My name is Jackie Pickering, and I've been around horses and dogs my whole life. I've spent my professional life working with Thoroughbred racehorses, and competition quality Quarter Horses remain my hobby and my abiding passion. My father was a well-known and respected field hunting dog trainer and importer in the early 60's. I trained with him from early childhood and found a natural bond with dogs.
In 1977 my first Blue Heeler arrived on a horse trailer from the USA. At that time in Canada the Australian Cattle Dog was nearly unheard of and it was almost impossible to get a registered ACD. I thought Blue was a pretty peculiar looking dog and none too smart. With no one to help me with him, it took me a while to figure out how he was looking at the world. I soon came to realise that he was the smartest dog I'd ever known. Blue became my constant companion over the years of working with my horses and raising my children. His loyalty, intelligence, energy and enthusiasm convinced me this breed was something very special.
Nowadays my husband, Warren Craig, and I breed Australian Cattle Dogs here at Bluespirit Kennel. We're a Code of Ethics breeder, meaning that all our breeding dogs have been tested for hereditary faults. They must havecertificates from the organisations tracking these disorders: OFA & OVC for hip dysplasia, CERF for eye disorders like PRA, BAER for deafness. After passing all these tests, our dogs then must pass a temperament test and attain its TT. Additionally, all our dogs are microchipped and so are our puppies.
Nowadays my husband, Warren Craig, and I breed Australian Cattle Dogs here at Bluespirit Kennel. We're a Code of Ethics breeder, meaning that all our breeding dogs have been tested for hereditary faults. They must havecertificates from the organisations tracking these disorders: OFA & OVC for hip dysplasia, CERF for eye disorders like PRA, BAER for deafness. After passing all these tests, our dogs then must pass a temperament test and attain its TT. Additionally, all our dogs are microchipped and so are our puppies.
My first registered ACD, "Chief", was perfect and he imparted his class and style to every one of his puppies. Chief was thoroughly health tested, and finding him a "wife" of equal quality became a challenge. I researched,
bought and flew in North American dogs with champion pedigrees, only to find myself with bitches displaying inherited genetic faults, epilepsy, PRA, deafness and temperamental unsoundnesses. I spayed them all and began again.
bought and flew in North American dogs with champion pedigrees, only to find myself with bitches displaying inherited genetic faults, epilepsy, PRA, deafness and temperamental unsoundnesses. I spayed them all and began again.
Maintaining breed quality is a serious issue at Bluespirit. As well as immediate things like heritable faults, we're concerned about the effect of dog shows on working breeds. In Canada, for instance, limited entries of ACDs in the show ring enable breeders to "flood" the show circuit with their line of type. Long term, a disproportionate repetition of type can potentially influence judges' determinations of overall ACD type, eventually affecting the breed standard and resulting in dogs unable to do the work for which they were originally bred. While a confirmation show ring can validate a dog's physical anatomy, and while "Chief" finished his Canadian
Championship in the show ring and other Bluespirit dogs do and will always compete well in dog shows, we'd much rather see herding titles on herding dogs. To that end the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) now holds trials once or twice a year.
Adam and Sharon Grant of Ol'Man Kennels said, "I know that everyone thinks that a pedigree is the thing to go by when looking at breeding dogs, and theoretically that is correct, but [for] dogs outstanding in their working ability, outstanding in their temperaments and with the conformation needed to perform the job they were bred for...pedigrees truly [are] secondary."
Here at Bluespirit Kennel, we couldn't agree more.