Volánt BCs

12/19/2023

Love this fantastic picture of Middy from the US Open! Middy is from our co-bred litter with Grand Oakes, and is Wren's littermate sister (Kite x Sweep 2021)

12/12/2023

A few clips of Wren working on sheep from a few weeks ago. She's competed in ProNovice once and hopefully will get to try again in the spring now that we have deeper lifts and are ironing out our driving. And if we actually get enough practice time maybe we will try our hand at Nursery before she ages out!

The next few weeks we have some agility trials - Wren's running dogwalk is definitely not ready but it's time to get and Kite out and start chipping away at US Open byes!

11/09/2023

Some photos of Wren working sheep at Magnolia Ridge Farm a few weeks ago.

11/09/2023

Gearing up to judge at the US Open but realized I never properly introduced Maeve! Officially MRF Mavis, bred by Alicia Lund of Magnolia Ridge Farm. Both her parents are Open sheepdogs, and she is related to both Star and Wren, as well as some other fabulous working and sport dogs. Maeve is 4 months old and so far looking fantastic, with great structure, drive, and temperament.

My goals for Maeve are similar to Wren's; to compete in agility and sheepdog trials! Timing wise I hope that she is ready to compete by the time Kite retires.

And maybe if everything goes perfectly she could have a litter or two.

10/02/2023

3 out of 4 pups from Kite x Sweep have now done final OFA x-rays!

Middy: Hips Good, Elbows/Shoulders Normal, Patellas Normal

Kestrel: Hips Good, Elbows Normal (shoulders not tested but he's had no issues)

Wren: Hips Good, Elbows/Shoulders Normal. I also had the vet check her patellas under sedation and they were normal but didn't send to OFA. No LTV.

**This litter was co-bred with Julie Oakes and is under her kennel name but I made the breeding decision and own Kite and Wren so obviously I'm very invested:)

08/10/2023

Another long update post!

In late July Kite and Wren ran at a UKI trial and both held up physically and did well. Kite will be staying at 16" but she was very excited to run again!

In herding: back in May Wren earned her HXAs title (AKC Advanced A course, sheep - we skipped the lower levels in AKC). This past weekend in August was our 2nd trial, and she earned two 1st places, both for 4 point majors, which means she has 8 out of 15 points towards her HC Herding Champion title. The title also requires two 1st places, one of which must be a major - Wren met that requirement right out of the gate in her first two tries!

Next week we head down to SC to run at a USBCHA arena trial, in ProNovice and Nursery.

Then at the beginning of September, a new face will be joining our crew! Puppy is related to both Wren (via Sweep) and Star (via Maid), from lines and dogs I really like. Also in September, Wren goes in for Final OFA x-rays. Her prelims were Good/Normal so just hoping everything stayed as it was.

Star has continued to look sound with regular exercise so in another month or two we may try some more herding with her.

07/10/2023

I have updated my website. Not much of a breeder with nothing planned for minimum 2-3 years but such is life!

I MAY consider letting Star go a lower impact home. If anyone knows a good home whose priority is obedience, rally, nosework, or hiking, feel free to put them in touch. For now she is fine here, we are doing what we can to increase her muscle and try to help the nerves heal. She is only 13 months old, around 19" and 28lbs, and otherwise healthy. If she stays we will still try some sheep herding in the fall.

Home page of Volant Border Collies, a breeder from Maryland, USA. Occasional breeder of border collies for sport.

07/04/2023

Well, it hasn't been a great month here.

A few weeks ago we discovered Strafe had hemangiosarcoma and chose to let him go. I was convinced he had years left and so it was a heartbreaking decision.

Then this week we discovered that Star has a luxating patella and some lingering nerve damage from the broken leg. Right now she is not symptomatic other than a slightly odd gait at a walk(I had noticed she had trouble pushing upwards for jumps at low speeds). She will be spayed because we can't prove her in any meaningful sports.

Wren had a mild iliopsoas injury in May but is back to full activity now. She is a sensitive sort in some ways, but she's also smart, well built, naturally talented at both sports I enjoy, and the sweetest dog I've ever owned.

