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Aussie History Links
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GENERAL AUSSIE LINKS
Aussies are a popular breed; there are literally thousands of websites devoted to them. Below are a few important sites with relevance for working Aussie owners.
Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA)
The independent Aussie registry, unaffiliated with AKC. Sponsors stockdog trials and awards working titles (as well as other events such as conformation shows and agility trials). ASCA is organized into many local clubs which can overlap geographically; these will reflect the interests of their members. Some clubs focus on Conformation shows, some on dog sports, some on stock work; most are a mix.
The ASCA website contains good general articles about Aussies, including health issues. It is poorly designed and hard to navigate but still a major resource. To read the minutes of the ASCA Stockdog Committee online, email them and ask to subscribe to the SDC News.
Australian Shepherd Trialing Association (ASTA)
This venue was established to provide a non-judged time-and-points type trialing venue designed specifically for Aussies. Trials, except for the national final, are open to all herding breeds. This group has seen little activity recently.
Aussie Info
An extensive collection of articles and photos on working Aussies. This site was created by those who supported the creation of the ASCA working description (read the ASCA Working Description which was adopted)
Aussie-StockDog
Facebook discussion group for training and trialing Aussies.
The Aussie Board
Discussion board for all things Aussie, has a stockdog section but mostly conformation/performance/pet owners and breeders.
Australian Shepherd Genetics Institute
The center for current, scientific information about Aussie genetic health issues. Highly recommended.
Australian Shepherd Pedigree Search
Searchable database.
This site has undergone some recent hosting changes and is presently (January 2012) in a beta testing stage. It is accessed through the discussion group The Aussie Board — you must register as a member of the group.
Aussie-Herders
Largest Yahoo discussion board devoted to the working Aussie.
workingaussies
Another Yahoo discussion board devoted to the Aussie as a practical stockdog.
Raising an Australian Shepherd: Temperament and Development
Excellent long article by trainer Lisa Giroux, covering Aussie personality traits, and what to expect at different life stages.
Although it's easy to find art online featuring Aussies, it is harder to find portrayals of Aussies in working settings. Here are a few sources of prints, jewelry, and gifts, and just plain viewing.
The Border Collie Museum "An online museum dedicated to the shepherd's dog,
its history, culture, and lore . . ." despite the name, the majority of the historical paintings, prints, verse, etc. in this extensive collection depict old British farm collies much like the Aussie. Beautiful stuff.
Jennifer Curtin/Cowdog Art small hand-carved and painted wooden herding breed dogs and livestock. Toys, trophies, "herding sets" (for clinician lectures), custom work.
Golden Wonders jewelry (pins, pendants, keychains, earrings) showing Aussies in various poses including herding.
Martin Grelle Western-themed oil paintings which often feature Aussies. Prints for sale.
Rick Guthrie Designs/Steel Blu Aussies Laser-cut metalwork home decor and gifts.
Marie Murphy/Diamond Aire Kennel Prints, wearable art, gifts.
Raven O'Keefe custom animal portraitist with an interest in herding breeds. Notecards etc. also for sale.
Tom Pickerel One lovely drawing of an old shepherd and his Aussie moving the flock. Print for sale.
Julie Rogers Western-themed watercolors which often feature Aussies. Cards and prints.
Paula Waterman sculptor and painter with an interest in Aussies. Prints, custom portraits.
Aussie Video Archives
Kristin MacNamara's Youtube library of archival footage of Aussie greats of the past, mostly working livestock.
Las Rocosa Australian Shepherd History Page
Section of the website of the foundation kennel of the Hartnagle family. A discussion of the possible origins of the Aussie, illustrated with current photos of conjectural ancestors, including the Pyrenean Shepherd, the German Tiger, the Welsh Bobtail, and the Australian Koolie. On the same site is a Time Line of Aussie History, illustrated with many photographs.
Slash V Australian Shepherds
Terry Martin, a long-time working Aussie breeder, has a high-content website with useful articles and historical photos of many dogs behind todays' working lines.
Aussie Roots
a collection of photographs from the past, sorted by geography, put together from the photo libraries of the Hartnagles (Las Rocosa) and of Sandy Cornwell (Fairoaks).
See also the large History Section of the Working Aussie Source Stockdog Library.
agrariandog: the practical farm and ranch dog
Yahoo discussion group devoted to real-world working dogs of all breeds.
American Herding Breeds Association
AHBA is a trialing venue. Conducts arena and ranch trials, awards titles and herding instinct certificates. Defines "herding breeds" broadly; provides opportunities for all herding breeds at any level of skill/talent to compete. Generally relaxed and inclusive.
Border Collies In Action
The largest herding training supplies selection online. Also sells every conceivable object you can depict a Border Collie on.
Bud Williams Stockmanship School
Low-stress cattle handling, sometimes using dogs. Essays, stories, and calendar of clinics.
Cow Dog News
All breeds of serious working cowdogs, but mostly Border Collies. Emphasis on USBCHA and independent stockdog club trialing; has an excellent cowdog trial calendar. A extensive site with breeder listings, links section, dogs for sale pages, calendars of clinics, etc.
Cowdog Central
Information on working cowdogs. Has a fun "stories" section.
GSD Vom Insel training articles
Website of Dot DeLisle, breeder and successful trainer of herding German Shepherds. A small library of well-written articles, many applicable to Aussies. She also has a links page worth looking at.
Herding Dogs — AKC, AHBA & ASCA Herding Trials & Competitions
A facebook group for all herding breeds. International in scope.
Herding On The Web
Linda Rorem's popular site. Has well-written herding articles and extensive links and resource listings. No breed emphasized or preferred.
Midwest Herding Connection
Trainers, facilities, events, and connections for the herding community of the midwestern U.S.
Northeast Herding Info
Trainers, facilities, events, and connections for the herding community of the northeastern U.S.
The Old Time Farm Shepherd
Site devoted to the historic American farm collie. Now distinct from the Aussie, this is surely one progenitor. Lots of primary documentation and photographs of early shepherd dogs of the US.
Operation Sheepdog Herding
Herding training supplies such as whistles, training poles, etc.
Stockdogs4sale
Yahoo bulletin board for real working stockdog breeds and livestock guardian breed sales. Working bred Aussies appear occasionally. Worth monitoring if you are shopping for a pup or started dog.
Stockdog Savvy
Blog by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle (Las Rocosa) discussing herding breeds around the world. Great photographs.
Stockdog Server
Oldest general stockdog site with many links, good articles. No longer updated. Has an Aussie section.
Stockdog magazine
Website of a print magazine (currently the only such) dedicated to all working stockdogs.
Western New York Herding
Trainers, facilities, events, and connections for Western New York, Southern Ontario, Northwest Pennsylvania
It is important to choose an instructor who understands and respects upright, loose-eyed breeds. Those listed below give clinics and/or provide private instruction that has proven useful to some Australian Shepherd owners. Many are Aussie breeders: ASCA kennel name, if any, is in CAPS. If they have a Working Aussie Source Breeder ad, clicking on the kennel name link will take you to that page, with all their contact info. Inclusion on the below list is not a recommendation per se by Working Aussie Source, and non-inclusion is not a criticism. If you have a trainer to recommend, or would like to correct any contact info below, please email us. See also the article on How To Choose An Instructor.
LISTS OF TRAINERS (individual trainers' links follow)
Stockdog Trainer Locator
AHBA Training Facility Directory
Stockdog Server Trainer List
Herding Trainers in Canada
SOME USEFUL TRAINERS/CLINICIANS/INSTRUCTORS
Sherry Baker TWIN OAKS Galt CA website: Twin Oaks email: tocowdog@softcom.net
Becky Bailie STARSTUFF Manchester MI
Linda Bell WINSLIDE Georgetown TX
James Bergert BERGERT 10123 150th Street, Alden, IA 50006 / Phone: 507-440-7310 email: jameshogdogs@hotmail.com
John P. Carter Hope, British Columbia, Canada / Phone
604-869-2127
email: jpcarter@telus.net
Angie Coker Route 2 Box 1965/ Cranfills Gap, TX 76637/ Phone 405-323-0898
email: angieccoker@aol.com
George Costa WORKIN CLASS website: Workin Class Ranch 5426 San Felipe Rd. / Hollister CA / Phone: 831-635-0569
Chris Davies FLY AWAY Website: Fly Away Aussies Oxford, Pennsylvania (Southeastern PA)
email: flyaway@mailaka.net
Judy De Shazo BERET Waller, Texas
Tenley Dexter MAKIN 8 Gaylordsville CN and Fairplay KY
Gary Ericsson RR 5, Box 515 / Coalgate, Oklahoma 74538 / Phone: 580-428-3011 Website: Hangin' Tree Cowdogs
Rick Hardin HARDIN'S Calhan, Colorado
Kaye Harris CROWN POINT 18636 Weld Co. Rd. 3 / Berthoud CO 80513 / Phone: 970-535-4343
Jim Hartnagle and Jeanne-Joy Hartnagle-Taylor LAS ROCOSA Kiowa, Colorado
John Harvey BAR JH Somis California
Kent and Lori Herbel Route 1 Box 52A/ Putnam, Oklahoma 73659 / Phone: 580-661-2262 email: xpranch@pldi.net website: xpranch.com
Kathy Knox Ettrick Kennels Rt. 5, Box 147 / Butler, MO 64730 / Phone: 660-679-5578
Lynn Leach 58428 McKay Road/ Hope, BC V0X 1L2 CANADA / Phone: 604-869-7656 Email: downriver@uniserve.com Website: Downriver
Dana MacKenzie HEARTHSTONE Breckinridge, TX
Barb Moe C HANGIN 5 Lewistown, Montana
Marie Murphy DIAMOND AIRE N3029 945th St. / Hager City WI 54014 / Phone: 715-792-5174 Email: diamaire@redwing.net Website: Diamond Aire
Tony Padgett COOSAWATTEE Calhoun, Georgia email: tonypadgettstockdogs@yahoo.com Phone 770-608-6861
Marti Parrish JUSTUS Everett, Washington
Cappy Pruett Fort Morgan, Colorado Email: cappy@cappypruett.com Website: Cappy Pruett
Elsie Rhodes LC'S Winlock, Washington Email: frogs@myhome.net
Jerry Rowe J BAR D 1771 South 85th Avenue / Osborne, KS 67473 / Phone: 785-346-2227 Email: jrowe@ruraltel.net Website: Twin Creek Farm
Sharon Simmons WESTWIND 6491 Tjossem Rd. / Ellensburg, WA 98926 / Phone: 509-968-4000 Email: wkdog@elltel.net
Steve Shope LEGENDS Estancia New Mexico
Dave and Trudy Viklund Battleground, WA. websites: Top Stockdog and Double V Stockdogs
Kathy Warren WINDSONG 4328 Villa Creek Rd. / Cayucos CA 93430 / Phone: 805-995-2449 Email: villacreek@aol.com
Jan Wesen CHUCKANUT Bow, Washington
Betty Williams W LAZY J Lewiston, Montana
LIVESTOCK LINKS
General Livestock | Poultry | Sheep and Goats | Cattle
GENERAL LIVESTOCK
Aglinks: Farming On the Web
An international agricultural links site
Agricola
The US Dept. of Agriculture searchable database. Huge livestock section.
American Heritage Livestock Breeds Conservancy
The only organization in the U.S. working to conserve rare breeds and genetic diversity in livestock.
Capital Press
Online agriculture newspaper for the Western states. Breaking news which affects ranchers and farmers. Big classified section including help wanted, livestock, machinery, real estate etc.
Graze
online and print publication devoted to promoting management-intensive grazing and family-scale livestock farms. Centered on the upper Midwest.
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service Livestock Page
USDA funded source of best-practice ag info including grassland management and all kinds of livestock.
Oklahoma State University Dept. of Animal Science Livestock Page
Info about all livestock breeds. A very large and complete site.
