Viskya Aussies

08/26/2024

Risa, Molly, Bobbie, Porter

07/04/2024

ZsaZsa's trip to her new home

07/04/2024

CERF on Tuesday. Ready to go

07/04/2024

It is was a busy morning

05/05/2024

Puppy dreams

05/05/2024

3 weeks old
Country Thunder litter

05/05/2024

ASHGI Shutdown



As we are in the process of winding down ASHGI’s operations we will be closing our official e-mail addresses. If anyone has a question or wants help with a health question, contact CA Shap via this address: [email protected]



Thank you.



C.A. Sharp, Pres.

Australian Shepherd Health & Genetics Institute, Inc.

www.ashgi.org

04/23/2024

The Country Thunder litter. Tails done

04/19/2024

T***sie and babies. Five days old.

03/07/2024

Borrowed from another breeder

You have an Aussie.
You have a breed that's a little over 150 years old.
You have a breed that is the only herding stock dog originally bred in America, and is truly American, being a great big melting pot of different breeds to get what they wanted.
You have a breed that was bred to be able to herd one thousand sheep with a few buddies and only one human shepherd.
You have an Aussie.
You have a breed that was bred for sheep but able to think and adjust to herd ducks, geese, pig, chickens, and rabbits And each one herded differently .
You have a breed that guarded all those sheep, ducks, geese, and rabbits, so it made sure it kept it's eyes on you.
You have a breed that has guarding instincts as strong as it's herding instincts.
You have a breed that ranchers loved because if you needed something done, it could do it.
You have an Aussie.
You have a breed that was known as early as 1860 for it's intelligence, gentleness, loyalty and uncompromising courage and strength in the face of danger.
You have a breed that was bred to have no trouble continually moving with a comfortable lope all day. Every day.
You have a breed that doesn't care about the weather, and has worked everywhere from Antarctica to the hot dry plains of Texas.
You have an Aussie.
You have a breed that is known for incredible energy and intelligence and also being one of the most destructive dogs there is when those aren't taken care of.
You have a breed that you thought you knew what it took to raise one, and was still surprised. And still got another one.
You have a breed that has no problem running your home if they don't think you are doing it right.
You have a breed that made the list of ten most high maintenance dogs. And you weren't surprised.
You have a breed that you have actively talked people out of getting. And laugh when non aussie owners say they can take care of it for a little while.
You have an Aussie and wouldn't trade it for the world.

03/07/2024

Good article

This is an Australian Shepherd HERDING the sheep. See the nip? The push with her teeth/muzzle? She's HERDING, not biting! Some Aussies, especially young ones, may do this to their human - and be tossed out of the house for "biting my kid". The Aussie was herding your kid, slowing the kid down from running thru the house, turning the kid toward a different direction, etc...
So many Aussies end up in shelters because humans misunderstood the breed and, instead of teaching the dog appropriate herding behavior, their natural instinct, they toss the dog out of the house.
Make sure you understand what a bite is and isn't. 9 out of 10 times it was inappropriate herding and can be easily changed.

03/05/2024

So META logged me out this am in the middle of a comment. HUGE glitch in the system

07/17/2023

This is Miss Scarlet in her Gone with the Wind curtain dress

07/17/2023

Rogue loving life

06/20/2023

Alasdair rarely posts on Facebook but he and I were caught in a downpour this morning and while sheltering from the storm, we got on the topic of stopping dogs at the top of the outrun.
We’ve heard there’s a small group of judges penalizing dogs at trials that stop at the top.
It’s something Alasdair and I do often and we believe it’s vital, never mind shouldn’t be penalized.
I asked him to write, as a shepherd, his thoughts——

When gathering on the highland hills with steep rock faces, deep sided Burns (creeks) with waterfalls and few crossing places, you needed either a lot of people walking in a staggered line or fewer people if they had good dogs.
The rule at these gatherings was that the less control you had on your dog, the less distance you were allowed to send them; some were never off the leash until the sheep were all bunched.
They used to put me in the difficult places because I could stop my dogs at a distance and keep them stopped, while the sheep negotiated the narrow sheep paths (trods) where it was too dangerous for people to walk on and sometimes even for sheep, but a dog could follow carefully or be stopped strategically, to give the sheep plenty time to find their own way.
If hurried, a lead sheep could slip and fall, the rest might, thinking it was safe, follow the lead sheep down a precipice and that was a disaster.

When doing pre lambing gathering in the highlands, I used to send my dogs out a lot further than most, to where the sheep could see the dog, and then I’d lie my dog down at the end of its outrun as some twin bearing ewes were weaker and couldn’t stand being pressured by a dog, no matter how gently approached.
If a shepherd could stop their dog and give the sheep plenty of time, the ewes would follow and try and keep with the others, safely navigating their way.
Too much dog or a dog getting too close, and you would have the healthy sheep run and when the weaker ewes couldn’t keep up with them, they would turn and face the dog, lie down or otherwise be unable to make it all the way to the sheep fank (working pens), which would then require shepherds to come back out again another day or maybe two days, to find those weaker ewes and try to bring them home. That could take days and was very costly in man hours when there was a lot of work on; time and daylight were precious commodities.
The importance of a stop at the end of an outrun was magnified in these situations.
If you couldn’t stop your dog, the farmers often said not to send your dog but walk up and down the hill, shout and whistle and try to help move them along the face of the hill yourself.
The farther away you could stop your dog, the more effective and efficient you could be.
A stop on the hill was worth its weight in gold in many situations.

It’s always been difficult to get a dog that could push heavy groups of sheep to be obedient at half a mile and also work out of sight by itself if required; all three things are necessary and all three important and to be encouraged, not penalized but to be bred for and displayed for future breeders at trials.

Stronger dogs, the ones that are especially effective on bigger and heavier groups, should often be stopped to make them more subtle lifting and prove to breeders they can be obedient at a distance.
The versatility of the working border collie is one of their most revered traits, their ability to work on their own and also to instantly take commands at a distance both important.

Hearing that there are a small group of politicians/judges penalizing a handler that stops their dog at trials at the end of an outrun, goes against a sought after and important quality, one that generations of hill shepherds and breeders of olde have strived for and greatly valued.
I for one, am not arrogant enough to think that I know better.

01/06/2021

12/10/2020

TBT T***s

11/16/2020

Zelda at her last ASCA event

11/11/2020

Dog

11/11/2020

Tesla

11/11/2020

Upcoming litters from Dog and Tesla soon as nature cooperates.

11/11/2020

Miss Scarlett last San Diego trip