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Kennelinterview Marecages du Prince
("Collie Seasons" magazine autumn 2001)

Since 1998, Mrs Christine Bisconte is the top breeder in France and over the years she has gained 26 Champion titles with her "Marécages du Prince" Collies. Christine is a very broad-minded Collie person, who travels all over Europe for the benefit of her line. Also she is one of the few French breeders who have their breeding stock's hips and eyes examined. We are pleased that she wrote her story down for Collie Seasons.

Le Bois du Roy

When I settled in this large place in 1986 - 29 miles from Paris - my intention was to go on breeding "Barbets", this is an ancient French dog breed which hunt ducks in marshes (in French: "marécages", hence my kennel affix).
In fact, I was attracted to the Collie when I was young. The first dog I could take care of was a sable Collie; but I was a bit afraid of their temperament which seemed to be rather timorous, as I could notice from the dogs I had hosted in my boarding kennel.
Nevertheless I was fond of that breed, because I found their look so attractive, their soft abundant coat and their gentleness.
I resisted for one year and finally, in 1987, I started breeding Collies. In 1991 I gave up breeding Barbets even though I had several Champions. I had discovered that the Collie was the dog tallying with me perfectly well.
Dedicating my life to dogs and particularly to Collies was not a choice but a real need I can't explain, maybe it could be called a passion.

Opening eyes

One doesn't just suddenly become a Collie breeder, so for me the training was long, despite the experience acquired with Barbets. I had the opportunity and privilege to be guided by other Collie breeders such as Chantal Delhumeau of the "Florange" kennel, Claire Cadot "Everblue" and Odile Foy "Beldones", the last-mentioned now being one of my best friends - breeding dogs creates bonds!
Anyway, 14 years later, I still feel that I'm learning a lot that is interesting and constructive.
I was lucky to have the time to go to dog-shows in France, the Netherlands and England, together with friends/breeders having expert eyes and who helped me to train mine. As the months went by, my assessments changed - for instance a dog which had impressed me a lot because of his coat and his carriage, six months later seemed to me plain-looking, his head profile fitting no more with the new image I was looking for. Quite soon "heads" which could be qualified as "modern type" attracted me a lot, sweet expression, not too long a muzzle with a good strong underjaw, and a well-defined and right placed stop.
But I'm demanding more and more, not only the dog has to have a lovely head but he must be well-built and good-tempered, too. Such requirements!

First acquisitions

Since the beginning, I have attended many shows and visited numerous kennels, which is interesting as some dogs who are excellent for reproduction are not always such for shows. I was particularly attracted to dogs from Ch.Brilyn Supertramp line for sables and from Ch.Mybern Merideon stock for tricolours. Thus I started looking for Collies descending from these lines.
My first dogs (from 1987 to 1990) were mainly from the "Florange" kennel. Most of them were sable, some of them tricolour. At the beginning I didn't dare to start breeding blues, which at that time seemed a bit complicated.
I had the good fortune to acquire beautiful bitches which founded a line and allowed me a sound start. For instance Ballerine Blonde de Butternay (whose grandfathers were Jamesfair Wee Willie Winkle and Brettonpark Country Tweed), Calamity Jane de Florange (Jamesfair Wee Willie Winkle x Delightful Deb of Brilyn), the lovely tricolour bitch For Your Eyes Only des Beldones (Ch.Mybern Merideon's double granddaughter), French Marygold de Florange (whose grandfathers were Jamesfair Wee Willie Winkle and Ch.Mybern Merideon).
I am most grateful to their breeders for allowing the beginner I was to start with such wonderful dogs.