05/20/2023

Finally got the entire 5 pack in one photo! (L to R, Strafe, Kite, Wren, Star, Ru)
Another check in post.
I don't have any concrete plans for breeding currently. First possibility would be late 2024/first half 2025.

-Strafe is over 12.5 and doing well for an old man.
-Kite is finally sound! off leash restrictions, and beginning to get back in shape. Her competition future is uncertain because I am paranoid about all her time off, injuries and illness, however she wants to do SOMETHING so we may come back in 16" and just not train a lot.
-Ru is still Ru. I ran her in our UKI trial a month ago and she took a tumble and it made me too worried about running her, with her flat feet and lack of proper muscle, so she is officially fully retired from sports. She likes to run in the fields and stalk cats.
-Wren is doing well, she is almost 22 months old. We went to our first AKC Herding trial and she earned her HXAs (A course Advanced Sheep) title in 3 tries with placements in each. Currently she seems to have a very mild iliopsoas strain so she's on rest for a couple weeks, but we are aiming for USBCHA ProNovice and some more UKI in the summer.
-Star is turning a year old in a few more days, she is currently in heat for the first time. She is started in agility, and keen but not really started on sheep yet due to maturity level. I think she is going to be a very fun little dog. She is our next possibility for breeding at this point, but likely not till she's around 2.5 to 3yrs at earliest, so in 1.5 to 2 years from now. Pending, of course, mature temperament, proving in various sports, and OFA testing.
(Update 7/2023 Star will be spayed)

We may be getting dog #6 later this year. Details later if anything is confirmed ;)

02/07/2023

Wren made her agility trial debut! She is a bit more tentative and careful than her mother was, and also a little bit nervous about the busy trial environment, but she did great and picked up a few Q's in Novice UKI and AKC. She even started squealing on the start line as I was leading out, making me laugh.

Wren has grown into the sweetest dog. She's physically talented at agility but starts things cautiously, adding speed with confidence. On sheep she is very talented and her only limit will probably be myself. I realize everyone says that, but I really think it's true;)

Wren is from our 2021 co-bred litter (with Grand Oakes) of G.O. Kite x Moel Sweep.
At this time I don't plan to breed her, but she is intact and plans may change.

01/04/2023

Check in post!
Wren is now 17 months and a beautiful young lady. She is on the larger side, somewhere around 20.75" and 40lbs. She's currently learning all her agility obstacles and herding foundation and doing great. She's a sweet and somewhat sensitive girl but still has loads of working drive.
Star is 7 months now and it's very difficult to tell her leg was ever broken. I've not put much training time into her but she has a very sweet and funny personality and just loves to run and play with toys.

I did get some bad news that another of Strafe's offspring has epilepsy. This means dogs from more than one litter have been diagnosed. I am therefore putting his line "on hold" while I wait and see if any others develop epilepsy. Wren may be considered for future breeding or she may not, depending on many future factors (Kite is already spayed).

Assuming Star grows up well she might be bred in 2024 or 2025. I do not have a stud in mind yet as Star is too young to make those decisions, as i expect her personality and structure to mature a lot. She is quite fine b***d and petite yet also all legs, she's definitely smaller than my others but may be somewhere around 18.5-19"

11/04/2022

Star is now 5 months old and growing like a w**d. She still seems slightly more petite than my others, I'm guessing she will finish around 19" and 32lbs or so. Her injured leg is correcting much more quickly than I expected - her hock was hyperextending and the muscles had atrophied a lot from 5 weeks of splinting, but it's already getting hard to tell it apart from the normal leg and I expect she will be totally fine to train herding and agility when she is older.

I THOUGHT Wren had a weird silent heat back in July but right now she is in heat for real after all so she has earned a few more months after that to let her hormones settle out and mature. She's making great strides in both herding and agility and I expect her to debut in agility (minus the dogwalk) over the winter and herding (USBCHA ProNovice) in the spring.

I am already toying around with possible breedings for 2024/2025 for both Star and Wren, but of course they both need to grow up, get eye and OFA tested first, and most importantly prove themselves in our chosen sports. But it's fun to idly consider future pairings!

