About Us
"...mountains breed learned men and shepherds' huts house philosophers."
Born: 15 July 2019
Bred by Blueberry Hill English Shepherds
Sage is our future foundation hopeful at Quixotic. Her parents were "on my radar" before they were even a "couple," known for lines with fantastic temperaments, sweet & biddable natures, and versatile abilities that could be suited to service and therapy dog type work. Joan always produces beautiful puppies and raises them with extensive socialization, so when my "dream pair" was announced as "expecting" I jumped at the opportunity to get one of these special puppies.
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Sage has proven since her first week with us to be extremely resilient, intelligent, affectionate and biddable. From a 5+ hr plane ride to riding around in a backpack meeting people, she has rolled with new situations with little fuss, and is always happy to say hello to new people. And even though physically she probably had a bladder the size of a walnut on arrival, she was essentially housebroken within the week with careful supervision, as she understood outside is the place to go!
With clicker-training, in 5 days she learned: sit, down, stand, "dead dog", roll-over, "show me your belly", shake, and come. She immediately learned her new name, and understands "leave it." With consistency, she's learning to not jump up, or mouth on hands, clothes, or shoes. UPDATE: At 7 months, she continues to amaze us at just how "easy" she is for a sheepdog. She's a smarty-pants, but with a sweet soft side and a strong English Shepherd "off-switch." English Shepherds are known to have "old souls" and while this little girl is a puppy who does get the zoomies and loves to tumble, when it's time to get down to business, she's a serious and attentive little worker. I can't even fathom how many "tricks" she's learned in the past 5 months, as a lot of what she's been learning has been manners, socialization, obedience, heeling, rally, nose-work and scent-discrimination. She has been actively learning skills utilized by service dogs and behaves herself well during doctor's office visits and other public outings.
Adolescence has meant increasing distractions and selective hearing, but that is alas part of growing up for every puppy (and human!) While she went through common English Shepherd "fear periods" discovering she had a voice to complain about certain things she didn't feel comfortable with, she also became more comfortable with becoming the boss of her sheep and exerting influence. Still biddable and easy going, she's simply showing she does have the backbone to handle stubborn livestock when needed. She is also settling into "routines" and helps me by predicting when it's time to go out by bringing me my shoes, or when it's time to check the mail by telling Matt it's lunchtime.
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Sage has a full Embark DNA panel completed, showing clear on 174 tested
conditions, and an OFA CAER Eye Exam for 2019-2020. She had a preliminary PennHIP
evaluation (March 26, 2020). At 2 years old she will be reevaluated for PennHIP along
with OFA Hips, Elbows, and Patellas.
Sage has recently earned her RATN novice barn-hunt title, passed her AKC CGC (Canine Good Citizen) class and test, AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, Basic Manners, and Beginner Nose Work 1 & 2, Intermediate Nose Work 1 & 2, and is currently receiving private herding lessons..
"Teak"
Aliyah's Lil' Red Waggin' CD RA CGC DNA-VP
Born: 4 November 2010
Bred by Aliyah Australian Shepherds
Teak is our resident teddy-bear, with a cuddly, sweet disposition and biddability that makes him a fantastic "PR man." He excels in rally and obedience type work, has his "Canine Good Citizen" title, and can be seen often in public at Lowe's or Starbucks greeting people with a smile and a wiggle when they'd like to pet him, or graciously minding his own business if they don't.
Teak was selected because we knew we'd need a puppy who would be ok with Sunny sitting on his head the rest of her life. And "Saint Teak" has been more than gracious in that regard, because she did, right up until her last day! Teak enjoys cuddling with his people and is a bit of a couch potato, but is enjoying his new little companion, Sage. They enjoy playing in the back yard together, Sage playing the part of cow-dog in training, and Teak as "Ferdinand the bull" sniffing and eating flowers and generally being a big gentle bull of a fluff she needs to outrun and gather.
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Teak is neutered, so will not be part of the breeding program - however his nice-guy paternal influence and guidance for any pups coming into our household will be of utmost importance.
We submitted Teak's DNA to Embark as a learning experience, as we will be utilizing gene-testing in our breeding program.
At the Rainbow Bridge
"Sunny"
Aliyah's CN SunSpots CD RE NA NAJ NF RS-N JS-O GS-E TD
18 September 2006 - 1 January 2019
Bred by Aliyah Australian Shepherds
Sunny was our little spit-fire "diva-dog." Mis-marked with "excessive white" (i.e. split-faced) this stunning and unique creature was ineligible for a conformation career, but otherwise had it all — structure, balance, attitude, athleticism, incredible intelligence, eagerness to please, natural sheep-herding talent... everything an Aussie was supposed to be! A "whole lot of dog," she wasn't for the faint-of-heart however, and in many ways was the "sheepdog they always warn you about." She was always on the move, always thinking, always voicing her disapproval, and always trying to figure out how to run the show! But she had a heart of gold and wanted nothing more than to please, and be with her people. She was sweet as could be to her therapy-dog special-needs kids she visited, and was always up for a "runway show" at the strip-mall to show off heeling so people would moon over her. Of course if they wanted to pet her, she'd give them her butt to scritch and walk away... but a girl's got to have standards!
"Cinnamon"
Silkgrass Cinnamon, TD
25 December 1995 - 20 November 2006
Bred by Silkgrass Kennels
Cinnamon was my first Australian Shepherd, and first dog on my own as an adult. Amazingly gentle, nimble and dextrous, he was fairly easy going for what I'd been expecting of a sheepdog. He was amazingly intuitive, knowing exactly when to rest a paw on my shoulder when I had a bad day, or when to make a joke! (Yes, he not only had a sense of humor and understood jokes, but he would formulate and "tell" you jokes to cheer you up!) I never thought to get into dog-shows or worry about titles with him, as he'd been so easy that I could immediately incorporate him into my busy life bringing him with me everywhere to everything like I wanted to, requiring very little remediation or training on my part. We did, however, think it would be nice to share his fantastic sweetness with others, and looked into having him become certified as a therapy dog. He had never been in a class or around other dogs in a structured setting like that before, but he aced the class, and started visiting a city school where he was well-loved by the children he visited.
