The Border Collies in my Life

Bess & Nell

Bess in a competition

Ross

Nell at 16 weeks

Nell with her prizes after a show

Nell (June 2005)

Ryme

Ryme working sheep

Becky at Caversham 2005

Jed (June 2005)

Kjær (December 2002)

Jed with Mist

My first Border Collie was Bess, a black and white, who I acquired in 1987 as a pup. She was unregistered but a pure bred and she was my introduction to this wonderful breed. Although farm bred, she was not from working lines and had no natural herding instinct, in time though with working together on the farm she learnt to help with the cattle. Later when I got some sheep she was not at all sure, as long as the sheep kept walking in front of her, she was fine, let one so much as look at her, she would abandon them and jump the fence and return to the house! She was a wonderful companion and went everywhere with me, we even went bird watching together. I became interested in obedience training and Bess and I went to classes and together we learnt what was required to participate in obedience competions. I was never so serious as to demand perfection, we did it for the fun and pleasure of it and it was a thrill when everything came together and we did well, but when everything fell apart and we did badly - well it had still been a fun day and there was always next time. We did make it into "C" class.  I lost Bess at the age of 12 years and it left a hole in my life.

Bess with some of her prizes & Ted

The next Border Collie pup in my life, came to me in 1987- Ross, also a black and white; and registered with the South African Sheepdog Association (S.A.S.D.A)  from good working and trialing lines. He was bred by Brenda Munitich of Greytown in Natal. Ross unfortunately developed severe OCD in one shoulder ( where the cartilage in the shoulder joint came loose) as a youngster and he had to be kept quiet, which for a young Border Collie is the most difficult thing in the world!  The vet advised that his shoulder should be operated on to correct the problem, but I was not at all keen on the idea and prefered to give him time and also I added the old herbal remedy for bone problems, Comfrey, to his food. After a few months he was fine and only if one felt the shoulder could you feel a slight muscle wastage, but the shoulder never troubled him again in his life. Ross was a very strong dog and in many respects to strong a dog for me to handle, with the result that I never got him trained to his full potential, which was sad in some ways as he had tremendous natural herding instinct. Obedience he found not one bit interesting and refused to co-operate at all, but it gave me and our class mates some amusement.  Ross was always first and foremost my dog  and the most wonderful friend. He died at 14 years on 24.12.2001 and I lost more than just a great dog.

Nell, another black and white, was my next Border Collie,  coming to me in 1991. As her breeder insisted on giving her a bath before we left with her and it was a cold miserably wet day, I just remember coming home with this shivering little pup and worrying she would catch pneumonia! Nell was happily accepted by Bess and Ross and proved an engaging pup and very bright. She is also S.A.S.D.A registered and her dam was a working sheepdog who regularly competed in local trials. Her sire had been in dog jumping and did competative attack work.  Nell proved to take after her sire and showed no interest at all in sheep - walk through a field of sheep and she would not so much as glance at them. But we went to obedience classes and she proved quick and keen to learn and as with Bess we competed in competion classes for the fun of it and she gave me and many other fellow competitors some amusement with her antics. Had I been more serious in my attitude to training I feel sure Nell would have not only got into "C" class but could possibly have become an Obedience champion, as it was we got to "B" class and eventually through circumstances had to retire from shows. Nell died in June 2006 at the age of 15½ years.

Bess, Ross & Nell

Ryme, a very black Collie, arrived a few months after Nell and was bred by Ragni Pretorius of Mooi River. Ryme was from excellent working lines and also S.A.S.D.A registered. As I lived next door to Ragni in those days I was able to visit Ryme from the day she was born, which was wonderful. Her sire, Sampi had some similar lines to Ross, and was an incredibly intelligent dog. He had a succesful trialing career and was indespinsible in helping on the farm with the sheep and cattle. His progeny have also been extremely succesful in trials and have taken Ragni up to the highest levels of the sport, so today she is one of the top sheepdog handlers in South Africa and is held in high regard by her fellow handlers!  Ryme also had little regard for obedience and she learnt to help me with my few sheep, being a very keen assistant. Sadly, Ryme developed epilipsy in her last couple of years which we are sure was as a result of some blow to the head - how or when can only be guessed at. It was controlled by medication for quite awhile. I lost her in 2004 at 13 years.

Becky followed in 1993,  an unregistered tri-colour. Becky arrived a few months before we went through a lot of moving around and so never got training in the early months as she should have. Also with no herding ability, but very bright and enjoyed the obedience training. Because of the moving around and lack of early training, retrieve was something she did not feel was a necessity in life, which rather threw competition work out the window. But we did go to classes which she thoroughly enjoyed. We did enter for Canine Good Citizen, which she passed with flying colours and for which she was awarded a certificate and rosette. Becky is now 14½ years, and still very spry.

In 1998 I got Jed, also from Ragni and also from excellent lines - her dam Flyn has been National Sheepdog Champion several times. Jed is a law unto herself and a loyal friend. We went to puppy classes and then moved up to obedience classes, but Jed really should have been working sheep. She did not like other dogs or people which made classes something of a trial to both of us and eventually we gave up. But with me she is very protective and allows no one to come in the grounds. She gets on well with my other collies. I regret that it was not possible when she was a youngster to have been able to get somewhere that she could have been trained on sheep, as my sheep had to be sold in 1993.

The second youngest member is Kjær, who I got at the end of 2002, naturally from Ragni. He is a son of a younger sister to Jed. As a pup he accompanied me to work at the various places I went to and learnt to meet other dogs and people. While he has been to some classes we haven't been able to get to many. He is a quick learner and I think could have done reasonably in obedience classes had I been able to put the time into training. But we have fun together. He sometimes goes visiting with me and enjoys meeting up with other canines. We went on an organized walk and he kept me going at a brisk pace for the whole walk, which I think he enjoyed, despite it being an incredibly hot day.

All my Border Collies get on well with the cats, if anything the cats keep them in their places. At the moment I have the 3 and they and the cats are what makes getting up in the morning worth while.

August 2007 - New

On the 9th August 2007, Mist came into my life. A tri colour, with an excellent pedigree. In 2007, Thea, her dam was 4th in the South African National Sheepdog Championships.