Besslin Border Collies was born of a love of red border collies. My first border collie, Murphy, was a red dog and in those days red border collies were hard to come by. I decided that if I wanted anymore red border collies, I would have to develop my own line. I was fortunate to come upon a red/white female puppy from very good working bloodlines, and so it was that Besslin Border Collies came to be. The kennel name Besslin comes from the names of my first two border collies, Bess & Murphy. Murphy's nickname was Smurfslin so we took Bess and the slin from Smurfslin to create Besslin.
The first puppy born in the Besslin line was Besslin Kep, a beautiful red/white male. We kept Kep and he entered the breeding program when he turned 3yrs of age. Next I purchased a three year old black/white border collie from Ted Bell. Bells Bonnie Blue. And she carried the red gene. And then came another female dog from Ted Bell. A beautiful black tri-colour puppy that I named Bells Tri Dathuil Aisling (Bell's Tri Colour Dream). Aisling also carried the red gene. And those five dogs formed the foundation of Besslin Border Collies.
All five of those dogs have passed now, all having lived to ripe old ages. But I have their progeny. The two matriarchs of Besslin Border Collies, Bonnie and Bess, along with Aisling, have left behind a lineage of beautiful dogs.
Today from Bess's side of the family we have Bess's daughter Ceilidgh, and Ceilidgh's daughter Aoife. We also have Shep, Casey, and Scout who are the sons of Ceilidgh's brother, Pip, who sadly and suddenly passed away in 2005. From Bonnie's side of the family we have her sons Dermot and Buddy. Buddy's daughters Maeve & Caora. And Dermots kids, Fleet, Hope, and Biddy. Maeve and Caora are Aisling's daughters. And Ceilidgh & Pip were sired by Aislings brother Kyle. Aisling formed the third branch in the Besslin line.
In addition to the progeny from the Besslin line we have also brought in outside blood from time to time. Most often from Ted Bells lines. We currently have two of Ted Bells dogs in our breeding program. Bell's Hannah is a beautiful black/white rough coated female. And Clancy is a handsome red-tri rough coated male. Ceilidgh's daughter, Aoife, is sired by Margaret Lambkins dog Java (who is from Jeanne Weavers lines).
Many of our border collie pups are in sport homes where they excel in whatever sports they participate in. And those puppies that have gone to pet homes are reported to be wonderful companion dogs. Our own dogs compete in flyball and disc sports. I used to do sheep herding with them years ago & am hoping to get back to that now that we have our own farm.
At Besslin Border Collies we strive to produce a dog that is of stable temperament and good health. Our puppies are raised in an enriched environment with novel stimuli to help them develop positive associations with new things and sounds in their environment. Puppies are handled daily and by the time they go to their new homes they will have been introduced to a variety of toys, floor surfaces, vet visit, grooming, and nail trims. They will also have been dewormed and received their first set of vaccines.
To see photo's and profiles of our border collies, please go the blog topic .... Meet Our Border Collies