First litters

My first litter was born in 1998. Caprice de Florange mated Bohème de Florange
(both progeny from Jamesfair Wee Willie Winkle) and Bohème gave birth to the sable bitch Délicia Blonde des Marécages du Prince, which was the first Collie with my kennel affix. She received a 1st Exc. in Youth Class under Mrs Lisa Burtenshaw and RCAC-RCACIB by Mr Lalanne de Jonquel.
In 1990, from the mating between Caprice de Florange and Calamity Jane de Florange (they were halfbrother halfsister through Jamesfair Wee Willie Winkle), I kept two sisters: Furka and Füsslie d'Or des Marécages du Prince. These two bitches were very useful, since the first one provided Ch.Ile-de-France des Marécages du Prince, and the second one Illary des Marécages du Prince. These inbred matings made me gain a lot of time concerning the shape of head I wanted to acquire and fix.
With the bitches from the "Florange" lines and the two sisters Furka and Füsslie, I was ready to work with the types and lines I was looking for.

The sire Edward

It was time to find a stud dog and fortunately I found Edward de la Bergerie des Quatre Vents (Pelido Kings Councel x Vladie de la Bergerie des Quatre Vents), born in January 1989 at Mrs Tassart. I remember when I went to Mrs Tassart after a trip to England, and falling in love with that dog who had a beautiful head, abundance of coat and a beautiful body shape. "Edward" was one year old when I acquired him and from then on his achievements, in the ring and by his offspring as well, were numerous and blissful in France and abroad.
My dream came true with him: he became World Champion in 1991 in Dortmund in Germany (186 entries, among them 11 dogs in Champion Class!), International Champion in 1992 and French Champion in 1993. Edward is the father and grandfather of numerous French and foreign Champions. I'm just going to mention Edward's offspring from 1991 to 1993 belonging to my kennel.

Great Satin Doll

In 1991, Edward's shaded sable daughter Great Satin Doll des Marécages du Prince was born, (ex For Your Eyes Only des Beldones). She was called "Satine" and revealed herself to be extraordinary. She became my first home-bred Champion bitch. She won her International Champion title in 1994, won 8 CACIB and was twice vice-French Champion. She is the mother of four International Champions, namely Ch.Magic Satin Night des Marécages du Prince (tricolour bitch), Ch.Nightfall des Marécages du Prince (shaded sable bitch) and her sister Ch.Noblesse Oblige des Marécages du Prince (dominant sable bitch) and finally the tricolour dog Ch.Ouanadoo Roi du Web des Marécages du Prince (owner Mr and Mrs Urbain "Fossés d'Anixhe" in Belgium). No matter which stud dog I used on her, "Satine" always passed on to her offspring her abundance of coat, her extreme gentleness, her elegant and beautiful shape.
She and her father are now "retired". We are so proud of them and we take great care of them. This year, "Satine" was spayed for health and comfort reasons and we hope she will live among her descendants for a long time.

Edward's further influence

In 1992, Hawaï des Marécages du Prince was born from the mating between Edward and Ballerine Blonde de Butternay. According to me, Hawaï was one of the most beautiful bitches from Edward, but as she was timorous I did not dare to have numerous litters from her. In fact she just had one with Esquire of Everblue (son of Mybern Master Raffles and Lansingh's Dainty Dinah) giving Ch.Jurassic Lover des Marécages du Prince.

In 1993, Edward and Furka des Marécages du Prince produced Illary des Marécages du Prince (5 RCACIB) and her sister Füsslie, who brought with Edward the sable lady Int.Ch.Ile-de-France des Marécages du Prince (11 CACIB-RCACIB).

French Marygold de Florange and Edward produced Idden des Marécages du Prince, the mother of Mistral Gagnant des Marécages du Prince (1 CACIB).

And finally, the mating of Flaming Jenny des Beldones (granddaughter of Jamesfair Wee Willie Winkle) to Edward brought Ch.Indie Blonde des Marécages du Prince, a lovely bitch belonging to private owners. Indie combined with Ch.Just Mine Macho de Karlisa gave us Ch.La Petite Sirène des Marécages du Prince. "Sirène" was the Best Collie in France in 1998 and 2000 (according to "Vos Chiens" point system) and she is French, Luxembourg and International Champion with 19 CACIB. She is a bitch with a very strong personality and such a charmer! At the moment, she is our most rewarded Collie.

