Breeding for Healthy Border Collies
We were one of the first ISDS Border Collie breeders to
- eye test all litters of puppies at six weeks of age for CEA
- microchip all puppies bred by us.
- screen test all breeding stock for their CEA genetic status.
- hip score for Hip Dysplasia
- encourage feedback from our owners as to the health status of their "Astra" prefixed dogs as they mature and grow older
The jury is still out on the instances of Hip Dysplasia and Epilepsy in the ISDS Border Collie, we hear of these afflictions more and more, but as yet there has been no clear genetic link established. Here at Astra Sheepdog Centre, we do our best to protect your next Border Collie from these and all other afflictions. read our
FAQ Breeding for more information.
Breeding for Working Ability in the Border Collie
We have specialized in producing ISDS registered border collie puppies
with strong sheep working instincts and have placed a great deal
of emphasis on wonderful temperaments and biddability.
As a border collie breeder we have achieved recognition for
breeding border collie "sheepdogs" with power, agility, stamina and bidability.
the "Astra" lines of Border Collies have excelled not only in Sheepdog
Trials at National level. They have also gone to the top in Dog Agility and Fly ball, all the way to the top level of agility at Crufts and Olympia
proving their all round ability, with several now qualified for World competition..
Breeding for Temperament in the Border Collie
Historically, the Border Collie temperament was not selected for; in fact it is possible that the best dogs had sensitive and "One Man Dog" characters simply because they never met many persons on the farm. Because of this the occasional dog is still produced with a similar temeperament. However, we are specializing in producing ISDS registered border collie puppies
with wonderful temperaments and biddability. All females used for breeding have undergone extensive handling and testing to ensure that their basic temperament is excellent. As the female provides more than 60% influence on the puppies temperament we believe that a female must have a very sweet nature.
Breeding for Colour in the Border Collies
Without loosing the working ability that the ISDS registered working sheepdog is renowned for: we are re-introducing the rarer and very stunning colours back into the standard classic Black/White
and Tricolour Border Collie lines, these colours include:-
- Red and whites also called chocolate or brown,
- Lilac, a dilute form of red and white, chocolate or brown
- Slate, a dilute form of Black
- Red or Brown Merles, also called chocolate merles,
- Blue Merles
- the dilute (slate/lilac) version
of each merle,
- sable
- All of the above colours often come with Tan cheeks, eyebrows and legs (tricolour)
All coat lengths from smooth to rough coated are included.
Read more about colour in the Border Collie
Breeding for Conformation in the Border Collie
We believe that the breeding for conformation goes hand in hand with all of the above but especially so with the working ability. A dog which is bred to work must also be capable of working all day in any condition to which it has already been acclimatized.
We look for the following:-
- neither too tall or small
- neither too heavy or light
- i.e. a balanced dog with
- excellent easy flowing movement
- extreme agility i.e. can jump/climb/turn etc with ease.
- good average sized head for good brain space
- good feet preferable shaped like a cat.
- easy care coat
We also believe that if the breeder starts to get too critical about structure, angulation, colour pattern, ear shape or tail carriage, the dogs shape (conformation) and other important aspects, such as temperament and working ablitity, start to change.
For example: the structural and temperament differences between the modern show/breed border collie and the working ISDS border collie.
