Kynic Stockdogs

My goal in breeding is always to produce my next working dog for the farm, and hopefully a nice trial prospect as well.  Puppies are naturally reared and lovingly raised underfoot using my own protocol that has evolved from studying and applying Puppy Culture, Avidog, and my own personal experience.

Because these puppies will grow to become high-drive working dogs, I do not sell them strictly as pets. While I do want each puppy to be a beloved pet and companion first, they also need to work or do sports on a daily or near-daily basis.

Note: If you are seeking a pet companion dog, please consider rescue.  I have adopted many rescue dogs over the years, and can attest to what wonderful loving friends, companions, and performance partners they make.

To know if a Kynic Stockdog puppy might be a fit for you, here are the essentials that I seek in my puppy homes:

1. Your puppy needs a JOB.
   This doesn’t have to be working livestock, but they need mental activity of some sort on a daily basis. This can include dog sports (agility, nosework, Rally-O etc.), service dog training, trick training, and so on.Note: My lines are NOT appropriate for the sport of Flyball.
2. Your puppy needs to MOVE. EVERY. DAY.
   Not only do working border collie puppies need movement and the room to move, they need FREEDOM of movement. This means that your puppy will need at minimum of 60 minutes of off-leash exercise EVER DAY.Off-leash exercise includes: hiking through woods and fields and working livestock. If this is already your lifestyle, then this is a perfect fit!

   Note: Playing fetch and/or running around dog parks IS NOT APPROPRIATE exercise for these dogs. If this is how you plan to exercise your puppy, then a Kynic Stockdog is not the right fit for you. Please understand that these types of activity frequently create mental and physical health problems in working border collies.

   Note: If you cannot, or will not, take your puppy hiking off-leash at least 5x a week, then one of my puppies is likely not a good fit for your lifestyle.

3. Priority to experienced Border Collie homes: While I have occasionally placed puppies with great success in first time Border Collie homes, my preference is to sell pups to experienced BC homes.If you have never raised a working BC pup, we will need to discuss in detail to determine if a young puppy is indeed the right fit. An older puppy, adult, or even retired dog might be a better option for you. That said, I review every application on a case-by-case basis.
4. Priority to Holistic and Natural Rearing homes: Natural Rearing is a core component of how I raise my dogs, and build my breeding program. Puppies are all naturally reared until they leave my care.Specifically, this means: weaning to raw, not vaccinated before 12 weeks (new studies now recommend waiting until 16 weeks for optimum effectiveness / minimum side effects), and avoiding exposure to all other drugs and chemicals (except in emergency situations, as required). Worming is performed on an ‘as-needed’ basis rather than simply administered on a schedule.

   I believe this approach creates not only very healthy, long-lived dogs, but also dogs who think more clearly, learn faster, and work better. As such, I offer priority to homes that will maintain this care after they take their puppy home.

5. Puppies are to be kept intact to a minimum of 24 months of age: Because I breed high performance dogs for work and sport, I require all homes to keep their dogs intact until at least 24 months of age. This allows dogs to keep their hormones while their bodies are growing and developing, thereby minimizing the risk of injury and maximizing optimal development for performance.Note: While I sell all puppies on a non-breeding contract (with the exception of working stock homes), you may keep your puppy intact for longer, or even for life, if this is your preference.

A few final point: While I consider every application on a case by case basis, in general I do not:

• Sell puppies to homes with children under 12
• Ship puppies
• Place puppies in city homes
• Let puppies leave before 10 weeks of age
• Sell puppies for breeding purposes (working homes will be considered)
• Place puppies in non-active, pet homes
• Place puppies in homes where they don’t live in the house.

Please review my breeding program protocols, below. From there, if you are interested in applying for a puppy, please email me (Hélène) at kynicstocdogs@gmail.com.

My puppy placement steps are as follows:

1. After you have reviewed the information presented here, please email me to make contact.
2. We will then set a time to connect by phone or zoom and discuss the details around what you’re looking for specifically, and whether I have a litter that should offer a puppy that’s the right fit for you.
3. I do not sell puppies on a first-come-first-served basis. Rather, I match puppies to homes. Once I have puppies on the ground, I will ask you to fill out a puppy questionnaire to help with the matching process.
4. Once I am confident that I have a puppy for you, I will ask for a non-refundable deposit to hold your puppy until it is time for the puppy to go home.
5. Puppies must be paid for in full prior to leaving the property.
6. Puppies will be health checked prior to leaving, microchipped, and subsequently registered with the Canadian Border Collie Association (CBCA)

Breeding Program

Kynic Stockdogs is dedicated to raising the best quality working border collies possible.  To do so, I start with talented, healthy adults and then raise puppies naturally and with tried and tested puppy-rearing techniques.  Please read on to learn more about what this process looks like…

My dogs are an integral part of my small, working homestead.  They are my companions and working partners, and each has a special role around my home and farm.  I breed only occasionally, when I am looking for a new puppy to add to my team.  As such, every litter – and every puppy – is a big deal and a very exciting event on the farm!

