The Dogs - Spark's intro (upd 3/2007)

Dog in need of a home

Spark was looking for a new home in the Spring 2002 due to his owners' lack of time and Spark went to live with Ilse Verbercht at Xilver Highland kennels in Belgium. I was in need of new blood to my bitches so Ilse kindly promised I could loan him for awhile.

Spark is social and friendly and a bit stubborn sometimes. Funny and affectionate (but no teddybear..). Fast with a purpose. Power is his middle name. He also has a good posture, he is alert, keen and enthusiastic! Likes to catch a ball and to play tug-o-war (mind your fingers!). I'm besotted with him, I think he's fantastic!! My red wolf!!
And certainly not a dog for the faint-hearted!

His time with me

Spark is from genuine working stock, his parents coming from Northern Ireland and they both worked in a farm. Spark took the Belgian Border Collie Club's Aptitude Test on 20th August 2002. It tests the dog's working ability and behaviour with sheep (taipumuskoe). Spark got 'very good' which is the 2nd best mark and it's very well done for a young dog who has seen sheep for the first time! They said that 'he has good eye with easy movement'. The judge also said that Spark has very good balance, stays calm and stable with the sheep.
Due to the two unfortunate facts; no sheep to herd and me having no car at the time, Spark was not purposely trained to herd sheep in Finland. Over here it's a very difficult to find a place & sheep to herd.

During the winter 2002 we did little Obedience as Cloud and Pihka had litters and most of my time was spent with the pups. Spark knew Cl.1 & 2 stuff so I was able to compete with him during late winter, only retrieve was a bit difficult as he had learnt it wrong, I had to re-train him. So it was in April 2003 when I started training him the more difficult stuff, he had done sendaway a couple of times in the Autumn but nothing after that. However, he got it fairly quickly as he did with the other exercises as well. Scent he learnt very fast.
He passed cl.3 late May. By October 2003, he had gained two very good 1st's from EVL, one with a CACIOB! And, on All Saint's Day in 2003, he becomes Finnish Obedience Champion.
Spark has passed the BH test (behaviour test) and is ok with loud noises and gunshots. I have fired a 6mm for him at close range and he does not react. Also louder noises (thunder, 9mm gun) are ok.

Moments of Fame

He has had several good competitions in Obedience, he's got two very good 1st's from EVL (highest class), one with 298½p and the other with 293p (max 320p). And his biggest win is a CACIOB!! Of that I am extremely proud of! His third and crowning 1st came with 262p, 30 points were lost on the sit stay (he decided not to sit..). He was very naughty on the heelwork, but improved towards the end. He did a beautiful scent without moving the other sticks one bit (he sometimes goes too fast and makes the sticks go everywhere), just beautiful, only I messed up the end (hand signal by mistake so that he came to heelwork position too quickly). And what a distant control, simply perfect. :)
Spark was placed 2nd out of the 7 dogs competing and lost only by two points.

When he became a Ch he had been with me for less than 14 months, winning out of cl.1 in Feb and getting last 1st from Cl.4 on 1st Nov. Into a Champion in 8 months, and having two month-long breaks in between. Wow. What a dog. :)

From breed shows he has gotten a couple of Very Good's (red ribbon), and one EXCELLENT (pink!) from Kotka International Breed Show 2004. He was also given an Excellent with 1st place in the Open Class in an unofficial Open Show, judged by breed specialist, Mrs T. Jackson, from GB.

I am pleased that he achieved the BH so soon after arriving here Autumn 2002.

Stud duties

Spark is a proven studdog, he is effective and persuasive in his duties with the ladies. He's also quite matter-of-factly about it. All his puppies will be CEA clear as he does not carry CEA (DNA-tested normal).
NOTE! Spark lives in Belgium so if you are interested in him contact Ilse, you can also write to me if you want to know more about Spark. I'm always happy to answer questions about him. In Finland some of his sons may be available for stud purposes, you may contact me for info.

When you are considering of using Spark I hope it is not (only) because of his colour (that's only an added bonus ;) ) but because of his working-ability, -style and temperament. It is always possible that he or his lines do not suite your bitch or her lines. That should be discussed in time so do contact us WELL BEFORE you await your bitch' season to start.

Spark is ISDS registered and also fully registered with the Belgian KC. His offspring in Finland is registered in the official ER-register (not FIN-reg) because his grandparents are 'only' ISDS registered. In other FCI countries his puppies would be registered in the normal register. Fin KC has decided not to approve ISDS dogs although FCI does approve them given certain criteria (= an export pedigree from the British KC). This applies to all BC's that are registered in Finland. ER-registered dog can become Ag/Ob/WT/Sh Champions and they can also become International Champions.