We are very passionate about our Border collies. We strive to produce well-rounded dogs that are biddable, adaptable, stable and sound. We only plan a litter when we intend to keep a puppy for ourselves. Maintaining the working Border collie is extremely important to us. Our dogs work sheep, goats, and ducks. While Agility is our main sport, we aim to attend herding clinics and compete in herding trials a few times a year to further challenge our dogs (and ourselves). In Agility our dogs are extremely successful, graceful jumpers, fluid movers, with finesse and thoughtfulness on course. Videos of our dogs working and running Agility (and other fun things) are available upon request. They love what they do, whatever the activity may be. But first and foremost, our dogs live in our house with us and are wonderful companions to live with. We take pride in our dogs and we expect our puppies to be just as great, if not better and to excel in whatever activity they participate in.
Every one of the dogs we breed from has their hips and elbows certified by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and been tested for or are Normal by parentage for all available genetic disorders found in the Border collie including: Collie Eye Anamoly (CEA) , Degenerative Myopathy (DM), Intestinal Cobalamin Malabsorption (IGS), Multi Drug Resistance 1 (MDR1), Neuronal Ceroid Lipfuscinosis (NCL), Sensory Neuropathy (SN), Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome (TNS), Early Adult Onset Deafness (EAOD), Dental Hypomineralization (DH), and Goniodysgenesis/ Glaucoma (GDD). No puppy we produce will be affected by any of the above mentioned genetic disorders. We will be radiographing shoulders as well for every dog we breed from in the future.
Puppies will be BAER and CAER tested before going to their new homes. Puppies will be vaccinated for Distemper/Parvo close to 8 weeks of age before leaving the ranch. Puppies are weaned to raw starting around 3 weeks of age, but continue to nurse off of their mom as long as she wishes. They also receive kibble and treats for training and reinforcement and will be able to easily transition to whatever diet their owner wishes to feed.
Per contractual agreement we have all of the puppies we produce have their hips and elbows radiographed for OFA after they turn 2 years old. Results are submitted to OFA regardless of passing or failing result. Shoulders and any other radiograph are optional and done at the owner’s discretion for our 2017 and 2019 litters. Going forward we will be requiring shoulder radiographs also be done and submitted to OFA for every puppy we produce.
Puppies will be sold to competition/working homes only- Agility, Herding, Disc etc. We want our puppies to go to homes where they are loved, but also mentally stimulated and physically conditioned, therefore a home that strives to train for and compete in a sport is ideal. All of our puppies will be registered with the American Border Collie Association (ABCA). We co-sign as owners on their registration papers until they are spayed or neutered at 2 years of age and have radiographs submitted to OFA, then we transfer our name off of their papers.
Our puppies are raised in our home, amidst the hubbub of our daily lives. They are well socialized to people, dogs, cats, and livestock, as well as various smells, sounds, sights, surfaces and surroundings. We perform Early Neurological Stimulation on our puppies and we raise our puppies following the Jane Killion Puppy Culture method. This method focuses on creating enrichment seekers and exposing puppies to as many novel things as possible during the socialization period between 3 and 12 weeks of age. We introduce our puppies to the clicker, teach them how to mand (asking for something through behavior), encourage pottying in a certain area, introduce them to leash walking and crate training, play problem solving games and many more things that will help them grow into wonderful dogs for their owners, all with positive reinforcement! Our goal is to give them the most excellent start in life, so they are ready to conquer the world with their new owners!
Please contact us for an application to be considered for one of our puppies or if you have any questions. We are happy to talk to you! Once you have a Tamataji puppy, you are in the family for life!
November 2018 - Second Tamataji Stock Day - Finn and four of his kids: Charlotte, Shiraz, Qui Est-Ce and Esme
March 2018 - First Stock Day at Tamataji Ranch! Shiraz, L'eau, Merlot, Ici, Qui Est-Ce, Charlotte, & Esme