QC Supply
online farm, ranch, and outdoor supply located in Nebraska
RanchWorldAds Magazine
online agricultural classified ads site. Animals, machinery, jobs, feed, etc.
The Stockman Grass Farmer
"Devoted solely to the art and science of making a profit from grassland agriculture." Covers all pastured stock from bison to chickens (but a strong emphasis on cattle).
Dr. Temple Grandin
The well-known livestock behavior expert's articles concerning the safe and humane handling of livestock and its physiological bases.
Tractor Supply Livestock Supplies
All livestock supplies
POULTRY
Dorothy DeLisle's Duck Info Page
Information directed at keeping ducks for herding practice. Includes good links list.
Ideal Poultry Company
Large non-commercial poultry company, lots of information about breeds and care.
Metzer Farms
hatchery that specializes in waterfowl, a good place to get ducks for herding training.
Murray MacMurray Hatchery
source of all types of poultry, wide variet.y
SHEEP AND GOATS
The Boer and Meat Goat Information Center
large commercial site with many ads and links.
Caprine Supply
mail order just for goats.
Dairy Goat Care and Management
Sue Reith's extensive and well-written collection of articles, particularly helpful on how to be your own vet
Dairy Goat Journal
Deer Run Sheep Farm links page
thoughtful and extensive list of sheep-related links
Maryland Small Ruminant Page
This site has articles covering most issues to do with sheep and goats. Excellent breed description section. Also a vast number of links to other sites.
Premier 1
Sheep and goat supplies, fencing.
Ranching With Sheep/Dog Tale Ranch
low-energy-input sheep ranching using the natural rhythm of the seasons. Articles and blog from a Saskatchewan ranch.
Sheep! Magazine
CATTLE
Cattle Today
This a very large site with a zillion links and ads.
Cattle Learning Center
National Cattlemen's Beef Association site
Beef Magazine
Anti-animal ownership laws, disguised by the professed goal of reducing shelter populations, are being proposed and passed all over the US, at the state, county, and municipal levels. These laws will have a very direct effect on the working stockdog. Sometimes there are some exemptions from mandatory early spay/neuter and other restrictions for show dogs/show kennels in these laws, — there are none for working dogs. Please educate yourselves about the real force behind this wave of laws ("Animal Rights" organizations People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals aka PETA and Humane Society of the United States aka HSUS), and what it means for you and your dogs and livestock.
AHBA letter protesting Callifornia AB1634
An excellent overview of how these laws will affect stockdogs, with facts that can be used in any protest letter.
American Kennel Club Legislative Tracking
The AKC provides a daily-updated page of all the animal-related proposed legislation in the US, by state, with dangerous proposals marked and linked to their own page of discussion.
Americans Supporting Animal Ownership
New clearinghouse site with a good links page and a page of printable flyers on various aspects of the issue, including a basic one titled "Your Pets and Livestock Extinct?!" intended for wide distribution at animal events of all kinds.
National Animal Interest Allliance
"The Mission of NAIA is to promote the welfare of animals, to strengthen the human-animal bond, and safeguard the rights of responsible animal owners and professionals through research, public education and sound public policy." Well-organized and informative.
PETA Kills Animals News site which reports on the real PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Not pretty, folks.
Pet Law Yahoo group
Devoted to the subject of how to fight anti-pet legislation. A large and fast-moving site with the breaking news.
Sportman's and Animal Owner's Voting Alliance
"...nonpartisan group of volunteers ... working to protect both sportsmen and animal owners, natural allies, in the legislative and political arenas. ..."
Researches and reports legislators' positions re: Animal Rights laws. Good place to check on how your local representatives are voting.
Activist Cash: Humane Society of the United States
This conservative watchdog group 'follows the money' and tracks down the where, how, and what of activist groups. Reveals truth about this huge and wealthy organization, its radical Animal Rights agenda, and how it uses its name to confuse ordinary animal lovers who think it is like the local Humane Societies which run shelters (it has no connection nor similarity to these shelters).
The Truth About Humane Society of the United States
Nathan Winograd's articles detail HSUS's coverups of their "one generation and out" goals and policies.