Fourwinds in Sync with Me (Sinco): OA AXJ NF; RS-E JS-E GS-E; CL2-F CL3-R CL3-H CL3-S; NJC TG-N WV-N HP-N OAC OCC TN-O; PD2 PS2 PJ2 PK2 Born 6/17/06 She earned 34 agility titles from Nov. 1st 2008 to Nov. 1st 2009 in 5 different agility organizations! She also made an impressive showing at the ASCA nationals with her times and gamble points frequently in the top 3 dogs (16" and 20" combined).
I've decided to use a blog as an easy way to keep folks updated about the breeding of Sinco and her puppies. It is an easy way to upload videos and pictures.
The many faces of Sinco:
Sinco is vocal when running agility - she barks for joy! She is also very intense!
When I ended up with Sinco I was not planning on another puppy. I had an 9 month old Pyr Shep puppy, Feisty, and I had a 4 month old Aussie, Tay. Back in April 2006 I had lost Sonic my 6 year old Aussie unexpectedly. I heard about Tay's litter because she is a niece of Sonic's. So she was planned at the last minute after I lost Sonic. Then Myra approached about raising the Zuli/Buster litter out at my place and she could stay in the RV. I thought it would be really fun to watch an entire litter group up on a daily basis. Little did I know that one red merle girl was going to pick me in such a determined manner. She escaped out of the expen to follow me and she would scream when I would leave but not when others left. After a lot of soul searching and talking to animal communicators I decided it was meant to be to keep her.
One of the animal communicators I talked to about her said "she wants to be the matriarch." I laughed at that and wondered if that meant she wanted to be a dominant bitch or if she wanted to be a mother with puppies. I never had any intentions of breeding a dog. However all that changed when Sinco was 6 months old. She was so calm and settled on stock and she had such intensity and instinct that I was just blown away. I had already decided to wait until she was at least a year old before spaying her. As she matured it became clear to me that she was incredibly athletic and had a lot of speed. She was very intelligent too. She has a great on and off switch and a great work ethic. She is a great companion dog as well as a great performance dog. She is very versatile. She could be a service dog if her owner/trainer wanted her to be. Myra took Sinco to her service dog class once and was really impressed at how well she did considering that she has not really done much of that kind of training.
Once I decided that I wanted to breed her then Myra and I began looking for a stud dog for her. The arrangement for this first litter is for me to lease her to Myra for the term of the breeding and pregnancy so Myra will be the breeder of record. However I will be the one responsible for selling the puppies and finding appropriate homes for all of them. I learned a ton about Aussie pedigrees researching dogs with the help of Myra and Beth as well as others I've known in the Aussie world a long time. I had no idea how hard it would be.
I began the extensive testing I wanted to be sure was done on Sinco before breeding her. Her hips were rated OFA Excellent, her elbows are "Good", her eyes have been cleared by CERF annually, she is free of the MDR1 mutation and the HSF4 cataract mutation. Sinco has excellent structure while only being about 163/4" tall! Her bite is a bit even.
The decision was also made that the tails will not be docked. Many of you have requested this and expressed interest in this litter for that reason. I used to really love the Aussie butt and want a tailless one however that changed for a couple of reasons. My partner Pam is vehemently opposed to tail docking and she instituted the condition that if I were to breed Sinco I could not have the tails docked. Many believe the tail helps with balance in agility and many of you want to do agility with the pups. The other one is more personal, two of the Aussies I've had with docked tails had tails that were docked too close. Their butts were really sensitive and for the first year or so it was clear they had "phantom tail" syndrome. I really think it affected them a lot more than we realize. Sinco's tail is a bit longer and she doesn't seem as bothered by it as the dogs who have much shorter docked tails. In addition for me personally, if I ever had a dog good enough to be considered for an agility world team it would need to have its tail because most European countries won't even allow dogs with docked tails to compete in the world agility championships when they are hosting them. One of my favorite Pyr Sheps was not allowed to compete on the World Team one year because she has a docked tail - she was able to go the next year when the host country allowed them in.
Most of you have expressed some interest in this breeding. At this time I am not taking deposits because I feel that will only complicate things. Since she is a maiden bitch I have no idea how things will go. I also feel strongly that the most important thing is that the puppies are in the best home that will do well with their particular temperament. I don't have a "list" with a number order or anything like that. Myra obviously has first pick female since this breeding is of her choosing. Pam may or may not want first pick male. After that it will depend on who is seriously interested, what the puppies are like, how many there are and what are the best matches we can make. Choosing a puppy on temperament and structure are the most important things with color being less important in my mind.
Myra and I will be doing a lot of work with these puppies to socialize them and to do early neurological stimulation. I will encourage anyone interested to visit the puppies often. I suspect the puppies will be very used to car travel because I will be taking them with me to the training center as soon as possible and keeping them in a room away from most of the other dogs but available to people. I will strive to work to balance a healthy environment with a well socialized and stimulating environment.
Those of you who I don't know that well who are interested in a puppy should tell me as much about yourself as you can and try to come and see the puppies as much as you can. At this time I have serious reservations about shipping a puppy in cargo to its new home. I have received puppies in this manner - different breeds - and they all turned out to be incredibly sound sensitive and one had a hard time with crate training following the experience. I'd prefer if a puppy had to be flown that it is able to go in the cabin with someone.
Please email me privately at agilk9s@frontiernet.net if you have any questions about this planned breeding.
Annelise and Sinco
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