I have always thought that if Breeders and Owners had good relationships the benefits would be more than exponential – where 1+1+1 = 111 and not merely 3!
I would like to thank Albert Loubser and the Plaas Media team whose interest in our breed led me to this initiative.
SOME ADVANTAGES:
Owners need Breeders they can trust to breed dogs healthy in body and mind.
ACDs are becoming very popular and are back on our Farmer’s radar! There are not enough ethical breeders in SA for the rising demand.
Established breeders could mentor owners who are interested in breeding.
Breeders need owners they can trust to provide the best homes possible for their puppies.
Ethical breeders, who prioritise health tests, temperament and herding instinct are most likely to produce healthy, sound dogs. We sometimes need to place top dogs in homes we trust in exchange for breeding rights.
Collaboration between owners and breeders would not only be mutually beneficial but would also have a positive outcome for our dogs:
- Well bred dogs that are placed in appropriate homes are unlikely to need rehoming, this will enable secure, confident, biddable dogs and hopefully reduce the numbers of puppies born with hereditary diseases and poor temperaments.
CATTLE DOG CONNECTION SOUTHERN AFRICA
With this in mind I have set up a website – Cattle Dog Connection – as a forum for the above. It is my intention that this website is not mine but will operate as a club with members and a committee. I hope it will be a worthy gift to Australian Cattle Dogs in Southern Africa.
I have not set out things like a code of ethics for breeders, nor for owners or any other aspects, as I feel this requires consulting with members. We would need a committee to take this forward – Volunteers please!
I hope you will all like what I have started and join the website/club as soon as possible. Those who are owners and have no interest or desire to breed may join on request.
There are a handful of breeders that I personally will invite and from there each of us may invite other breeders that we each respect in their breeding practices.
At this stage there is no membership fee but we would have to consider raising funds to market our breed in the interests of keeping our dogs true to their wonderful reputations as companions, bodyguards, clowns and of course willing workers. The members will decide how this will be done.
I have never done anything like this before and hope there will be many ACD lovers who will put their hands up and help grow this forum into a force that will make us the “Go To” association for Cattle Dogs on our continent. I hope the idea will spread to other countries and a network of likeminded Cattle Dog lovers may become a world-wide concept.
Please copy the link below and visit the website. Via the “Contact Us” include the following:
- Name, contact details and address.
- Any skills or experience you have and are willing to make available.
- If like me, you have no specific skills or experience, we still need willing minds and support 😊:
