We are proud members of: The Collie Club Of America The Collie Health Foundation The Quarter Century Collie Group The Dog Writer's Association of America Author of two awarding winning books: "The Collie in America" & "Century of Collies" Licensed AKC judge for Collies However, we are most proud of our 40 year, champion-producing breeding program! Read our Small Kennel Success Story, as it appeared in the 12/04 issue of Collie Expressions Magazine
We are a small breeding and showing hobby kennel located in Valley Center, California (about 40 miles north of San Diego). For over 35 years we raised Collies in the heart of Silicon Valley in San Jose, California on ¼ acre. Here in beautiful Valley Center we have almost 3 acres! This area is truly one of the best kept secrets in California! Though I will always love and miss the San Francisco Bay Area, we are adjusting nicely to this very rural, picturesque, and dog-friendly community!
I joined the Collie Club of America in 1969. By 1972 I had already raised a couple of litters for fun, but I decided to become serious about breeding and showing. Per the advice given in Pat Starkweather's book "All About Collies," the search began for two good bitches! Thanks to the ads and pictures in "Collie Cues" magazine, I fell in love with GinGeor Collies. At the time GinGeor was one of the top winning Eastern Kennels -- Ch. Jadene's Breeze Along, Ch. GinGeor Bellbrooke's Choice, Ch. GinGeor Jack of Tamarack, Ch. GinGeor Indelible Ink and Ch. Sontaw's Trudy Fair...all of them gorgeous and excelling in outline, coat, style and extremely beautiful faces. My eyes were especially drawn to the beautiful head details that made these dogs so very appealing -- beautifully finished muzzles, length and cleanness of head, and pretty expression.
OUR BEGINNINGS................Following a two year search that started in 1970, we acquired two bitches of GinGeor breeding: Marnus Chelsea Morning a tricolor daughter of Ch. GinGeor Indelible Choice bred by Marcia Keller of Marnus Collies and Chelsea Evening Elf a normal-eyed sable daughter of Ch. GinGeor Jack of Tamarack that came via Joan Able of Tamarack Collies. Over the years we have added liberal amounts of Arrowhill, a dash of Wickmere, and most recently incorporated Countryview & Tartanside. Our dogs are definitely of a "Parader Persuasion".
Both Foundation bitches were bred to two different sons of Ch. Arrowhill Oklahoma Tornado and each produced a champion, including our first homebred "Tiara" (Ch. Chelsea Gold Mist), whelped in 1973. Thirty-eight years and twelve generations later, we arrive at our current dogs being shown. One of our latest winners "Harlow" (Chelsea Blonde Bombshell) traces 6 times to "Chelsea Evening Elf"; 10 times to "Marnus Chelsea Morning" and 6 times to our first champion Ch. Chelsea Gold Mist. Also out being shown this past show season is Harlow's half brother, Chelsea Casanova Cowboy.
My first time in the show ring came in 1970, but I didn't start seriously exhibiting until 1975. It took that many years to get something that I felt was good enough to show! It's hard to believe it has been forty years (where did the time go??)!! My first Collie champion, Ch. Chelsea Gold Mist finished in 1976 with 4 majors! That same year her daughter, Ch. Chelsea Moon Pebble (Marty) won one of the largest Futurities on the west coast (owner-handled!), under judge Ben Butler (Kinmont Collies) in one of his last judging assignments. Two weeks later, this same bitch was owner-handled to a 4 point specialty major & Best Puppy in Show from the 6-9 puppy class (beating 63 bitches!)! That did it, I was hooked! (Interestingly enough, in those days it took 70 rough bitches for a 5 point major).
Since that time we have bred a number of Champions and point winners. One of my favorites is pictured at the top of this page. Heather (Ch. Chelsea Shadowgold) finished in 1982 in 11 shows. She finished with 3 majors, all from the BRED BY EXHIBITOR class...two of them 5 pointers (in the years before it was fashionable to show in this class!). Heather is behind all of our current dogs...multiple times.
Over the years some of our dogs, for various reasons, did not finish their championship. Nonetheless several of these have made important contributions to our existing gene pool.
