4J ACRES SCOTCH COLLIES

1. How did you become interested in these dogs?

In 2003 we needed to buy goat milk for one of our kids, and met the Neidrauers who ran a Grade A goat dairy. With each visit, we observed the dogs taking care of the Sojourner Farm.  Sojourner Jacob, Jenney, Lassie of Fair Meadow, and several other farm collies.  All the dogs worked well with the animals and were great with the children. When we decided to buy 2 goats from Sojourner Farm, we decided we needed one of these fantastic dogs.  I remember sharing with Sandra our desire in a pup, one easy to train and not strong willed. A pup that would help us on our small farm and do well with our 4 young boys.

 

  2. How long have you been keeping and breeding Scotch Collies.

Bought 4JAcres Gabby in June 2003 from Sandra Neidrauer.  Started looking to breed 4JAcres Gabby in 2004.  We have been breeding on and off for 14 years.

 

  3. As succinctly as possible what were/are your breeding goals.

The first goal was just to have another Gabby with a special intellect that had that “special touch”.  Pups with instinct intelligence and biddable spirit. Through the years it turned into a passion of bringing the 3 known Sojourner brothers together to form a strong Sojourner line going back to Ole Shep.

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My present goals are to breed 4JAcres Daisy and  4JAcres Lady Rose Sojourner to 4JAcres Sojourners Oscar for the next 3 years. I also am working on my website so that when I retire, there will be a history for future breeders to fall back on. Not just pedigree, put the stories of why these dogs are so special.  A legacy.

 

  4. What was your motivation in setting these breeding goals?

Another “Gabby” that had that special touch.  Most pups don’t have it.  I knew what I was looking for.  I had seen it in 4JAcres Gabby,  4JAcres Sandy, and 4JAcres Laddie.

 

  5. Has anyone inspired or encouraged you along the way?

Sandra Niedrauer has been my mentor along the way.  Helping me know how to breed and what to look for in a pup. She has also become a very dear friend. I could not have done it without her knowledge.

Andy Ward encouraged me to not give up breeding and helped me to dream of the dogs’ future.

I would have to say that what encouraged  me the most  were getting emails from all over the U.S., one from Japan, one from Uk, several from Canada and Alaska. Reading countless stories from people who either grew up with an old farm collie or had a family relative that had one. Our own kids saying that someday they wanted a pup, like Gabby. I believe that is when the passion took over.

    

  6.How have you worked to achieve your goals?

I asked Sandra, my mentor, tons of questions on breeding these dogs and what to look for.  She also taught me that a good breeder knows her dogs and pups and will help the puppy buyer get the dog they want.  She introduced me to the idea of placing pups when I bought Gabby from her. All these years she has been a wealth of information.

 

I used the book: The Art of Raising A Puppy by The Monks of New Skete. From this book I learned the different stages that pups go through and about observing their personality. How to use the Puppy Aptitude Test developed by Joachim and Wendy Volhard.

 

From the book by Guy Gregory Ormiston: New Guide to Breeding Old Fashioned Working dogs, came several thoughts that lead me in my breeding program.

“Visualize the type of working dog you need and always select brood stock to achieve your ideal” (p.4).

“A working dog’s characteristics cannot be measured like birth weight….you are dealing with mental characteristics that are also influenced by upbringing and training” (p.7).

“Buy a fine inbred bitch” (p.13). 

“You cannot develop a distinctive breed of dogs without family breeding (line breeding and or inbreeding)”(p.8). 

“Selection is the key”  (p.8). 

“You have to ‘use’ your potential brood stock, then you must ‘select’ your actual brood stock and of course, ‘experiment’ by breeding the mates you have selected” (p.17).

“Pups must be socialized in the company of humans or they are worthless as working dogs” (p. 16).

“Our whole breeding logic is built on the premise that character traits are inherited” (p.20).

“Start your family line with the best you can locate and attempt to keep what you’ve got”(p.28).

“The new breed was in the old concealed. The old is in the new revealed” (p.33).

 

4JAcres Heather was my inbreed bitch out of Hieland Thistle Diego (Sojourner litter 2004).  Sojourner Pepper was another inbreed bitch out of Sojourner Jacob. (Sojourner litter 2004) I crossed both dogs out to 4JAcres Clancy that had complete new bloodline that was proven.  His mother coming from a farm in New Zealand.

From these I kept a pup from each litter. 4JAcres Daisy and 4JAcres Sojourners Oscar.   I still needed Gabby’s side of the family (Sojourner litter 2003), so I bred 4JAcres Daisy to 4JAcres Laddie.  This brought the Diego/Gabby line together. I kept 4JAcres Lady Rose Sojourner.  This past year in 2017 I finally finished my goal of putting the three Sojourner brother lines together when I crossed 4JAcres Lady Rose  with 4JAcres Sojourners Oscar. By doing this I had a strong Sojourner line going back to Ole Shep. Pups whose personality are well rounded with instinct intelligence and a biddable spirit.

 

  7. What is the biggest obstacle you had to overcome in your breeding program?

As a breeder trying to bring back a breed almost extinct, it was almost impossible to find breeding dogs that I felt were worthy of being bred. And usually the ones I found were 6 years old and could not reproduce.  I knew what I liked in 4JAcres Gabby, that “special intelligence”, look and Character. You might say, “I’m picky”.   I found it easier to breed and pick from my own stock to get what I wanted. There was no OTSC Organization.