1994 turn to tricolours

These early nineties were glorious as Edward could mix with bitches from the "Florange" lines, but providing so many sables. What about the tricolours then? For my kennel, 1994 was the dawn of this colour.
To be able to obtain lovely heads in tri's, which seemed to me harder than with the sable colour, I tried the tricolours little by little. I used Odile Foy's shaded sable dog Esquire of Everblue with French Marygold de Florange. From that litter I kept the tricolour bitch Joy of The Night des Marécages du Prince, who is the mother of our tricolour stud dog Ch.Night And Day des Marécages du Prince. As already mentoined, Hawaï (Edward's daughter) produced to Esquire of Everblue, Ch.Jurassic Lover des Marécages du Prince, a shaded sable dog who became French and International Champion and is the father of our first tricolour Champion bitch Magic Satin Night des Marécages du Prince (her mother being Ch.Great Satin Doll des Marécages du Prince).
The same year another litter was born, entirely tricolour, sired by Sanside Soul Brother (the tricolour stud dog owned by the "Slatestone" kennel in Luxembourg, with Ch.Mybern Merideon in his pedigree three times) and Ch.Great Satin Doll des Marécages du Prince (also two times Ch.Mybern Merideon in her pedigree). From that litter, the lovely Jazzy Fantayzee des Marécages du Prince joined the "Silver Inspirations" kennel in Belgium and won the CAC at the Belgian Championship Show judged by Mike Harris of the "Mybern" kennel.
Another tricolour bitch, Jungle Star des Marécages du Prince (RCACIB) went to "Vallée des Noyères" in France, and she was the mother of our first blue bitch Ma Soeur Anne de la Vallée des Noyères, whose father is Ch.Maranick Mr Frosty.

1995 significant English import

Going to England, I immediately fell in love with an adorable little blue puppy dog Maranick Mr Frosty called "Wembley" (Ch.Troydon Tonni Black x Maranick Chantilly Lace). He was three months old and even though I didn't really needed a stud dog of that colour, because at that moment breeding blues wasn't on my mind, I bought him. He revealed himself to be very good-natured with lots of qualities and ever since he has been my two daughters' darling.
When he was nine months old he became European Youth Champion in the Netherlands and two years later International Champion. I'm very grateful to Jackie Whant who let us have "Wembley".

1996 the three colours

Idden des Marécages du Prince, one of Edward's daughters was mated to Ch.Just Mine Macho de Karlisa and gave Mistral Gagnant des Marécages du Prince, a sable dog who became very nice and won a CACIB. He is the father of Orange Amère des Marécages du Prince (2 RCACIB).
Satine had her second litter to Ch.Jurassic Lover des Marécages du Prince giving birth to 3 remarkable puppies, of which the sable bitch Marmalade Sky des Marécages du Prince unfortunately died too soon. She was presented 5 times and won 1 CACIB, 3 RCACIB. The other two sisters were tricolour: Ch.Magic Satin Night and Mille et Une Nuits des Marécages du Prince, who is the mother of the beautiful blue dog Océan d'Amour des Marécages du Prince (2 CACIB), a son of Ch.Maranick Mr Frosty.
Illary (Edward's daughter) had a litter by Ch.Inspecteur Harry de la Petite Orière, a sable stud dog who we kept in our kennel for a few months. We presented Harry at different shows and he became an International Champion. Their daughter Mission Spéciale des Marécages du Prince is the mother of Orange Amère des Marécages du Prince.

1997 Champion harvest

This was a good year, marked by three new Champion titles: Ile-de-France des Marécages du Prince and Maranick Mr Frosty gained the International Champion title and La Petite Sirène des Marécages du Prince became Luxembourg Champion.
Whereas the births are concerned, three future Champions were born. Two of them from the same litter, that of Just Mine Dog de Karlisa (brother of Just Mine Macho de Karlisa) and Ch.Great Satin Doll des Marécages du Prince, namely the sable bitches Ch.Noblesse Oblige and Ch.Nightfall des Marécages du Prince.

