We took Gemma for an ultrasound with her repro vet on April 1. She didn't see any sacs, so she asked us to come back April 10 for a confirmation of pregnancy. So we wait a week and then repeat the ultrasound.

Last week I took Levi to the Battle River all breed show in Alberta, and he won the breed twice out of three shows, and he got a nice Group 2 placing to open the show on Friday! We are so proud of this boy! This was his second weekend out this year, and he's currently the #1 collie in Canada! We are hoping to keep him in the top ten. He finished in #11 spot in 2025 by a slim margin. 

Next update is April 10! 

Tick Tock! On April 1 we find out if Gemma is pregnant! Our blue merle girl, GCH High Country Catch Your Breath SDO, SN was bred to a beautiful Can CH sable mahogany stud the first week of March. We have been receiving puppy applications, so if you are interested in this breeding, please click on our Apply Now tab. 
Gemma is genetically clear for all collie diseases, with excellent hips and good elbows. You can find the link to her OFA reports by clicking on OUR COLLIES, then her name, then scan the OFA bar code with you phone's camera, and it will take you to her results.  
Gemma is a very active collie who loves to run and excels at performance sports. She's super sweet and very smart; she catches on to new training quickly. 
Pics of the handsome stud are posted below, as well as some recent photos of Gemma.

​

Our sweet little blue merle girl gets an update as well! Gemma has been busy in Sprinters, needing two more runs to get her second title, with a top speed of 41 kph! This girl loves to run! Gemma is halfway to her GCH Bronze now with limited showing last year. We do plan to breed Gemma soon -details will be announced later. She is genetically clear for all mutations, with an Excellent hip rating and good elbow OFA rating. she is very athletic, and excels at Scent detection. She is such a fun collie!

I'm the first admit I have been delinquent in updating my website! I'd rather be having fun with my dogs than typing on a computer any old day! And boy, we've been having fun! Since I last posted here, Levi, our beautiful tri colour stud got his first Group 1 with his amazing  handler Shaunna Bernardin at the West Kootenay Kennel Club show last August! This put Levi in Dick Lopaschuck's last BIS ring, which was special for us, because we are in the same all breed club, and I've learned so much from Dick and Nancy about showing. And... Levi got his Bronze that same weekend with multiple group placings as well as this Group 1 win, (which I wasn't there to see), but that's another story! 

Levi is now Group winning, multi group placing, multi AOM/CCC  GCHB Buffalo Creek Levi's Promise at High Country! He has 16 points towards his Silver with the required majors already awarded. We do have some shows planned for later this year.

And, that's not all this dog has accomplished! He's just one run shy of his second Sprinter's title, (the 500 point title), with a top time of 42kph! He's working on completing his Scent detection Excellent and Master's titles as well. 

Gemma (GCH High Country Catch Your Breath SDO SN) went to Okotoks on Saturday for a herding instinct test, and she rocked it!  This was her first exposure to livestock, and she instinctively knew what to do with those goats. She did split them, but she got them back together and moved them forward, wearing from side to side to keep them together.  We don't have plans to herd with her, as we don't have access to sheep or goats, but it was a fun thing to do, and watch her work. I love this girl! she is so good at everything she does!

Wow, its been awhile since I updated this site. We have a Facebook group for High Country Collies that is regularly updated, and its not linked to this site, so I often forget to post here. Our Tri boy Levi is now a Canadian Grand Champion, and so is his daughter, Gemma! Both are working on their Bronze, with Levi halfway there and Gemma about a quarter of the way. She's out of coat right now, so we are doing performance sports with her instead of conformation.

Gemma (GCH High Country Catch Your Breath) is our first home bred champion from our first and so far only litter. She just titled in Sprinters, which is Fast Cat if you're in the US. Her top speed was 41 KPH! That's 25 1/2 MPH! This girl is FAST, and she loves to run! 

Gemma also received her Open title in Scent Detection, and she is already in Masters Exterior while completing her Excellent Interior and Containers. She's fast, efficient and very confident in this sport; a real easy dog to work with and read. Next week she goes for her herding instinct test, and then its off to her first barn hunt trial! There's so much you can do with your collies to keep them active and fulfilled!

On the health testing front, Gemma's OFA hips came back as Excellent and her elbows as Good. We plan to breed her on her next heat to a beautiful GCH Tri with excellent hips who also competes and excels in performance sports. Gemma is genetically clear for all testable diseases, so we are expecting a healthy and sound litter, with conformation prospects, performance prospects and pet home placements. 

​Levi is off to his next conformation show in July, with Gemma still growing coat for her August return to the ring. Here are very recent photos of Levi and Gemma doing what they love best.

 

A lot has happened in our collie world since I last posted! Our tri boy, Levi, got his Canadian Grand Championship in November at our last show of the year, Evelyn Kenney, in Calgary. He went Select in all four shows, and there was some outstanding competition!  Levi also received an Award of Merit from the Collie Club of Canada under Judge Susan Bertrand at the Camrose Regional specialty in October. We are really proud of this boy! Both Levi and Gemma were shown by junior handlers in the collie specialty, and performed very well in the ring with children at the end of the leash.

Levi also earned three new performance titles since our last post. He received his Scent Detection Open, Rally Novice and Sprinters Novice titles this fall! So he's now GCH Buffalo Creek Levi's Promise at High Country SDO, RN, SN, NTD.

And not to be outdone, Gemma, CH High Country Catch Your Breath SDN finished Best of Opposite in all four shows, our last of 2024, and she is now two points short of her own GCH title! We were hoping to finish both their Grands at this show, but one of the collie girls was absent, so there were only two collie girls at the show, so that means a single point win. 

Gemma also received her Scent Detection novice title in her first trial, and shows great promise in that sport, moving up to Excellent Containers search in just one weekend! The judge even gave her a WOW!! on her score card.

We are always grateful for the expertise of our Pro Handler, Madison Bernardin and her team, who always do such an excellent job showing our collies in Conformation.

I took Levi to his first CKC Scent Detection trial in Lethbridge on the weekend. There are three components for searches - Containers, where the dog searches empty closed boxes that have a hole in the lid just big enough for them to stick their nose in. There is one box with a Wintergreen scent at the Novice level. The second search is Interiors, where the dog searches the interior of a building (about a ten foot square section), and has to locate the Wintergreen scent. This trial used a closet in a thrift store that was full of clothing and other articles, with the scent hidden among the articles. The third search is Exteriors, where the scent is buried or hidden among outdoor articles or even shoved into the door frame of the building. 

Its fun to watch that nose get to work and search for the scent! Levi was fast in Containers; he found the scent in less than five seconds. In Interiors, he almost ran the clock, as he was distracted by another dog walking around but he found the hidden scent with 13 seconds left out of a three minute allowed time frame. In Exteriors he nailed it again, giving him his Novice title. He found the scent in less than 28 seconds buried beneath a bike helmet. He stopped, looked up at me, and just to make sure I was awake and paying attention, he put his paw on the helmet and stood there like a proud achiever! What a good boy! 

Levi's Hips & Elbows results are here and they are looking EXCELLENT! (Elbows have only two ratings; either good or poor, and Hips are rated poor to Excellent). When considering a dog that interests you, always check their OFA results on the official OFA website and look up the breeder there, or search by their registered name as some people do forge these certificates. (I have blocked out my address on these certificates).