Farm Shepherds, the breed that crossed the plains with pioneers

This is the introduction to the Farm shepherd blog. Here you will get hints on dog training, information on the breed and some good old fashion common sense.
Hope you enjoy this. You can ask questions through this blog, and if you send photos we will keep updates.

The Old Thyme Farm Shepherds is a rare breed that is being brought back to popularity among ranchers and homesteaders again. This is the dog that crossed the prairies with the Pioneers, protecting livestock as well as the families. Many pictures are archived showing these dogs in them, every family had one. We first became aware of these dogs hearing John and Jean Copeland remembering the dogs seen on every ranch in the area in the early 30's and 40's when young Jean would travel with her dad on his creamery route. Back then most of the ranches kept a few milk cows and would sell the cream to the creamery for butter and cheese making, and young Jean became impressed by the "farm shepherds" as they called them. In 1989 we were able to rescue one of these dogs from down the Klamath River . The previous owner had always kept a few, and when she passed away, this poor dog was forgotten and traveled the town begging for handouts and killing squirrels to survive. We got her and so began our education into The Old Thyme Farm Shepherd, as they are now called.
link here to another page of ours http://rangepetfood.com/farmshepherds.aspx

Join our list group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/farmshepherds


The picture of the cabin was taken in 1853 and shows two farm shepherds in the background. Farm Shepherds crossed the plains with the pioneers, protecting family and flocks. Note: these are not small dogs, but are more likely 60lbs. This color was not as common as the "buff" or golden with a darker face mask.




Old Jim was a famous old time farm shepherd in the northwest in the late 1800's. Notice the type and style of the dog, and compare with Chevy, a dog we bred from old stock from the Klamath River area.


Read the story of Old Shep here on our Old Shep site.

Other OTFS in history and today

and here http://rangepetfood.com/FShistory.aspx

a famous OTFS pedigree

PUPPIES!



Chevy

Chevy is a modern old time farm shepherd, showing great courage and livestock ability. She is a daughter of "Petunia" from KY., originally from our Klamath River stock. "Pet" is very famous in Farm Collie and Farm Shepherd pedigrees. Chevy is a daughter of Pet and by "Rebel"; another famous Farm Collie. She is pictured in teh oval photo.



Chewy and her charge looking out the window. chewy is the dam of the litter. Chewy is not related to Chevy, above, but look at the similarities. Chevy weighs 110lbs, is gentle and quiet; yet exceedingly protective.


TAZ One Year Old Anatolian Shepherd of exceptional temperment. He guards over 100 does on thousands of acres in the Northern Ca Mountains against bear, cougar and coyotes. Here he is shown with his friend, Chy whom he is very gentle with.



I am very excited about the variety of owners that are interested in these dogs. It is very important that we all keep in mind these are WORKING dogs. I want to keep from trying to get a picture and breed phenotype, and strive for breed standards that will create the best working dog for an all purpose dog. Yes, we will clear eyes and hips before breeding; but we also must keep formost in our minds what the dog is expected to do. What difference does size, coat, color or tail make? We need to keep bonding, intelligence and ability uppermost. the dog must be smart enough to disobey when necessary! You will understand as we get more into training.




Old Time Farm Shepherd Club of America
phone number 530-436-2348 (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm PST)
Fax number 530-436-9819Address 1912 Timmons Rd, State, ZIP code Grenada, CA 96038E-mail address mail@oldtimefarmshepherd.com