"The Australian Shepherd is intelligent, primarily a working dog of strong herding and guardian instincts."  
ASCA breed standard

It was a dark and stormy night. Really! And 8 homes in our neighborhood, including ours, were broken into. At that point, in addition to installing an alarm system, we also decided to get some dogs...but not just any dog, mind you. We wanted dogs that would not only act as early warning systems but who would also be loving and intelligent companions. After a fairly extensive breed search we settled on the Australian Shepherd. We adopted our girls (spayed), Sheila and Brumby, in October 1994, and life hasn't been the same since.

~Our Foundation Dam~

Back then we thought our first Aussies were smart, but in the fall of 1998 Cheryl and Tony Padgett (Hardrock Aussies, HOF Kennel #62) offered us the opportunity to own a well-bred black-tri bitch (Daffy), who really opened our eyes to just how smart a working Aussie can be.

She is our foundation dam.  HOF WTCH Hardrock's Mudlucious Daffodil RTDs, CD, RS-O, JS-O, GS-N is a superb working Aussie.  In addition to her Working Trial Championship title (WTCH), she has her Ranch Trial Dog certification on sheep and has qualifying scores towards her Post Advanced titles on sheep and cattle.  Most importantly, she also excels at actual farm work.  From penning and sorting to bringing livestock in off the field to holding stock for trimming, worming, or training, she is truly a multipurpose farm dog.  Born 04/26/98, she has an OFA rating of Good, her eyes are Cerf'd clear yearly, and she has full dentition with scissor bite.  She has matured into a true working partner, both in the trial arena and on the farm.  Retired now from competition, she's 40 lbs of lean mean herding machine, and she is the sweetest, happiest dog you could ever hope to meet!  See her pedigree here.

~Versatility~

Daffy and I began trialing in the ASCA stockdog arena in the fall of '99.  She won the versatility award in her very first show! She qualified on started sheep under Dana MacKenzie, received a qualifying score in obedience, and placed in the conformation arena.  At the 2000 ASCA National Specialty Show in Gainesville, Ga., she competed in the stockdog trial, the agility trial, the obedience trial, and the versatility conformation examination, placing 18th out of the 60 dogs competing for Most Versatile Aussie.  She placed 2nd in MVA at the GAASC Jubilee '01.

~First Breeding~

In January 2003 we bred Daffy to HOF WTCH Rosebrier Roby's Khan-Man, RTDcs and produced 5 pups.  All 5 pups have strong working instinct and easy temperaments.  As of May '05 Flying Carpet's Sahara Sarah OTDs STDcd (Sarah), has her open sheep and duck titles, and started cattle.  The two pups that I kept from this litter, WTCH Flying Carpet's Equinox, (Spot) and WTCH Flying Carpet's Caravan Bells successfully trialed in the ASCA arenas. 

~Khan-Man~

At the age of 1 year HOF WTCH Rosebrier Roby's Khan-Man, RTDcs (dob 10/18/98), owned by Johna Roby, finished his ASCA Working Trial Championship in only 4 weekends of trialing.  He has been an ASCA National Stockdog Finalist in 2001, 2002, and 2005  This dog is absolutely amazing! 

Tragically, his owner/trainer/handler, Larry Roby, became very ill in 2002 and was not able to continue with Khan-Man's training.   Larry passed away in the fall of 2003, leaving Khan-Man without a handler/trainer.  Fortunately, in the spring of 2004, at the Bluegrass Australian Shepherd Club's "Run for the Roses" stockdog trial, Khan-Man made his comeback under the handling of Larry's good friend, David Fish.  This dog, which had for all intents and purposes been retired by Larry's illness and death, came out and finished 2nd and 3rd in all advanced stock with only one week of "tuning up"!  In April '05 Khan again qualified for the ASCA Stockdog finals on cattle and was in the running for sheep and ducks.

Khan-Man is also a very correct and sound Aussie.  In his very first showing in conformation he was Winner's Dog and BOS under ASCA Breeder Judge Sharon Rowe.  Look for more great stuff from the Khan-Man!  See his pedigree here

Wendy Eldredge   Canton, GA  Wendy@flyingcarpetkennels.com

 © 1999
Wendy Eldredge
The Hole In The Head Gang
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