We finally got our dog

[lwheelr]

My husband picked up our dog on his way home from Texas several days ago. We paid a fair amount for her, she is a rare old time breed, and we need her for foundation breeding stock for our farm.

Turns out, she came in absolutely infested with ticks, fleas, etc. She has more than one kind of tick on her, and one of the types is deer ticks, which are aggressive and will get off onto people much more than most other tick types. She was so infested that she was shedding them all over the place.

We're fighting them, but when a dog is so badly infested that they have ALL stages of ticks on them (out of season - which means they've been breeding them year-round in their house and on their dogs), it is very difficult to get rid of them.

This just isn't what we needed right now.

I've researched natural solutions for fleas and ticks, and am now absolutely determined to get soapwort seed as soon as I can!

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I've never dealt with an infestation THAT serious, and it sounds like you know what you're doing so I'll just say ... Sorry to hear you're having to deal with that.

Congrats on finally getting the dog though!!! What breed is she? You weren't asking for Catahoula curs were you? Sorry, my memory is short at times!

I hope we get to see pics when you get the situation under control. I'm sure she'll be sleek and sassy in no time.

 

[TanksHill]

So what kind of do is she?

Uggg we battled ticks last summer. Not the usual for us. I think we brought them back from Mo.

Soapwort seed?? Can you explain?



g

 

[lwheelr]

Soapwort is a good soap for bathing a dog to keep fleas and ticks at bay.

She's an old breed of Scotch Collie, which is now being called Old Time Farm Shepherd. They are a very good all-purpose farm dog.

She's a beautiful dog - and smart. Learning very well. Just have to get those bugs off of her and out of the house!

 

[SKR8PN]

Don't forget the Diatomaceous Earth. Not sure about ticks, bit it works very well on fleas. ALL STAGES!

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Wow, congratulations again! I had to do a bit of reading about the breed -- basically REAL old collies, aren't they? That is very exciting! It seems there are so few available though. I certainly wish you the best.

I do adore collies but they have been far too changed by the dog show fancy. I have read old writings about their temperaments and in general find the collies I have known to be sadly lacking. Growing up, they were my favorite breed along with German Shepherds, and if I had found dogs like I read about in the old writings, I suspect I'd be a many-times over collie owner instead of German Shepherd owner. Not that GSDs haven't been hit hard by the show people either ... The last conformation show I attended I saw adult (or very nearly) dogs with taped ears, and one that was WAY too nervous and offered to bite it's handler. I'm sorry, but I was disgusted, and if those are the future "Champions" in the pedigree ... Well, no thanks. I think GSDs have survived slightly better due to the much larger numbers of working, Schutzhund, etc. and the devotion to the breed in other countries as well.

Sorry, now it's my turn to climb off my soapbox. I just hate seeing good dogs bred into frou-frou.

Congrats on your girl, and all my best wishes for your future breeding program.

 

[lwheelr]

That is precisely why we selected this breed of dog. It not only NEEDS rescuing, but the dogs are still useful and smart. We want to preserve that.

In fact, that is central to our business model - preserving utility breeds so that the usefulness stays in them, and so that they don't just go all for show where they end up losing self-sufficiency and workability.

We think farm animals should be self-sufficient too.

Easy birthing so a vet is rarely needed.
Disease resistant and cold or heat hardy.
Able to forage well.
Able to do well on marginal or poor pasture if possible, or on scrap feed.
Prolific for their breed, so they multiply well.
Food thrifty for their purpose.
Productive - milk, eggs, meat, work, whatever they are supposed to produce.
Easy to handle, easy to manage, good temperaments, willing workers, etc.

This dog fits right into our business model. She'll be able to be trained to guard, herd, hunt, etc. She's already learning at a far faster rate than the previous dog we owned (a German Shepherd/Rottweiler cross). If you teach her something one day, she remembers it the next day. As long as the concept is a clear concept and not confusing, she can learn it in just 2-3 repetitions. She's 13 weeks old.

And these ARE the old time Collies. This is what Lassie really was.

 

[Denim Deb]

I don't like the newer collies either. They all seem to have a narrower head than collies I remember from when I was younger.

 

[lwheelr]

Yup - wider head, more room for brains...

The narrower head and long nose, and the lanky body came from Queen Victoria, who crossed a real collie with a Russian dog, I forget which one. That then became all the rage, and caught on for the modern collie look.

So the old farm collies, Scotch Collies, English Collies, etc, are the real thing. The big collies are actually just a crossbreed strain that didn't really improve the breed.

I suppose that is a bit reverse-elitist of me.

 

[lwheelr]

Oh... and the modern Scotch Collies and English Collies have also been bred more for show now than for utility - hence the need to rescue the original bloodlines that they came from...