Leash Training

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  From an early age we put collars on the puppies so they get accustom to the feel.  After they have adjusted to that, we add tabs so they learn to feel the weight of a clasp and also so they can pull each other around.   It's a wonderful passive way to begin the process of leash training. 

The "tabs" are a result of leash abuse ;-)  Leashes left in the wrong places get chewed.  Over the years I have lost the original function of many leashes, but no worries, they gain a new function- puppy leash training.  I have many leather leashes of various lengths.  Those different lengths serve different purposes.  Even the clasp itself is useful as it introduces weight and something dangling. 

 I have a favorite leash type- 1/4" leather, braided, not stitched or riveted, small clasps, 6' long.  There was a wonderful vendor who made her own leashes of this style in many leather colors.   She would vend at dog shows and I bought leashes from her on a regular basis.   For a while I would also sell her leashes (at cost) to puppy buyers.  Most commercially available leashes are not appropriate for sheltie puppies.  The claps are too big and heavy as are the leashes themselves.   Sadly for me, she retired.  Happily, I was able to find this style of leash available from a company that has been around for awhile.

J&J dog supplies is a company that specializes in supplies for obedience, agility, rally and many other competition sports.  Their leashes only come in one color, but they meet all of my criteria.  They suggest the 1/4" is for dogs up to 15lbs, but that is the size I have always used and will continue to use.  My dogs don't pull while walking, it fits well in my hand and softens to a pliable feel and use.  Leather is not as slippery as nylon and when you clamp down on the leash, it won't keep slipping in your hand.   

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Where would one look if they were interested in a puppy?

 It turns out this is not that easy of a question to answer.   When I was a child, the answer for many was the classified ads in the newspaper.  The answer was also, go to the pound, or a pet store in the mall, a neighbor had a litter, word of mouth, or find a dog show and go meet people (how do you do find a dog show?).      Today the answer is, see an in-person adoption rescue event, word of mouth,  and Google.   Both then and now there are undoubtedly other answers as well, but these may be the top Family Feud answers if you ever get on the show and are asked this question. 

Google is most likely where most people start who want to put some thought into a dog.  I have an ad on AKC Marketplace https://marketplace.akc.org/   and hope that people looking for a purebred dog will look there. I am pleased the answer to that is yes.   I googled AKC marketplace and AKC marketplace was not the top choice in my list, a place called puppystop was listed first, and that was with me specifically using the name of the site itself!  

Some people look for the parent club, in our case, the American Shetland Sheepdog Association https://www.americanshetlandsheepdogassociation.org/  to find breeders of a specific breed.  Occasionally people email me saying that is where they got my information.  

My blog is not monetized and I have never attempted to make it a marketing tool.  I am thankful to those who find it and read it and I am very thankful to you 82 followers, but I don't expect it is how a random person will find out we have puppies available.   Puppies bred intentionally, by people who care about family lines are becoming less common because of the big business of "rescue".    I could write all day about the many ways that "rescue" is a farce- but I will spare you in this post (may that will be a topic for another post).

Thankfully, people who do find us are the BEST!  I have been so fortunate over the years to have wonderful people find me and join the "Acadia family".   I have written many times about how much I value our puppy buyers. However it was you found us, whether it was to purchase a puppy or just to read the blog, we apricate you.  

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Puppies- 6wks

 

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Acadia's Film Director- 2nd in the Bred By Exhibitor class

 Windsor placed 2nd in the Bred-By-Exhibitor class at the 2026 ASSA National Specialty

(GCh. Acadia Stage Director x Laureate Zinfandoll)

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Acadia Brigadoon, AXJ, OA, NF, RA, BN, CGC

Yesterday 13 year old Brig came back to Acadia after his owner, Holly, passed away.   Brig is the son of GChS. Acadia Stage Presence, CC- “Liza”, who passed away last year.   He is a half-brother to Aiden and Chica. Brig was in Liza’s first litter, born Thanksgiving week 2012 at the farm in Pennsylvania.

For many years, Mike and I hosted our families for Thanksgiving at the farm. My sister Beck’s 9 year old daughter, Cadence, was really hoping that Liza would have her puppies during their stay, but sadly, she did not.  Liza delivered November 27, after all of the guests had gone home.   Cadence is now a senior in college and has just been accepted into Vet school.   

I feel so fortunate that Holly had included instructions in her last Will and Testament that he was to be returned to his breeder if she preceded him in death.   All of our puppies are sold with a contract stating:

“Not to abandon the dog at a shelter or rescue for the purpose of finding a new home or euthanasia.  If the buyer can’t keep the dog they must 1) notify Acadia Shelties and 2) offer the dog back to Acadia Shelties at no charge.  Buyer is responsible for any expenses incurred to return the dog to Acadia.  If the buyer has another prospective home, they must still notify Acadia Shelties.  If upon notification to Acadia Shelties, the buyer and Acadia Shelties mutually agree on a third party as the new owner/home, Acadia Shelties must be provided with the name, address and phone number of the third party.”

Over the 28 years I have been breeding dogs, I have only had a handful of instances where the life circumstances of a dog have changed.  I hope that truly only a handful of our dogs have had lifechanging circumstances.  That is the case for Brig.  

I was first contacted by Holly’s friend Kris that Holly was in the hospital and Brig was safe with a friend.  Kris told me that once Holly got out the hospital and rehab she would be going to assisted living where she would be allowed to have Brig.   That sounded good.  Holly and Brig would be together.  Sadly, Holly never made it to assisted living and the home that was caring for Brig while he was waiting to be reunited with Holly couldn’t keep him long-term.  No problem, he is always welcome with us. 