The sire Zorro

The mating between Joy of The Night des Marécages du Prince and Super Cool of Slatestone produced our tricolour stud dog Ch.Night And Day des Marécages du Prince, called "Zorro". Zorro is inbred to Ch.Mybern Merideon and Jamesfair Wee Willie Winkle. He is very useful, as blending his daughters with Ch.Maranick Mr Frosty or conversely Mr Frosty's daughters with him, proved to be very successful, producing tricolour and blue Collies with beautiful heads and a very well-balanced temperament. Let's name, for instance, the tricolours Panthère Noire, Penny Lane, Sexy Sadie, Prince des Ténèbres des Marécages du Prince and from the blue's: Ydille des Fossés d'Anixhe, Orage Bleu and Océan d'Amour des Marécages du Prince.

In 2000, one of Zorro's daughters, Ombre Chinoise des Marécages du Prince, was mated to Ch.Maranick Mr Frosty and two of their daughters are already worth noting: the blue bitch Reflet de Star des Marécages du Prince and the tricolour Retiens La Nuit des Marécages du Prince (Best Beginner at the French Collie Club Championship Show in April 2001).

Zorro together with Ma Soeur Anne de la Vallée des Noyères gave birth to Panthère Noire (RCACIB) and Penny Lane des Marécages du Prince (RCAC). In 2001, Sexy Sadie des Marécages du Prince, a lovely tricolour bitch, was born from a repeat mating.

Zorro is really good as a stud dog, passing on his qualities no matter the lines or colours of his partners. Furthermore among his children a lot showed to possess sheepdog qualities and were successful at the Test of Sheepdog Natural Aptitudes (CANT).

I wonder if it is the result of a strict selection with regard to temperament, but some of the above-mentioned dogs also have sheepdog aptitudes: Rendez-Vous Dans Les Etoiles, Retiens La Nuit, Reflet de Star and Reviens Chéri des Marécages du Prince. I confess, it was a great joy for me to discover that these beautiful show dogs were also able to reveal a real sheepdog instinct and competence to work with the flock.

1998 back to England

The year started tragically with the accidental death of Marmalade Sky des Marécages du Prince (Ch.Jurassic Lover des Marécages du Prince x Ch.Great Satin Doll des Marécages du Prince). I tried to get over that painful loss going to England, where, for the first time, I could visit Roz and Barry Makepeace's "Lynaire" kennel. There I could get a lovely shaded sable bitch, aged 14 months, a daughter of Juraleen The Jazzsinger at Lynaire and whose mother, Lynaire Midnight Star, came from their wonderful line of blue Collies. This bitch, Lynaire Secret Love, has been mated to Zorro and gave birth to 3 interesting puppies: two tricolour bitches, Ombre Chinoise (RCACIB) and Obstinement Belle des Marécages du Prince, and a sable dog who lives at Mr and Mrs Muller's "Forêt des Aigles" kennel: Opération Tonnerre des Marécages du Prince - 3 CACIB, he has children in France, Denmark and Poland.

Inserting these new lines will for sure have very important repercussions later, but nowadays this allows me to enjoy blue Collies with dream colours and heads suiting my taste.

Matings through Europe

Other interesting dogs were born, such as the tricolour son of Ch.Silvermoor's Highland Chief (owned by Linda Berghout, "Sea Dreamer's" in the Netherlands) and Ch.Great Satin Doll des Marécages du Prince - namely the International Champion Ouanadoo Roi du Web des Marécages du Prince, owned by Richard and Lili Urbain of the "Fossés d'Anixhe" kennel in Belgium. He won 4 CACIB, 3 RCACIB and is used as a stud dog in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

I mated Ch.La Petite Sirène des Marécages du Prince to Kintyre's Imperial Item in the Netherlands (at Carla v.d. Horst's "Kintyre" kennel). They have in common Pelido Kings Councel and Bhyllsacre Make Mine Macho. From their litter I kept their only daughter Petite Sirène des Marécages du Prince (4 CACIB, 5 RCACIB).

