ENGLISH SHEPHERDS
Welcome to Black Alder Ranch English Shepherds! The English Shepherd is a breed that was developed in the United States as an all-purpose, versatile working farm dog. From herding and protecting stock, dispatching vermin, to guarding the home and watching over children, the English Shepherd’s unique ability to work with all types of livestock and handle a variety of tasks have made this level-headed, easy going and practical dog a cherished member of the family and a versatile assistant on the farm.
The origin of domesticated canines is theorized to have started 20,000-40,000 years ago and wolves may have been the very first animal domesticated by man. Goats and then sheep followed about 11,000 years ago by people living in the Near East. About 9,000 years ago ancient people started directing the development of canines to do specific jobs that benefited humans, like pulling sleds and hunting. It was not long before people started breeding dogs for even more tasks, such as livestock protection and herding.
Dogs became an incredible asset and a true working partner to man, as well as a beloved companion. Over the decades, many breeds were developed for specific, unique tasks, such as flushing and retrieving game over land or water, evicting vermin from tunnels, guarding the owner's livestock and home, and herding and driving a variety of animals where they needed to go, or simply as a beloved companion. Today there are over 340 officially recognized breeds of dog.
After chasing the cows back into the pasture one too many times we decided that we needed some help! I began researching herding breeds but had several reservations about certain breeds. Having been involved in the dog fancy for over 30 years (I started raising, training and showing Dobermans in 1985 and Rottweilers in 1988 for working, herding and conformation, and have had Maremma Sheepdogs livestock guardian dogs since 2012), I knew that many working breeds today have become split into two almost distinct types,: working type and show type. Sometimes the two types of one breed are hardly recognizable as even being the same breed!
Typically the show type has not been bred for working ability and thus may or may not have any instinct to do the job it was historically developed for. On the flip-side, the working type has been selectively bred so strongly for instinct that they have a hard time shutting it off. So in one you have a beautiful specimen with no ability, and in the other a working machine that you have to keep kenneled when they are not on the job to prevent them from becoming destructive or neurotic.
I wanted a dog who I didn't have to keep busy all the time - one with an "off-switch", who would be just as happy to curl up and watch TV with the family as it would be to help bring the cows back into the pasture. I also didn't want to have to constantly worry about the dog attacking and killing our poultry do to high prey drive. Yet, I needed this dog to have enough herding instinct to gather the sheep for shearing.
A friend told me about English Shepherds - and from my first reading, I became hooked! The perfect all-around farm dog: biddable, intelligent, intuitive, protective, and discriminating, with the necessary instincts and versatility to be a great help on the ranch, and a level-headed, practical demeanor with a kind and devoted temperament that would be welcome as part of our household and family.
The origin of domesticated canines is theorized to have started 20,000-40,000 years ago and wolves may have been the very first animal domesticated by man. Goats and then sheep followed about 11,000 years ago by people living in the Near East. About 9,000 years ago ancient people started directing the development of canines to do specific jobs that benefited humans, like pulling sleds and hunting. It was not long before people started breeding dogs for even more tasks, such as livestock protection and herding.
Dogs became an incredible asset and a true working partner to man, as well as a beloved companion. Over the decades, many breeds were developed for specific, unique tasks, such as flushing and retrieving game over land or water, evicting vermin from tunnels, guarding the owner's livestock and home, and herding and driving a variety of animals where they needed to go, or simply as a beloved companion. Today there are over 340 officially recognized breeds of dog.
After chasing the cows back into the pasture one too many times we decided that we needed some help! I began researching herding breeds but had several reservations about certain breeds. Having been involved in the dog fancy for over 30 years (I started raising, training and showing Dobermans in 1985 and Rottweilers in 1988 for working, herding and conformation, and have had Maremma Sheepdogs livestock guardian dogs since 2012), I knew that many working breeds today have become split into two almost distinct types,: working type and show type. Sometimes the two types of one breed are hardly recognizable as even being the same breed!
Typically the show type has not been bred for working ability and thus may or may not have any instinct to do the job it was historically developed for. On the flip-side, the working type has been selectively bred so strongly for instinct that they have a hard time shutting it off. So in one you have a beautiful specimen with no ability, and in the other a working machine that you have to keep kenneled when they are not on the job to prevent them from becoming destructive or neurotic.
I wanted a dog who I didn't have to keep busy all the time - one with an "off-switch", who would be just as happy to curl up and watch TV with the family as it would be to help bring the cows back into the pasture. I also didn't want to have to constantly worry about the dog attacking and killing our poultry do to high prey drive. Yet, I needed this dog to have enough herding instinct to gather the sheep for shearing.
A friend told me about English Shepherds - and from my first reading, I became hooked! The perfect all-around farm dog: biddable, intelligent, intuitive, protective, and discriminating, with the necessary instincts and versatility to be a great help on the ranch, and a level-headed, practical demeanor with a kind and devoted temperament that would be welcome as part of our household and family.
We feed Purina Pro Plan dog food and Whole Prey Model Raw diet.
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