When Arie (Speedoggie Solar Power) was a year old, I had a number of people, including her breeder, suggest that I not spay her and consider breeding her.  She is an amazing dog- great temperament, structure, and drive, with a lot of mental balance as well as her athleticism.  So I spent four years looking into breeding practices, learning about genetics, and getting her tested.  I considered what I wanted in a stud, and found exactly what I was looking for in Nick, a great herding dog owned by Gene Sheninger in NJ.  Arie was bred to Nick in November 2012, and in January 2013, Arie became mother to 5 beautiful baby Border Collies.  I did a lot of work on exposing them to many different sights, sounds, smells, surfaces, people, animals, and as many other things as I could come up with, and found great homes for them, keeping one, Gethin.  I have no immediate plans to breed Arie again, and it will be 3-4 years before I consider breeding Gethin (TipTop Solar Eclipse)

UPDATE:  Gethin has been genetically tested by both Embark and the PawPrint Genetics panel, and is an IGS carrier, otherwise clear.  Hips are OFA Excellent, Shoulders are clear for OCD.  BAER testing showed no hearing abnormalities, and cardiac auscultation was normal.  CERF showed small posterior suture cataracts- these do not affect vision, and are not considered hereditary. He has a fabulous temperament and is very athletic, doing very well in USDAA agility, where he competes in Masters, and is also certified in Accelerant Detection.   He was also tested with Optimal Selection , when the Adult Onset Deafness test became available, and is clear for that as well.  Gethin was bred in 2019, and I now have his daughter, Tori (Quicksilver NoTORIous RBG at TipTop)who is now starting to compete in agility, and also dabbling in UpDog, and training for Human Remains Detection.  She has OFA Excellent Hips, Normal Elbows and Shoulders, and is clear on the Optimal Selection genetic panel.  Her speed and enthusiasm for agility is phenomenal!

This past June, I purchased a girlfriend for Gethin :)  Pentir Skye is originally from Wales, purchased from a breeder in MO, already proven with 2 litters.  She is a carrier for CEA and AOD per the Optimal Selection testing
Hips were done via PennHip, other rads were taken by the previous owner but not submitted to OFA; they are available for viewing and I'll try to get them added to the pics here also.  Currently working on getting her seen by Opthalmology.  She's teaching me a LOT about herding, is very cuddly, and has a very even temperament, not phased by all the changes thrown at her since coming to me.  Hoping to breed her to Gethin in the spring, next time she goes in season.

UPDATE:  Skye had 8 beautiful puppies born 04/18/23!


If you are interested in canine genetics, please consider joining my facebook group, Canine Genetics

I also suggest the Institute of Canine Biology and the Canine Diversity Project