NEW BEGINNINGS..........By the mid-1990s, I felt our breeding program needed a shot in the arm (it happens to everybody that stays around long enough!). In 1997 I judged a puppy match and fell in love with a scrumptious 10 week old tri bitch. Puppies like this usually are not for sale, but luckily, she was! Ch. Chelsea Charidan Carte Blanc, HIC, ROM, better known as Betsy, came to live here two weeks later. I purchased her not only to show, but with the express purpose of breeding her to Ch. Chelsea the Crown Prince (Bailee). Their family backgrounds were similar, both tracing to a variety of closely-bred Parader descendants, through Tartanside and Arrowhill. Not only did Betsy finish her championship with 4 majors, all owner-handled, but she proved to be a wonderful producer (especially considering she only had two litters). She is the dam of 7 ROUGH champions, thus qualifying her for the coveted REGISTER OF MERIT title! Her 7th champion Ch. Chelsea Sunshine Girl finished in 2007. Natasha finished owner- handled with three specialty majors at some of the largest specialty shows on the West Coast!! All of Betsy and Bailee's kids finished with multiple specialty wins and more importantly, several provided the links to the next generations.
We are extremely proud of our dog's accomplishments. We have exhibited infrequently-- mostly in California with it's huge entries, and usually at very large Specialty shows. We do not use handlers and have NEVER sent a dog out with a handler! All of our Champions have finished with MULTIPLE SPECIALTY majors in top California competition and championship points have been won almost entirely under Collie or Sheltie Specialty breeder-judges. I much prefer showing to breeder-judges….those who have had true experience with the breed rather than an all-rounder who judges a gazillion breeds and knows little about Collies. If you can't win under the people that know the breed, what's the point? Our dogs have won some of the largest Sweepstakes, Futurities and Specialty shows in Northern and Southern California, many times over. Most have finished by the age of two and most were owner handled! We've even had a few puppy flyers. Several of our champions have done some nice specialty winning since finishing, however we personally have never "specialed" a dog or bitch ourselves! Our "thing" has always been finishing class dogs or bitches and moving onto the next generation!
Over the years, not only has our breeding program been restrictive (mostly because of living in Silicon Valley), but we have kept a limited number of adult dogs. Typically we keep 6-8 adult dogs. We do not have a kennel - we have a house and a yard! Three to four dogs live in the house (usually the older ones), but all others get daily house time. My philosophy has always been, why have the dogs if they aren't a part of your everyday life!?
From the start we have almost exclusively kept bitches and they just happen to be our favorite of the sexes. We strongly believe in the motto that a kennel is only as good as it's bitches and currently we have 6 champion bitches!
Due to self-imposed limitations, we have only had 8 litters since 2000. Amazingly, these 8 litters have produced 10 homebred champions, plus several others with major points. We hope our future holds a few more champions and a continuation of the family's gene pool, though small that it may be! Our goal is to improve the breed while providing the next stepping stone in our own breeding program. We are constantly striving for that perfect Collie, one that is a combination of physical perfection, good health and typical Collie temperament! Typically our Collies are long lived. Currently we have four bitches that are between 10-14 years old! As a result we have many repeat buyers!!
Occasionally we have puppies for sale and those offered for sale receive identical care to those we personally keep. All our puppies are raised in the house (primarily the kitchen) where they are exposed to lots of noises, people and action! They receive a lot of attention! Every puppy is inoculated and wormed. We absolutely believe in preventative medicine!! All puppies are checked by my Vet at 5 weeks and are eye-checked for Collie eye by a Certified Ophthalmologist. Puppies are usually ready to go to new homes by 8 weeks! For more information on Collies, please visit this page. It is extremely important that you decide before buying a puppy that the Collie breed is right for you!
We are also interested in the Collie "Herding Instinct" and most of our dogs have been tested and have passed! We have also bred several obedience title holders owned by others.
From the beginning we have concentrated not only on physical beauty, but on health and temperament as well. Without health and temperament, you have nothing.....and both are just as important as how a dog looks! Therefore, we support all available health screening and routinely check our dogs' eyes, hips and thyroid! Here's a link to our dog's OFA web page.
Thanks to our start with normal eyes, many of our champions have been normal-eyed and we have a continuous line of normal eyes coming down from one of our foundation bitches! Recently we tested for the PRA gene through Optigen. All dogs tested "normal" and are non-carriers for PRA. Unbeknownst to us, we started with two daughters of PRA carriers. Both had already produced litters when news of PRA hit around 1975. Our current stock traces 16 times to both foundation bitches, so the fact that everyone tested clear, is great news and puts to rest any worries and suspicions.