Orange Amère des Marécages du Prince and Ch.Ile-de-France des Marécages du Prince were both mated to Old Golden Gates Arresting Mind who lives at the "Slatestone" kennel in Luxembourg; the shaded sable dog Parlez Moi d'Amour des Marécages du Prince (RCAC) joined Jean-Louis Deillon's kennel "Secret des Lions", and Poupée Russe des Marécages du Prince joined Jacqueline and Claude Tudès' "Mille Vignes" kennel.

In 2000, the tricolour Ch.Magic Satin Night des Marécages du Prince was mated in Netherlands to the tricolour stud dog Brilyn Black Inspiration. We kept from this litter Revolver Eyes des Marécages du Prince, whereas her sister Rendez-Vous Dans Les Etoiles des Marécages du Prince joined Opération Tonnerre at the "La Forêt des Aigles" kennel.

An exceptional bitch was born in the litter of Ch.Just Mine Macho de Karlisa and Illary des Marécages du Prince, this was the Lux.F.Int.Ch.Obladi Oblada des Marécages du Prince (7 CACIB, 5 RCACIB) who will have her first litter in Summer 2001 with the young imported sable dog Sandiacre Saved By The Bell.

Meanwhile it was time to mate the five-year-old Ch.Ile-de-France des Marécages du Prince to Ch.Brilyn Misty Shadow at Carostar living at Jos Ourth's in Luxembourg. The intention was to go back into Ch.Brilyn Supertramp's line, and at the same time, to insert Ch.Jasand Young Winston and Ch.Lanteague Black Magic at Brilyn that later on would be found in other pedigrees. What do you mean by this???
Unfortunately, just one bitch was born in that litter - the lively Orageuse Et Ténébreuse des Marécages du Prince (3 CAC, 6 RCACIB).

Using Ch.Brilyn Misty Shadow at Carostar made me curious enough to discover Carol Tarrant's kennel "Carostar" and the opportunity to appreciate her sable Collies.

In 2000, Carol Tarrant left in our care Carostar Pure Coïncidence "Curtis" (whose parents were from a halfbrother/halfsister mating to Ch.Brilyn Misty Shadow at Carostar) and following her advice we mated Orageuse et Ténébreuse (our Misty's daughter) with Curtis. They gave birth to the good-looking Reviens Chéri des Marécages du Prince (CAC) who is a very interesting young sable dog, already awarded and often required as a stud dog.

Unique results

I will never forget that September 1999, when three of my dogs won at the French Championship Club Show. Ch.Jurassic Lover and Ch.Indie Blonde des Marécages du Prince won the CAC, while the RCAC was awarded to Ch.Magic Satin Night des Marécages du Prince.

In 2000, we celebrated 6 new Champion titles: Ch.Jurassic Lover, Ch.Magic Satin Night, Ch.Obladi Oblada, Ch.Nightfall and Ch.Night And Day des Marécages du Prince won their International Champion titles, while Ch.Noblesse Oblige des Marécages du Prince became Belgium Champion.

In 2001, 4 titles: Ch.Ouanadoo Roi du Web des Marécages du Prince International Champion, Ch.Obladi Oblada des Marécages du Prince became a French and Luxembourg Champion and Précieuse Intrigue des Marécages du Prince ('Edward''s daughter) won the Luxembourg Youth Champion title.

Latest imports

Carol Tarrant sold to us in 2000 two lovely young sable bitches: Rampling Captivation at Carostar (Carostar Pure Coïncidence's halfsister) and Luxembourg Youth Champion Carostar Cool And Collected (Lynway Stay Cool x a Misty Shadow's daughter). And now I feel I'm on the right track to go on with that line which I'm so fond of.

