Spellcast Puppies
We haven't had a litter of puppies here at Spellcast for almost three years. I honestly didn't plan on breeding another litter, but the powers-that-be saw fit to bless us with a really, really nice bitch that we named Split and we decided to go ahead and breed her to Gel and then spay her before her next heat.
Here at Spellcast, we are running a true working farm and we need our dogs, both the Border Collies and the Livestock Guard Dogs to help us manage the livestock. In addition to a flock of hair sheep, we have a herd of dairy goats, a good-sized flock of poultry (chickens, ducks and geese) and a beef cow. We practice aggressive rotational grazing with the sheep and usually have to move stock around on a daily basis. During milking season, I use the Border Collies to bring the dairy goats in for milking and then move them back out to pasture. Split came to us at a time when we desperately needed a second dog that we could turn to if Gel was unavailable. While Gel is still a very young dog, the time is going to come when he may not be able to do the work we need him to do.
While Fern, the puppy I kept back from the Gel and Midge cross in 2007, showed a lot of talent and at times, outright brilliance in her stock work, it became apparent that she was not going to be a reliable worker, something that we need here on the farm. It was agility that Fern wanted to do so in late 2009, I sent Fern to live with my good friend Cheri where she will be pursuing what I am sure will be a successful agility career. I sent my entire field of agility equipment along with Fern and in doing that, closed the door to agility forever. It is farming that I want to do and I need dogs who are going to be able to work through sometimes difficult situations.
Split is a fearless, clever, working fool. She's showing a tremendous amount of talent, power and trainability. For example, she learned her flank commands in just a few lessons and has retained what she learned. She'll happily work sheep, goats, poultry and cattle which is important given the variety of livestock we keep here. Split has a reasonable amount of eye without being sticky. She's a stylish worker and a natural outrunner. She still has a lot of maturing to do, but I feel sure she's going to become a very valuable asset here at Spellcast. In addition to her talent on stock, Split has a lovely temperament. She's wonderful with people, children and other dogs.
Bred by a well-known local breeder, Split comes from very good working lines. Unfortunately, I have been unable to obtain her registration papers so the puppies she produces will be unregisterable and will be sold without breeding rights. I did this breeding to produce a puppy or two to keep here on the farm; not to sell puppies.
Split is bred to our main working dog, SC Angelus ("Gel"). You can read more about Gel by visiting his page.
If you are looking for a puppy from solid working parents, this is the litter for you. The puppies will likely not be suitable as pets. As I did with the 2007 litter, the puppies will receive early neurological stimulation, be exposed to many different types of surfaces, farm animals, people, travel, etc. By the time they leave here, they should be quite bomb-proof.
As I did with the 2007 litter, the puppies will be weaned on a raw food diet and will not be vaccinated. Several puppies are already spoken for so if you are interested in this litter, contact me to be put on the waiting list. Puppies are due April 23, 2010.