Our Herding Dogs:  Windy and Izzy and the Gang

For almost 40 years, we have had at least one working, herding dog.  They have helped us with either sheep or cattle. We started our ranch with a border collie and a small flock of sheep. As we grew our operation, we added more border collies to our family and went to cattle instead of sheep.

Windy, the mostly black border collie, certainly earned her keep over the years.  She was the best help working the feeders and cow/calf herd. She often took the place of at least 3 people.  She retired as soon as we got Izzy, after showing her the ropes of course.  We lost our best friend Windy, in the spring of 2020, at the ripe old age of 16.

Izzy is never without ambition when the word cow or calf comes up. And she is the most eager to please we have ever had.  She is also a wonderful puppy wrangler, never letting the puppies at play, in the yard, get too far out of sight.  And she will bring them gently back to you every time.  

Several years ago, a light bulb moment hit us, and we decided to add the Pembroke Welsh Corgi to our ranch life. We are drawn to the herding dog breeds for their drive, and intelligence. Corgis have been used for herding for many years.  Of course, people from all walks of life can enjoy their terrific personalities and traits.  Not many corgis these days are going into herding environments. Although they excel in the show ring with their good looks and agility, and in the herding competition. Most corgis never get the opportunity to actually herd animals. But many of them still have the instinct to try and herd their people or maybe the cats! Stoney has taken the most initiative when it comes to herding cattle. When we let him, he is very enthusiastic about helping with calves.

With that long range view that we maintain, and still raising cattle after all of these years, we added a new breed to the family, welcome the Miniature American Shepherd.  We started with just one girl, Birdy. We loved her so much, we added Scarlet, then Phoebe. Forest has proven to have the drive we like to see in our dogs since we brought him home at 8 weeks. He immediately took out after the heifers and had to be rescued from a herd of curious heifers! Scarlet and Forest have definitely inherited herding abilities.

Not all of our puppies will want to herd. But all of our puppies will certainly be great companions. Temperament is one trait that we always try to breed for. As we have downsized our operation in the last few years, we don’t have the stock to work with every puppy, or the energy. But, given a chance, the adults sure aim to please.

Our goal with Corgi and MAS puppies is to raise them with lots of love and attention so that they go to their new homes ready to reciprocate the love they are given. You will get a sociable, ready-to-please puppy from our farm to your arms.