10/02/2022

General update on the dogs:
-Strafe had his 12th birthday and is doing fairly well. He has a small collection of "old dog things" popping up slowly but his eyes and ears are still as sharp as he is mentally.
-Kite was laparoscopically spayed in August, so obviously no more litters in the works for her. She has finally started trialing in agility again, and we are aiming for EOTT and WTT for 2023.
-Ru is stable and happy (she is already spayed and not for breeding).
-Wren went through a fairly extended teen hormone-fear period combo and appears to finally be maturing out of it. We are taking our time with training her, I don't feel any rush anyway and she is a lanky girl at almost 21". She is currently 14 months and starting to learn her contacts and weaves as well as increasing her sheepdog training. I am giving her a few more months to mature before really beginning to consider breeding her in the future or not (if she doesn't totally outgrow some of her concerns she will be spayed)
-Star unfortunately fractured her tibia back in August while wrestling with another dog, a simple non-displaced spiral fracture that has now healed with 5 weeks of splinting. We do have several months of rehab in front of us to get the muscles and ligaments to match the good side, so her training has been pretty slow, but her personality is so sunny and bright despite her setbacks, she is a really nice puppy.

08/19/2022

Got some great news, Star is DNA Clear for the entire Optimal Selection Panel including EOD!

Of course at 12 weeks she's way too young to make any breeding decisions but so far I can say I like her structure, temperament, and personality, so I hope she enjoys herding and agility when she's older! She's a great puppy!

08/19/2022

08/01/2022

07/07/2022

After a lot of heavy thought, I have decided not to have another litter with Kite. She will spend the last part of 2022 qualifying for WTT, competing at EOTT and then hopefully spend 2023 competing at some big competitions including overseas. Her main focus will be agility, I may not continue in herding going forward in order to preserve her shoulder and wrist for the things most important to us.

Wren will debut in low level herding hopefully this fall, with an eye to running ProNovice and eventually Nursery in USBCHA in 2023. I plan to debut her in agility next winter (early 2023). She will not be considered for breeding until she is at least 3 years old, which would be second half of 2024, and I am not prepared to make solid plans that far in advance.

I am going to bring in a puppy from outside lines soon, that will hopefully be a competition dog in both agility in herding as well as perhaps also a breeding dog. This puppy is from 100% sheepdog lines and not related to most popular sport lines. More info soon, once puppy arrives, settles in, and we know that her temperament and structure are suitable for our household!

06/21/2022

I have been reconsidering possibly having a second litter with Kite. This would be end of 2023 or first half of 2024. I have a stud in mind (working bred dog) but won't be making any announcements until I've made a real, final decision to breed her. We hope to spend some time competing in agility and herding first.

After that our next possible litter might be from Wren, but she is still a teenager so obviously we are not making any real decisions yet. This cross would tentatively be 2024-25 depending on heat cycles. She hasn't even come in yet. I have a few studs in mind, but need to let her mature before knowing exactly what she needs to be matched to. My tentative thought is to perhaps take her back into a sport bred dog.

06/16/2022

Wren at her first agility workshop. It was a little over her head - she doesn't really know how to sequence yet. But we had fun and she learned to focus away from home!
https://vimeo.com/720299249

05/21/2022

Resurrected and updated the website!
https://volantbordercollies.com/home

05/12/2022

The last couple minutes of Wren's 3rd training session on sheep. Really excited about her!

04/28/2022

Just a note that I've updated the albums for my active dogs. (I don't have enough pictures of Seri on my PC to include her - she is my almost 16-yr old)

At this moment, I have no concrete future breeding plans. It's likely my next litter would be with Wren, no earlier than late 2024 (I prefer not to breed under 3 years old). If I do breed Kite for a second litter it would be end of 2023 or early 2024 (low odds but not entirely impossible). I also may be purchasing an outside puppy from unrelated working lines, male or female not decided yet.

04/24/2022

OFA eye exams today for Kite and Wren. Both have genetically healthy eyes:)

I'm not currently planning to breed Kite a 2nd time but I think it's important to check eyes a few times throughout their life to check for issues that aren't DNA testable.

03/28/2022

Wren's OFA Prelims came back! Good/Normal/Normal! Very pleased. Taken 2 days shy of 8 months.