Preservation breeder of border collies with an emphasis on conformation and versatility
It's official, Carly received her Versatility title from the BCSA today!
V Checkitout Clouds in My Coffee at Mockingbird HT FDC RA DCAT CGCA CGCU TKI VHMA VHMP VSWB FITB
Per my (extensive) research, I believe Carly is the youngest blue merle to ever recieve this award!
We may not have Q'd in Open last month, but we did get some cute shots of Finn and his dumbbell from Point & Shoot Photography
We are thrilled to announce that we are beginning the rollout of the Team Mockingbird Training Club! This is an ever growing hub with tons of resources for every sport under the sun. Videos, books, guides, podcasts, and more are all centralized for easy learning.
In addition to external resources, videos of myself (Liz) training my dogs and walking you through my process step by step. With three dogs at three different stages of learning, I am able to show the beginning, middle, and late stages of my training!
As of now, this resource is only available to Mockingbird puppy owners, as a special thank you for joining our program💙
I'm open for VHMA/VHMP and Trick Dog evaluations again! $7 per evaluation, send me a message to get started. These can all be done virtually! Turnaround is usually under half an hour.
Local friends, I also have time to do CGCs this weekend. Send me a message to schedule a time, I prefer to meet at Bass Pro in Bossier City. CGCs are $15 for the first eval, $10 for each after.
Sunday Finn and I took a trip out to Promise Pastures Herding and Training facility for some herding fun! Finn did great, especially having not seen stock in some time.
Lovely photo by Chelsea Crawford
It's officially official! Finn and I will be competing in the BCSA Rally Invitational this year. We are super excited to participate!
"And into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul.”
- John Muir
Post trial hike with my best boy 💛
Finn and I are home and recovering from our trip to the Rally National Championship! We had a ton of fun, and can't wait to return next year. Congratulations to all the winners!
Over the weekend Finn and I took a trip to the JOTC trial for some Rally National Championship prep
We picked up 81 RACH points, 4 triple Qs, and 12 placements!
Now on to Ohio for Rally Nationals🧳
Finn and I closed out the holiday weekend with some kayaking on the lake♥️🤍💙
I'll be swinging by the Dallas show Saturday, July 6. If you're interested in meeting Finn and Carly while I'm there, please send me a pm!
Carly's rally career is taking off! She has officially earned her RA with scores in the 90s. Super duper proud of my merle girl!
AKC Pointed Checkitout Clouds In My Coffee at Mockingbird ✨️RA✨️ HT FDC DCAT CGCA CGCU TKI VHMA VHMP VSWB
Second Quarter Wrap Up!!!
💛Finn💛
-GCHB, with a breed win over a lovely lineup
-Owner Handled Group 3
-TKP, thank you Gina!
-RM2
-RAE
-First CDX leg with a class win
-Finishes the first half of the year with 200 RACH points and 11 Triple Qs
💜Carly💜
-DCAT
-RN
-First RA leg with a 96!
-CGCA
-CGCU, thank you Archer!
🌩Lucie🌩
-15 Grand points, all majors!
-15 Owner Handled points
-CGC, thank you again Archer
-TKN, thank you Gina
-Had her first big girl herding lessons and rocked it!
The crew has earned a total of 17 titles so far this year!!!
Summer's here and the gang is making a splash! Sprinkler days are their favorite 💦🐾
Optional, But Recommended
Border collies, unlike many breeds, have very minimal CHIC requirements but lots of tests marked Optional But Recommend. Why do we do the "extras"?
CHIC DNA Sample- Not a test, but a contribution to a collection of DNA stored by OFA. It is saved so that it can be used for future research. When submitted, a health history form is sent with the sample, allowing the DNA to be linked to disease, or lack thereof. In a breed with a major untestable health problem, epilepsy, storing DNA data for future research is extremely important!
OFA Elbows- The front end of the dog is just as important as the back end! A dog with arthritis in its elbows means high impact sports will quickly become painful. We strive to produce dogs that are sound well into their old age.
OFA Shoulders- OCD in the shoulder can be diagnosed at 12 months, and much like elbows, we perform this test because shoulders are just as important to a dog as it's hips.
OFA Cardiac- While not a major concern in border collies, a simple cardiac exam can diagnose congenital defects and murmurs. Neither of which we would want to produce.
Congenital Deafness (BAER)- Congenital deafness is a seemingly growing issue in border collies, and this is the only way to diagnose it. Many dogs can have hearing in only one ear, but it goes unnoticed. Tracking deafness is much easier to do when results are available in OFA.
