why we do what we do!

Welcome to the Brookwood Collies website. We are privileged to be able to work with the Collie breed. Our Collies enjoy a happy life on our 50 acre dairy farm. While some of them like to be active with “helping” around cows and calves, most of the Collies prefer to lie in the sunshine or play together in the yard . 

Collies have been our family’s favorite breed for the last 40 years. (But I found a family photo of my ancestors in the late 1800s with a Collie dog in the middle of the family photo!) The first litter of Collie pups was born on our farm about 25 years ago. Looking back to where we began with breeding Collies, I am very thankful to be were we are today with quality of breeding stock and excellent facilities.  I owe much of what I have learned about Collie breeding ethics to Laura Van Embden and her daughters. I am forever grateful to them for inviting me to come and learn from working alongside them.

Three things are very important to our Collie breeding program: Temperament, Health, and Structure. Our goal for every litter is that the puppies produced will be better than their parents and that our breeding program will benefit the Collie breed for generations to come. 

Temperament is very important to me. I do not enjoy a barking Collie (altho ours do bark when its time to go play outside and when one of the females are in heat). I am convinced that Collie temperament is very genetic. I am often asked about the male versus female personality traits in the Collie breed. In thinking about the many Collies we have had over the years, I have decided that personality doesn’t have as much to do with the gender of the dog, but with the individual dog itself. I have always had a special connection with the male Collies. But on the other hand, most of our female Collies have also been outstanding. Considering all of this, I do sometimes wonder if its not a coincidence that Collie breeders are great for collecting lovely male Collies!! 

Structure is very important – it significantly impacts a Collie’s long term function as a healthy dog. In 2019 we began to use Pat Hasting’s method of structural evaluation for puppies at the age of 8 weeks old.  My friends, Ellen and Laura Van Embden, often help me with the structural evaluation because the evaluation is best performed in a strange environment by a person the puppy is unfamiliar with.  By using this evaluation method for choosing puppies to keep for breeding, I have seen a marked improvement in the structure of the Collie puppies we have raised since 2019. We do not show our Collies, but we do use the AKC Standard for Collie structure as a guide for our breeding program.

Health in the Collie breed does not happen without careful breeding. Collie health is easy to loose and hard to regain. Breeding a healthy Collie begins long before the actual mating takes place. It begins with a breeder who knows the traits of the dogs in the pedigree of the future parents. It also begins with the appropriate health testing on all breeding dogs and then selecting parent Collies who complement each other not only in the results of the health testing done, but also in structure and any known genetic history in both sides of the pedigree.

A carefully planned litter of puppies has so much positive potential. It has been very fulfilling to watch puppies turn out as an improvement over their parents. However, no Collie is all perfection – just like humans. Even with the best health testing criteria, we cannot guarantee a perfect dog. I am thankful that we have been able to learn from the mistakes and unforeseen issues in our past and move on with more intelligence about the dogs in our pedigrees.

With the health testing currently available, all of our Collies are tested for CEA, PRA-rcd2, MDR1, DM, CN, and DMS. We also get the most influential dogs in the kennel OFA hip certified. We are not convinced that our Collies must be a Non-carrier for every health test available, however, we do plan our Collies litters to make sure that no puppy will be affected by any one genetic issue in the Collie  breed. You are able to view the health testing for any of our current breeding dogs on our gooddog page. If you have any questions about the different health tests available, please email me with your questions.

The socialization program we have for our puppies is an important aspect of having puppies who are confident and happy to leave their moms for a new adventure with their new families. Socialization for our puppies begins at birth. Our puppies are born in the living room so that they and their mother are in the center of family attention and care. The puppies are held often as newborns to be desensitized and taught healthy interaction with humans. We believe that the core of socialization lies in introducing our puppies to a large variety of surfaces, circumstances, and noises. Learning how to function in many environments makes a smart, confident Collie puppy.

We occasionally have adult Collies available as mature companions. The average age our females are retired at is around 3-4 year old. I believe from both my experience and extensive research that it is most healthy for Collie females to be bred while young and then spayed when you don’t plan to breed them again. It is nice for the families who adopt an adult if the Collie has many healthy years ahead of them. If you are considering adopting an adult Collie, it is good to be aware that adult Collies do not always adjust as well as puppies do. Sometimes, an adult Collie needs to come back to our home because it became obvious that the dog was not going to be a great match for that family after all. It is important to us that our Collies come back to us if this happens. 

We are happy about the modern housing facilities we have for our Collies to live in. It has made care so much more easy. Looking back to the facilities we used to have for our Collies, I am so grateful that our Collies are now housed safely in a temperature controlled environment with 24/7 indoor/outdoor access. In addition, along with our PA state kennel license, the State Dog Law Enforcement has hourly access 24/7  to the indoor temperature, humidity, and heat index where our Collies live. 

We try hard to keep contact with all the owners of the Collie puppies we have produced as well as the owners of our retired breeding dogs. The owners of our Collies hold a wealth of information about the quality of our breeding program. This information helps us know know what parents/families lines are safe to mate together, and which parents/families lines should be bred to a different line for best results. We are grateful to all owners who send updates about the Collies they have purchased from us. You can see what some of them have to say on our testimonials page.

If you are considering a Collie for your family, you are welcome to come and meet the Collies here. Coming and meeting the future parents of your next Collie helps you to know if we are the breeder for you and if the dogs we have are the style that you are looking for in health and temperament and whatever is important to you.