Breeding full sister and brother? (Border Collies) - Page 1

So... I was just browsing the web looking at BC breeders, and looking at this breeding they have bred a full sister to brother?  What???  I'm not a breeder, but isn't this wrong?

It says Trey X Beckham breeding, and in Trey's page under "our dogs" it says "Trey is a full sister to Beckham"

http://www.imaginebordercollies.com

On the topic, anyone know any BC breeders with top quality dogs, all health clearances, working ability and good conformation?  Thanks


(EDIT: my mistake, it was Beckett, not Beckham, that is the sibling.  Sorry!  Looks like a good reputable kennel.
But I'm still interested to know if sibling breedings are unheard of in the dog world, thanks)

If you actually read the website you would notice that both dogs are female.

OMG, my mistake!!  It said the female is a full sister to "Beckett", but the stud dog is "Beckham".  Very similar names.  i like Beckham the male.

So, with that straightened out, what do you think of those BC's, they seem good to me but i'm no BC expert.  Opinions?

The book "The Intelligence of Dogs" rates the BC as #1. HOWEVER, they are extremely high energy, and, even more than the GSD, NEED A JOB!  I know many breeders who use their BCs for herding will absolutely NOT sell their pups to a city home. They are a disaster in your average household. Let me see if I can dig out that picture of a couch that was stripped bare by a friend's BC pup, which her husband and daughter adopted without her permission...    It's often said they don't have an 'off' switch, and having know a few BCs and BC mixes that belonged to my farm relatives, I tend to agree with that. One of my uncles had to spell the word 'cow' or their BC would be off to the pasture to round them up whether it was milking time or not!

Great dogs, but as Cesar so often stresses, THINK of what the dog was bred for!  Running the hills all day, herding sheep! You want to introduce that set of genes to a non-farm home?

And to return to the original topic, a few years ago, there was a discussion of the COI on another forum. It showed data for the BCs close cousin, the rough collie. Most collies are so inbred that the COI is the same as if they were brother and sister! I'm sure a lot of really close matings must have been done to get COIs that high (around 50%).

As a result, very few collies are free of certain inherited problems, such as collie eye.

Thank GOD the GSD breeders have better sense! 

Well, most of them do....

I love Border Collies. My sister's 8 year old BC is half showlines and half working lines. She is my sister's hearing dog. She has a good bit of energy, but not over the top. She is a house dog and my sister plays frisbee with her everyday and takes her on a 35 minute walk. My son and his wife just adopted a 1-2 year old BC and he is energetic, but again, not over the top. I absolutely love these two dogs- so smart, so much fun, so athletic and very loving and affectionate.  They can be somewhat obsessive at times, but overall they are awesome dogs. They are both very healthy too. Are these 2 BCs the norm or did they luck out? I really don't know, but 2 out of 2 isn't bad! Good luck in your search.

i had a border collie / shep mix and boy was he an excellent dog, he had focus like i have never seen before and did he do great bite work.

If your looking for a breeder i can recommend one to you. I used to train with this guy and he knows his stuff.  He is in WA He used to breed and show Austrailian cattle dogs then got into bc. I agree with Sunsilver, they are awesome dogs  but I dont think they particularily make good pets as someones urban dog without an outlet for their energy. People get them then realize just how much work they are. And I also agree that some are ocd. When raised and trained on stock, they may love their people but they love the stock more and Ive seen some so obsessed that they had to be kenneled or they would run stock into the ground.
If someone is looking for a stockdog that is easy to train and can think on its feet, that would be the dog I would get. They are damn hard to beat on the stockdog circuit.

The BC is not for me, it's research for a friend.  I am thinking a working (ob, agility, maybe some herding) conformation dog.  Don't want OCD, want tough mentally, driven to work, not over the top.

If you don't want "over the top" get a show-line - they are "prettier" anyway with thicker coat, more universal markings/colors, larger bone, bigger head - overall more pleasing to the eye, and better suited to a "normal active home" though no border collie is a couch potato pet dog.  They MUST have training, a lot of exercise, and a job of some sort to do. 

I have a working-bred BC and love her - but I also lead a very active lifestyle with my dogs and she's working (sheep herding).

molly