Visiting dog-shows in England, I noticed that quite each time I liked a sable Collie, he or she came from the lines of Pelido Forgotten Dreams (son of Ch.Jankeith Gideon of Mybern out of a Ch.Pelido Double Fantasy daughter). I also appreciate sables coming from Geosan Flashback of Mallicot and Amalie Mild Affair. I decided to import a few from these lines to try and produce similar Collies at home. Thus, I acquired the lovely Amalie Miss Forum, daughter of Pepperstone Piccolino and Amalie Designed With Love (2 times Pelido Forgotten Dreams in her pedigree). At the same time I bought Sandiacre Saved By The Bell "Chimes", son of Ch.Sandiacre Sacre Bleu and Sandiacre Social Graces (4 times Pelido Forgotten Dreams in his pedigree).
This young dominant sable dog, bred by Sandra and Jack Wigglesworth, already has excellent results in youth class and one CACIB in open class. He seems to be an excellent stud dog, he easily passes on his almond-shaped eyes and his exceptional ear carriage.
Now, I also own a young sable dog by Alison Grainger's Samhaven Addiction (son of Pelido Forgotten Dreams) to go on with that type. And recently the Luxembourg Youth Champion Samhaven Contradiction arrived in France for two years. I hope that this new line will suit my sable pedigrees, and that in the future I will not be the only one in France to be interested in such a type which I appreciate so much.

Concerning blue and tricolour Collies, Barry and Roz Makepeace confided to our kennel Lynaire Silver Josh (Ch.Brilyn Rum'n Black x Ch.Lynaire Silver Sonnet), a blue dog with an astonishing head and colour. He and a daughter of Ch.Night And Day des Marécages du Prince out of Lynaire Secret Love had a wonderful litter of 9 puppies last February, from which I kept two blue bitches and a gorgeous blue dog went to Poland.
But the icing on the cake was the acquisition last May of the really gorgeous blue bitch Lynaire Vision of Love (Jopium Touch of Darkness x Lynaire Blue Lace) whose father is a grandson of Ch.Brilyn Misty Shadow at Carostar. She is a real pearl, the best I could imagine for a blue bitch.

Life with our Collies

Our Collies don't live in our boarding-kennel, instead they live in rooms fitted especially for them. In spite of the number - there are sixteen - I try to offer them a friendly family atmosphere.
They are walked three times a day in rotation and in a pack in our wood once a day.
Unfortunately, they are rarely getting trained for the shows, because of a lack of time, but when they are from two to four months old I train them, because I think that is the best period for them to learn quickly and forget as little as possible.
They are rarely driven to town, except for shows, and all of them are bred the same way. Thus, when one of them seems a bit shy or timorous, I think the reason is genetic, since all the others are well-balanced. As a consequence, I exclude those dogs from breeding. I am very strict concerning temperament, but I think that is for the sake of the breed.
With regard to their food, I use premium croquettes (dry food), adding some supplements in order to improve their coats. The adults eat once a day in the evening and the puppies several times a day according to their ages. There exists a range of croquettes for each age or the dog's requirements.

Puppy care

As regards the births, I help my bitches very much. I feel they appreciate to be assisted in those moments, unlike other breeds which can't bear being assisted by human beings.
The litters are born in our house (with somebody watching the first days night and day), then the puppies are moved to the nursery (a tiled room) when I'm sure they are safe.
The new-born puppies are weighed every morning and evening for the first five days, and then once a day till their weaning. According to their weight increase, we complete their feeding by bottle. When they are about 18 days old, we start giving them mashed dog croquettes, mixed with milk, in order to relieve the mother.
Generally at 5 weeks, they are moved to closed yards with little houses (with tiled floors and central heating). They are separated from their mother when they are 6 weeks old or later, because she plays an important part in their upbringing. The puppies are touched as much as possible till their departure when they are 8 weeks old to go to their new family. When they leave here, they are curious, trustful and friendly.
Each litter is registered regularly, pointing out the morphological features, the weight variations and so on.
The heads are watched carefully at birth, and usually, the puppy I positively noticed when it was born, is still my favourite when it is 7 or 8 weeks old.
I also write down their behaviour when they are being vaccinated and tattoed, which already can give us an idea of their temperament.
Occasionally I meet one of them a few months later - I like to check if my first feeling was right.

