Spellcast Angelus, CGC, NA, SG, ATDsd, STDc (a/k/a "Gel")
What more can I say? Gel is the most magnificent creature that ever walked this earth. He is my soul mate, my best friend, the farm dog I can count on to search tirelessly across 100 acres of rough terrain looking for sheep and goats and to bring them back home, to find for my lost keys, to pick up things I've dropped (he's in training to be my service dog when I get old), to make me laugh and sometimes scream in frustration. Gel is an absolutely incredible dog, a true gift.Gel is biddable and honest and he knows more about stock than I ever will: he's a Border Collie. Because he doesn't hold a grudge and can be retrained, Gel has been a wonderful introduction to the herding world. I would not have wanted to start with a dog like Midge as my first herding dog. She's much more intense on stock than Gel and a lot quicker. I initially bought Gel to train for agility and possibly obedience, and we did both, but the siren call of herding caught us and the agility and obedience got put aside until recently to work sheep.
When we stopped do agility in February of 2007 (and I stupidly sold all of my agility equipment), Gel was almost trained through the open level of agility. He is a clean jumper with plenty of ground speed. Now that we have a litter of puppies on the ground, I recently took Gel back to agility and he hasn't forgotten a thing! If anything, he's faster and more driven than he was when we stopped in February. Now I have to buy and construct new equipment! I plan on bringing up at least one of the puppies to do more agility than herding. My market for puppies is not going to be the USBCHA herding people; it is going to be the sports people, so Gel (and his offspring) need to prove themselves in other venues. I have no doubt that they will.
More about Gel. He is almost entirely black in color, with a light, frilly coat. He is tall, long and lanky; he doesn't have an ounce of fat on him, he's a lean-mean fighting machine. In agility competition, he'll jump 26". He can easily clear three feet (the height of my ElectroNet fencing) from a standstill. He has a broad head with beautiful eyes. You can see his soul through his eyes. He does not have prick ears. While he does not have the typical Border Collie look, Gel is a very, very handsome dog.
Gel has plenty of toy drive: he is a retrieving maniac. One day I may take up tracking or search and rescue training as Gel has tireless "find" drive. When he was younger (and I thought in order to have a Border Collie you had to keep him busy 24/7), we played a type of search and rescue game in the house. I'd toss a toy to him a few times and then I'd hide it. I started hiding the toy in easy places; then the hiding places became progressively harder. He always found the toy. Regarding keeping a Border Collie busy 24/7, that is a fallacy. Yes, they need daily "work" both physical and mental, but they do not need to be entertained all the time. In our earlier years, I lived with a monster named Gel who insisted that I play with him all the time, or at least whenever he wanted. I created this monster and it took a long time to correct that mistake. I spend a lot of time correcting my mistakes (have I mentioned how forgiving Gel is?). Give a Border Collie an inch and they will take at least ten miles.
Temperament? I couldn't ask for a more social temperament in a dog. Gel is the ultimate party boy. He loves everyone and can be quite obnoxious in greeting people. He's getting better as he matures, but suffice to say, he is very, very social. Gel has no noise sensitivities. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him afraid of anything. He can give or take other dogs, but has never been outright aggressive to another dog. The worst he'll do to another dog is show his teeth. Gel loves showing off his pearly white teeth.
Can you tell I love this dog? If he passes on half of his good qualities, his puppies are going to be tremendous. I will post a photo album of Gel pictures on pBase in the next couple of days so bookmark the page. You can see some older pictures of Gel here.
For the nitty-gritty on Gel, his pedigree is here. Gel is a grandson of Aled Owen's Supreme International trial winner ##Bob ISDS 224454. Other notable dogs in Gel's pedigree include Sydney Price's ##Davy ISDS 131049, Aled Owen's #Ben ISDS 129820, Bwlch Hemp ISDS 201604 and D.M.I. Land & Cattle's Stetson ABC 59050 (Stetson was originally trained by Loren Holmes of Red Bluff, CA. Stetson was purchased by Russell McCord who handled him at both Cattledog and Sheepdog trials. Stetson made the finals two years in a row at the Meeker Sheepdog Classic. He received checks in over 75 percent of all trials entered, both Cattledog and Sheepdog trials. When Stetson was sold by Russell McCord to DMI, he became the first Border Collie to sell for more than $10,000.00). Gel's hips have been rated OFA Good and he is Collie Eye Anomaly/Choroidal Hypoplasia (CEA/CH) DNA Normal which means he cannot produce CEA/CH-affected puppies.