"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.
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. 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. 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.
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.
In
January 2003 we bred Daffy to WTCH
Rosebrier Roby's Khan-Man, RTDcs and produced 5
pups. All 5 pups ahave 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, Flying Carpet's Equinox, OTDcs, STDs (Spot) and Flying Carpet's Caravan Bells
STDcsd (Belle) are trialing in the ASCA arenas.. Belle is showing nicely in the conformation arena as
well, with several Reserve Winner's Bitch to her credit under ASCA Breeder
judges (earning her first in her first outing at 7
months).
At
the age of 1 year 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, this
spring 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, who had for all
intents and purposes been retired by Larry's illness and death, came out and
finished 2nd or 3rd in all advanced stock with only one week of "tuning
up"! 
As
of April '05 postings, Khan has again qualified for the ASCA Stockdog finals on
cattle and is 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 
Marietta, GA
Wendy@flyingcarpetkennels.com