Brig seems to be taking this change in stride.  Resilience is a great trait.  We are proud of him and happy to have him back.

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Professional Amateurism

The difference between a professional and an amateur is not necessarily the level of skill, but rather that professionals do “the thing” for a living, while an amateur does it for love. In a 2022 article by Natalia Beard, she said, “When we denigrate the amateur, we dismiss the fact the at the origin of the word ‘amateur’ is the Latin verb ‘amare’-to love. Our passions are what make up our inner life, a place of consolation where things of meaning are stored and preserved, ready to be drawn on whenever we want or need them. They should be cultivated at all costs.” Peter Gray, PhD says, “The difference may lie in the dimensions of motivation and attitude, not competence.” To be an amateur does equate to accepting a “lessor than” status when doing “the thing”, but it might equate to a lessor capitalistic pursuit of “the thing”. 

 We are in the 2nd week of the 2026 Winter Olympics and just 2 weeks ago was the Westminster Dog Show in New York City. Many, but not all, of those who compete in both the Olympics and Westminster are professional amateurs. The road to these events is a long one. There are always people learning, training and preparing at home, people competing for the experience, and those who are ready to win. Even still, at these events, there are often failures, unexpected wins, and those who reach their full potential at just the right time. Some professionals are defeated by amateurs. Mental preparation can become more important than physical preparation. 

 I am enjoying watching the Olympics, but I don’t follow these sports during the year. I really enjoyed watching Westminster because I know many of the handlers and dogs. Andy Linton, the handler of Doberman, Penny, the winner of the 150th Westminster Kennel Club show, is a two time winner of Westminster. When I lived in Tucson, Arizona, Andy lived in California and I got to know him a bit. When I moved to Idaho he had moved to Washington and I caught up with him at a show. I have long admired Andy and it was thrilling to see him win again. 

 Congratulations to all who dream, train, compete, and risk. Professional or amateur, the thrill of victory is addictive, unmatched, and not guaranteed.

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Untold 2025: Judging Futurity at the 2025 ASSA National

Today I have been looking back on my blog posts from 2025, and there is a Huge Missing Experience-  I Judged Futurity and Veteran Sweepstakes at the 2025 ASSA National!   This is quite the Honor because one has to be nominated, and then voted in.  

The National was held in Greeley, Colorado in April.   I didn't take many photos of this trip.  My friend, Katrina Steward, went with me.  Katrina has been involved with shelties for a while, is a member of the ASSA and worked at the show as the ring steward.   I was happy she was there to keep me company since I wasn't allowed to talk with anyone before the show.  

One major disappointment was that the official videographer didn't make it on the day I was judging.  I was looking forward to watching my ring procedure and also looking at the dogs from a spectator perspective to see if I would have chosen the same dogs once I was in the "arm chair quarterback" position.  That is the view I normally have, and it was quite different being the one in the middle of the ring,

One of the biggest differences I noticed was that I was very focused on the dog being judged at the time.  I didn't find myself looking at the lineup of dogs which, as a spectator, is something one does constantly.  I was also surprised at how fast the time seemed to pass.   

Best In Futurity: Laureate Ophelia

When I was preparing for the assignment (and I did a lot to prepare), I sat down with pencil and paper and worked out the timeline.  I looked at how many entries were in a class, should I split the class, calculated how many minutes each class would be, when I should take lunch......   I knew it was an all day assignment, but I also didn't want it to go too long.   On the day of the event I did a good job keeping the ring time right on schedule, which made me pleased because I was not checking the clock.

While I was judging I made sure I did the exact same procedure for every dog.  When I was done, many people complimented me on two things: 1. that I was smiling the whole time 2. that I was consistent and everyone was treated the same way.   I truly enjoyed the assignment and I found qualities in all of the dogs.  

Futurity (the National) and Sweepstakes (local specialties) normally have the lineup of winners come in the same way- the males followed by the females, or: 12-18 month dogs (males), followed by 9-12 month dogs, followed by 6-9month dogs, followed by 12-18 month bitches (females), followed by 9-12 month bitches followed by 6-9 month bitches.   The classes are not divided by color, so the final line up is all 6 classes of winners.    I have never liked having the 6-9 month puppy dog being chased by the 12-18 month puppy bitch.  I feel it puts both of those two entries at a disadvantage.  As the judge, I was able to change things up, so I put the ages together and had the 12-18 month dog, followed by the 12-18 month bitch, followed by the 9-12 month dog, followed by the 9-12 month bitch- etc.   I also found it easier to look at the ages next to one another, and also evaluate if I felt the "dogs appear masculine, bitches feminine" (as stated in the standard). 

Runner up to Best In Futurity: Erable Limelight

I was very pleased with my final lineup, and also felt that if the classes had been divided by color, I  would have had even more beautiful puppies to consider. My final 6 had all colors represented.   In the end, the top prize of Best In Futurity went to the 12-18 month old bitch- a lovely, very feminine, sable.  Runner-up went to a tricolor 6-9 month old bitch.   Both of these girls finished their championships shortly after the National.

The veterans made me cry.  They were so lovely and were such beautiful quality.  I was interested to find out that Best in Veteran Sweepstakes was not a champion.  She was so lovely and I felt that she could even compete today- however she was spayed, and therefore not eligible to compete for championship points.  

bio writeup in the catalog

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