappointed -disgusted, actually- with the person who said, “just a ‘rumor’, but where there is smoke, there is fire.” No, there isn’t. There is only malfeasance.

For those who might breed with Dewi’s Jock, here is the BVA report on Jock’s hip scores, done in 2023 when he was 7 yrs old, after years of trialing and work, not a young 2 yr-old. According to the BVA, Jock’s hips are VERY GOOD, the breed mean/median being 12 and 10, respectively. Smaller is better. And they are balanced. I would breed with Jock without hesitation,.

A Dog I’d Like to Have
2-Dec-2024
Friend and in my opinion top working dog trainer / handler in the world, Dewi Jenkins, from Wales, bred and trained this dog, Tynygraig Mirk, who sold at auction for over $25,000. I can’t afford that for a dog, but I can afford to breed from Dewi’s stock, and do with awesome results.
Mirk in Dewi’s capable hands is everything I like to see in a working sheep dog.
Dogs in the House (and in the Bed)
27-Oct-2024
The Sunday Times today has a piece on Floss the working border collie and her journey inside and into the bed.
When I sell dogs and pups, I don’t preach rights and wrongs about inside v. outside. These are personal matters. Working dogs inside is fine in my view …if you are prepared for the mess (and wear and tear). And again in my view, if you are prepared to give up your life to their intensity, which multiplies non-linearly with the number of dogs.
Having dogs living in the house alters the relationship (and the dog) for sure, which may be what people want. And the dynamics change with dog numbers (as they do with children).
My personal choice is keep some distance between my dogs’ lives and mine. Days together. Nighttime is my time …in my space. And there is nothing unethical about that. After all, parents are happy for children’s time away at school and time spent in their rooms and with their peers. My dogs actually prefer I spend time with them ‘in their space’ rather than inviting them into my space.
As dogs get older (the Times article), I make accommodations for them in their space. I simply can’t be walking through stools and puddles in the house as the Times author does. Personal choice.
“Trick Dogs”
20-Oct-2024
Working border collies are specialists. They are bred for their herding instinct. They can make good agility dogs or even ‘trick dogs’, but that is less likely than with border collie lines bred for those specialties.
I had a trick dog trainer drive 14 hours one-way today to see one of my dogs only to be disappointed. He was looking for a specialist dog that could easily navigate an urban environment off-lead and learn to do impressive tricks. He had very strong views on what a puppy had to display to be ‘right’ for his purposes. Unsurprisingly, my herding specialists did not pass his test(s).
If I had known he was truly looking for a ‘trick dog’ and the temperament and conformation had to be exact, I would have discouraged him. Sometimes the true purposes / requirements do not come through in conversations.
Because working collies are specialists in herding, they are not bred for extroverted temperaments. In fact, that is generally a disadvantage.
Working collies follow motion and want to bring it to rest or steer it. Balls and frisbees can be objects of motion for working collies, but not always. Working collies tend to look for things moving along the ground, not in the air.
Some working collies understand agility courses. Some don’t. I am not a treat and clicker trainer, so that whole model of training is foreign to me. Training working collies focuses on a limited set of commands to work stock, with each situation being slightly different. Tricks and balls are not something working collie handlers know anything about.
Most working collies also make good pets, but not all. Some are simply too intense and focused on the work for which they are bred. Much of the reason I keep my pups for 16 weeks or more is to truly see which pups are dedicated working dogs, which are purely pets, and which can go either way. Across litters, the pup distribution is roughly:
- 25% specialist working dog
- 50% working dog / pet mix
- 25% pet only
I’m not sure where ‘trick dogs‘ fit into that distribution. I try to get people looking for agility and trick dogs to look at other breeding lines known for those specialities. Working collies are generally not a good fit.