DNA Test Submissions (CEA, NCL, TNS)- Recording the results of DNA tests in OFA provides a long lasting record of a dogs results. I could provide every puppy buyer with a copy of the Optimal Selection Panel, but uploading these results allows generations well beyond me to have the data accessible for their use well after I'm gone.
In summary, we do the extras not just for ourself, but for the future of the breed and future breeders! I want as much data accessible to a breeder 100 years from now, and by submitting all of this, I am doing my part!
2024 is the year of rally! Carly earned her first RA leg with a 96, super excited for the rest of her scores to come in
Despite being retired from conformation, Finn is still holding onto his ranking! He is still in the BCSA Owner Handled Top 20
Super proud of my versatile boy💛
We are thrilled to announce that ALL of our dogs are officially Canine Good Citizens and have also earned trick dog titles!
The AKC Family Dog program is near and dear to me, I liken it as a gateway for anyone who wants to do things with their dogs, and as excellent preparation for young dogs pursuing a career in show and/or sports!
Carly continues to just blow me away. We took a trip to Bass Pro this morning, and as we pulled in I realized that she's never actually been to a store before. Let alone see taxidermy and all the things Bass Pro has!
She handled it like a champ and didn't miss a beat. Taxidermy bears? No biggie. Bait smells? Who cares. She marched around like she's been to crowded stores her entire life!
And to top it off, she earned her CGCA and CGCU!
Not to be outdone, Lucie and Sansa earned their CGCs!
We had a Finn-tastic day, ending the weekend with our first Open Q! And not only did we Q, we won the class!
Thank you Judge Alvin Eng, for your compliments on Finn. Maybe his handler will get her stuff together and be half as good as he is one day.
I am forever grateful to have such a wonderful dog as my A dog.
Good boy Finn, now let's get those last two Qs!
Finn earned Triple Qs #10 and 11 yesterday, putting him over halfway to his RACH!
While we never set out to make a RACH our goal this year, it's looking like we may knock it out by the end of 2024.
Our summer calendar is updated! We are showing slightly less this summer, but check the calendar often, I'm liable to add more to our schedule.
Shows are a great place to meet us and see our dogs in action. If you'd like to stop by our set up, reach out to schedule a time!
We stay busy year round with shows and trials. If you want to find out what dogs I'll have available to meet at these events, check the description of the event or send me a message! I try to update the calendar monthly, but sometimes things fall through the cracks. I do not add conformation shows
What a weekend!
Finn and I headed down to Gonzales for Louisiana Capital City Obedience Club's trial with the hopes of more Triple Qs
The Dude did good, 12 Qs, 4 QQQs, a ton of RACH points and two High Triples!
As an added bonus, he earned his RAE title!
I am officially opening my waitlist for this fall/winter. This is a great opportunity for anyone who's been interested in a Finn puppy. Plans will be formally announced pending some final health testing, but if you are interested, please reach out soon. I only have a handful of spaces left on the list and they will likely fill quickly.
Marshall, TX was a huge success for Team Mockingbird!
🌩Lucie🌩 Select/BOBOH all three days for her first 3 grand majors! Kicking her specials career off with a lovely start, 12 points and all 3 majors
💜Carly💜 Earned her DCAT and ~125 fast cat points
💛Finn💛 Came out to play today only, and earned some lovely scores of 91, 98, and 100 in rally, and Triple Q #5!
Pictures are from previous shows, the weather is too icky today to take new ones
One title wasn't enough for Carly this weekend, she added a second with her DCAT! She sure loves bunny chasing🐇
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The Merle Girl does it again! Carly officially earns her RN with scores in the 90s 🎊
The scores are great, but the judges comments really make my day. "Great teamwork" "Joyful run!" "Adorable dog" I can't think of any way better to describe Carly than adorable and joyful!
Thank you judges Pamela Regan, Sharon Redmer, and Carolyn Wray for your compliments on my girl
On to Advanced!
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Lucie's first taste of #Fastcat
Carly is starting her training for Open. Sometimes dogs don't enjoy holding the dumbbell initially, not this one!
Finn keeps up the momentum in 2024 with some incredible agility runs this weekend. Two novice standard legs and a novice jumpers leg. A win in every class as well!
Carly got to try out Fast Cat for the first time today at a local fun run. Looks like she found a new sport to enjoy!
Another weekend of agility with Pawprints Agility Club! Finn got his first USDAA Gamblers Q, and won his class. No other Qs this weekend, but not bad for our green team.
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