When they are seven weeks old, the puppies are driven to an ophtalmologist to have their eyes examined.
At one year, hips are x-rayed and examined to detect any dysplasia. I could keep a dog suffering from a light dysplasia or CEA, but I want to be aware of these defects to avoid any worsening later on in my lines. In France, these tests are not compulsory before breeding, but I prefer not to stick my head in the sand.

Selecting a puppy

When I select a puppy, I take into account everything I noticed from its birth on, and I decide as late as possible - usually at 8 weeks, just before selling the litter. In fact, the puppy I keep has to catch my eye even when he is sleeping. If I feel any hesitation, I know I will not keep it later on. When the puppy is 2 months old, its stop must be well-profiled, deep and well-placed. I don't keep pointy-muzzled puppies who don't have enough underjaw. I appreciate dogs having a masculine outlook as early as possible. The shape and placement of the eyes is also very important. Even the position and carriage of the ears must not be overlooked, nevertheless I must confess I sometimes make mistakes. It happened that I didn't keep a lovely puppy because his ears seemed too heavy and drooping and when he was an adult, his ears were superb - as in the case of Phantom of The Night des Marécages du Prince, a gorgeous tricolour dog (Ch.Night And Day des Marécages du Prince x Ch.Great Satin Doll des Marécages du Prince) who was sold for that reason and who is really wonderful. It is the same when a puppy has big eyes; for puppies these defects seem unacceptable, but they can be tolerated if the adult is gorgeous having other excellent qualities. We must also consider the length of the neck, the shape, the angulations and, of course, that little "we don't know what", that "special something" some puppies have which makes us think "this one can become a Champion"!
Temperament, according to me, is related to genetics. Thus, if it doesn't comply with my wishes, I prefer to sell the puppy even if it is very promising. That can be very hard, but it is a very important rule for me.
As it is difficult to keep all the nice puppies and I therefore sell puppies to private owners, I try to find families who accept a kind of partnership and thus become on friendly terms with them. This allows me to keep a reasonable number of Collies at home. In fact, about fifty percent of the puppies I breed have mothers living as pets, not in our kennel. Sometimes owners allow me to have a litter from their own bitch. Even if these future mothers do not really tally with our requirements, if well mated, they can provide interesting offspring.
I think that when you have a bitch which is "cute from afar but far from being cute", it is easy to improve if her origins are excellent, whereas with a "star" it is hard to preserve all the qualities.

Conclusion

To conclude, I would like to add: breeding is sometimes a difficult and disappointing job. There is no miracle recipe. It's a kind of delicate art. Each mating requires knowledge and intuition and pedigrees must be cautiously examined.
Three methods can be chosen. I can use "inbreeding" which is the fastest and the easiest way to fix the qualities - but unfortunately, also the defects. The second one "linebreeding" is more "comfortable", as we may get the results expected with less inconvenience (such as size reduction and infertility) than with the previous one. As concerns the third one "outcrossing", this is just like gambling and I use it when one of the two partners is very "inbred". The passionate breeder is always "questing for the Grail", from matings to births, and so on...

As far as I am concerned, I surely feel proud to be Collie Breeder Number One in France since 1998, with 26 Champion titles, but getting titles is not the main purpose; some of the most enjoyable Collies in my kennel are not Champions (like Orange Amère). As a breeder, I also greatly appreciate to share all these joys and difficulties with other breeders, some of them living very far abroad. The pleasure in 2001 is to communicate through the Web, it is magic to show a new-born puppy to a friend living at the other side of the earth.
I would like to take this opportunity offered by Collie Seasons to thank the breeders who trusted me and to tell them that I am so grateful to be able to admire these Collies every day in our garden!
Breeding dogs is a passion, a pleasure, but it is also a lot of trouble and sacrifice, so let it be for the dogs we admire and love most.