Description
“Complete and deeply perspective history to the skillful collie breeds!”
The shepherd’s dog is time honored; but particular collie breeds, the subject of this book, are descended from shepherds’ collies from the 18th and 19th centuries. Prior to that time shepherds’ dogs were extremely diverse in looks and working style. Shepherds selected and bred their dogs for the kinds of work for which they were needed. Diversity plays a role in the survival and adaptability of species. With more variation, it is likely that some individuals in a population will possess genes best suited for the environment they are working in. As gene pools become smaller, vulnerability to disease and environmental pressures increase. Without diversity a breed may eventually go extinct. Diversity in the working collie breeds will ensure that there will be a wide range of working collies accessible into the future that will meet the needs of shepherds and farmers in a rapidly changing livestock environment.
In The History of the Working Collie Breeds, the author presents a comprehensive viewpoint on the history and development of collies in Great Britain and Ireland, North and South America, and in Australia and New Zealand. She introduces each breed of working collie, and discusses its evolution. Will the working collies survive the 21st century? With Global Warming, the melting of the ice caps and the rising of the oceans, population expansion, deforestation, the loss of farmland, and farmers and shepherds abandoning the business of farming, this question is not just rhetorical, but will have repercussions for the future of the working collie breeds.
- 614 pages!
- Approximately 490 images!
- Foreword by Janet Vorwald Dohner, author of Farm Dogs: 93 Guardians, Herders,Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners, 2016 and Livestock Guardians: Using Dogs,Donkeys, and Llamas to Protect Your Herd, 2007.
- Glossary, References, and Index sections for ease of use!
Book is also available through Amazon and BN or ask for it wherever books are sold.
About the Author
CAROLE PRESBERG was a sheep farmer for 25 years with the help of her Border Collies. She published a quarterly magazine (The Shepherd’s Dogge) and co-authored a book with Irish author Marjorie Quarton (The Working Border Collie, T.F.H. Publications, 1997). She has written articles for numerous magazines, including International Sheepdog News (the magazine of the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS) in the UK). For many years, Carole has maintained an extensive Border Collie website (BorderCollieMuseum.org) These endeavors and their attendant research have given her a unique outlook on the working collies, and led to the writing of this book.
Jan Hilborn –
I got my book! I am so excited to read it. I quickly flipped through it to look at all the gorgeous pictures. Thank you Carole for pulling all this info together! —Jan Hilborn a.k.a. Quinn Caledonia
Janet Vorwald Dohner –
Her years of exhaustive research and dedication have resulted in this authoritative, complete, and deeply perceptive guide to the marvelous collie breeds. If you are a collie lover-or a dog lover-this book belongs on your shelves and in your hands. –Janet Vorwald Dohner, author of Farm Dogs: 93 Guardians, Herders, Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners and Livestock Guardians: Using Dogs, Donkeys, and Llamas to Protect Your Herd.