We specialize in breeding and training the WORKING LINES of registered Australian Shepherds and Border Collies. We also offer private lessons for dog and handler on the weekends. Whether you want a chore dog for the ranch, a competitive trial dog or just want to have fun with the sport of stockdog herding, e-mail us for an evaluation! Let us discover the natural herding abilities in your dog. We will teach you to understand the why's and how-to's of stockdog work. We will teach you about your dog's biddability and pressures on the dog and stock. We will also teach you to understand "balance" so you can always have your dog in the proper position to move stock in the desired direction. Neal and Judy are both competitive trialers and will give you valuable trialing tips to use while in the arena.
We have been breeding and training registered Australian Shepherds since the 1990's. We like to train and trial our dogs before breeding them to make sure they have all the instinct, confidence on stock and inner drive to work that we look for in our dogs. We raise full Boer goats and Dorper sheep for training dogs. We breed several litters a year and keep several pups. We then breed the pup with the most amount of natural herding ability.
Our goal is to produce a structurally sound, confident dog that has the natural ability to work stock with a minimum amount of training. Natural ability includes keeping his stock gathered and moving in a controlled manner, having a strong desire to work, and having the confidence and quite power to move stock without unnecessary force. Although the majority of Australian Shepherds today are breed for conformation, hobby sports or pets, we have chosen to breed for the natural working ability, i.e., natural gather, balance, ability to read and rate stock and to think on their own.
Neal has trained and trialed Australian Shepherds since 1988 and is an approved ASCA stockdog judge. Our Australian Shepherd, WTCH Tacoma Sandman, PATDcs, RTDcs, RDX placed in the top ten at the ASCA finals competition from1992 until he retired in 1997. Sandman was also the first dog to ever receive the post-advanced titles on sheep and cattle with ASCA and has multiple High in Trial Awards. Neal is now trialing WTCH Beret's Lucky Petey who earned his ASCA Working Trial Championship (WTCH) in just four trials. He placed second in Advanced sheep at the Waco, TX ASCA National Specialty in 2010. He qualified for the ASCA 2011 finals in sheep, cattle and ducks. He qualified in the top 15 dogs in cattle, sheep and ducks and was awarded the title of Reserve Champion Sheepdog in the 2012 ASCA National Finals held in Bakersfield, CA. He placed fourth in the 2013 ASCA National Finals in Colorado.
Judy has trained, trialed and earned Working Trial Championships (WTCH) on Australian Shepherds, Australian Kelpies and Border Collies. Judy has weekly classes for most herding breeds at Beret Farms for both handler and dog and also does occasional boarding and training for ranches. Anyone interested in stockdog training is encouraged to e-mail us at [email protected] or call 713-542-4097.