Breeding Philosophy

Excellent health and steady, friendly temperaments are central to our breeding program.  Furthermore, my pups are carefully selected to be top notch working stockdogs.  I love all my canine companions but, before being bred, they must prove themselves to be excellent examples of their breed. With the Border Collies, this means being trained to a high level of competency in herding as well as being able to do all important chores on the farm, and occasionally in other venues as need be.

Health & Diet

Kynic puppies are naturally reared, which means they are weaned to raw meat and pastured organic eggs from our farm.  I work hard to eliminate chemicals in their environment, using only biodegradable natural cleaners (such as baking soda and vinegar), and avoiding the use of chemical flea & tick deterrents and dewormers around young immune systems.

I am very fortunate to have the support of a wonderful team of holistic veterinary practitioners, in addition to in-house knowledge gained through over two decades practical experience, to ensure that homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and other holistic approaches to health are our front line.

With respect to vaccines, we encourage the protocol recommended by Dr. Ronald Schultz, DVM, as discussed in this article. This means that puppies ought not to be vaccinated until at least 16 weeks of age (prior to this their mother’s antibodies interfere with the vaccine, potentially negating its effectiveness and even leaving them more vulnerable).

Similarly, Dr. Don Hamilton, DVM, advises that puppies over 10 weeks receive single distemper and parvo vaccines, spaced several weeks apart.

Rabies vaccines, according to studies I’ve read, are most safely and effectively administered when the immune system is more mature, the recommended age being no earlier than 8 months (however implementation may vary according to legal requirements).

Raising Puppies

I raise my litters using a modified (breed-appropriate) version of Puppy Culture and Avidog protocols, coupled with what I have learned in practice from previous litters. For more insight, please check out my Puppy Blog, or join my dedicated puppy Facebook Group.

Pups are whelped and raised in my guest apartment, where I live with them until they are ready to go to their new homes. This allows them a safe space, where they are kept quiet and warm for their first couple of weeks, before begin introduced to the world.

Once pups can hear, see, and crawl about, pups are raised under foot, carefully introduced to the rest of the pack and progressively included in daily activity about the house, and eventually around the farm.

  

By the time pups are ready to go, they will have been exposed to new people and dogs (Covid permitting); different sights, sounds, smells, and environments; car trips; livestock; crates and anything else I can think of to help them build the foundation to blossom into the most confident, resilient dogs possible.

Because I believe in building immune systems naturally, I work to gradually expose puppies to new situations.  This means avoiding taking them to dog parks or other high-traffic dog areas where their immature immune systems might get overwhelmed. At the same time, beginning around 7 weeks, I take them to low-density public areas to gradually expose them to new environments. As they mature, puppies will be taken to herding and agility trials and classes (again, Covid permitting), as well as to training venues where permitted.

By the time puppies are ready to go to their permanent homes they will have solid recalls, be clicker imprinted and have training basics under their belts.  Pups going to working homes will also be regularly exposed to livestock (sheep, goats, horses, ducks and chickens) and our livestock guardian dogs.

I do my very best to carefully match each puppy with the home that will fit their needs and activity levels, and each buyer with the puppy that will best meet their lifestyle, training, and competition goals.  For this reason, I ask that potential buyers fill out a puppy application and spend time getting to know us and our dogs, prior to placing a deposit and eventually purchasing a puppy.

With rare exceptions to working homes, puppies are sold on non-breeding contracts.  Please note that I do not believe that AKC/CKC herding competitions sufficiently test the working ability of a dog to establish its viability for breeding.

I strongly recommend that a raw diet and natural approach to rearing be maintained for the life of each dog and am happy to offer help, information, and support to any puppy homes wishing to do so.

If you are interested in a Kynic Stockdog naturally reared puppy, please email me (Hélène) at kynicstockdogs@gmail.com for more information and a puppy application.