Australian Cattle Dog breeders help puppies adopt families

By Larry Dreiling

With its heritage of Outback Dingo mixed with dog breeds from across the European continent, the Australian Cattle Dog (ACD) is right at home in the melting pot and Wild West image that is America.

Keeping that spirit alive are Lori Pruett and her husband Cappy. From their ACD breeding operation, Cappy Pruett Stock Dogs, in Morgan County, Colo., the couple not only breeds these animals, but also shows and trains them for ranchers across the country.

Cappy Pruett bought his first Australian Cow Dog in 1986 and met his wife while she was starting to show dogs in that breed. Currently, he holds stock dog training clinics nationwide and offers custom training sessions.

He is also an approved American Kennel Club and American Bird Dog Association judge in several specialties.

Lori Pruett has been actively showing dogs since 1988 in obedience and since 1992 in conformation shows. She has since put over 15 championship titles on dogs that she has owned and/or bred. Of those dogs, two were in the top 15 of the breed, three have had multiple group placements, two have been regional specialty grand sweepstakes winners and one has earned the honor of being chosen as Best Bred By Puppy In Show.

"When I went off to college (Colorado State University), I had a Doberman Pinscher named Beaugie," Pruett says. "My dad always told me that the dog would jump fences and kill little children. So, to prove my dad wrong, I took my dog to a local obedience class and the instructor did dog shows. My dog became pretty successful in obedience trials. Since he was also a purebred, I entered him into shows, too."

Lori Pruett apprenticed for a year as an obedience instructor. Once she entered the conformation world, she traveled for over a year with an experienced professional handler of Doberman Pinschers.

"I owe a great deal to Cindy Huckfelt for not only teaching me how to show a dog, but what it takes to properly train, and condition a dog before ever stepping into the show ring. After working with Cindy for a year, I purchased my first show dog and started out on my own," she says.

Her record in the show ring is impressive considering the variety of breeds she has shown to championship levels.

She has handled Weimeraners, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, Dauchunds, Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies, Labrador Retrievers, Australian Shepherds and Australian Cattle Dogs. She has had multiple Best of Breeds and group placings on client dogs and have campaigned an Alaskan Malamute to top standings for that breed.

Lori has also taught conformation classes for the Greeley Kennel Club and has served the last three years as Weld County 4-H Dog Project Superintendent. This love of dogs is passing onto another generation. The couple's daughter Roxy already is involved with dogs. Infant son Garrett likely will.

"My philosophy is simple, teach the dog to have fun and it will show itself," Pruett says. "The dogs I show have a special bond with me that helps them perform to their best ability in the show ring."

Pruett prefers having dogs live with her to create that special bond, although she has taken dogs at ringside to show and have been successful as well.

"I don't handle more than one or two dogs for clients at a time and make it clear that their dog is a priority to be shown. When you send me your dog, it will be cared for in the same manner as my own dogs. They become part of our family, get to sleep on our beds at the hotels and travel in comfort as we travel down the road," she says.

The Pruetts attend events sponsored by AKC, the Australian Shepherd Club of America, the American Herding Breeds Association and the U.S. Border Collie Association in open trials.

"I will be qualifying later this year to be an AKC breed judge for the Australian Cattle Dog. Cappy is a herding judge in both AKC and AHBA," Lori adds.

It was in the show ring that she first saw the Australian Cattle Dog perform at the registered level.

"The American Kennel Club had recognized the breed only in 1980. I had what they used to call a Red Heeler, named Rex, when I was growing up," she said. "Now that the breed was AKC recognized, I knew I could do a lot more stuff with them. I could succeed with herding, obedience, the breed ring. I purchased my first purebred from a breeder in Oklahoma in 1991."

It was in the ACD show ring she met her husband, Cappy.

"Cappy was involved in team roping and he bought a dog through the same breeder I bought my first Cattle Dog from Jim Buzzard, at Vinita, Okla. It was a turn-back dog."

The dog, named Cooper, had a rough few early years of life before finding a home with Lori. He had had multiple owners, and spent several years living in a van with his breeder. Cooper has since gone onto Doggie Heaven, but not before taking a bench show title, a pre-trial herding title and a companion dog championship.

Cooper was the first male Lori purchased. He became the foundation stud of her operation. His frozen semen still is available.

"Cooper proved that a good solid temperament can withstand a lot of things," Lori says.

"It wound up that he was the kind of dog I was looking for in an all-around kind of dog. He was the kind of dog who looks good sitting on your couch, in the front of your truck, jumping through agility trials, and could do anything.

"The thing is you can do a lot with these dogs in competition. A lot of people think the only kind of contest a dog can enter is a frou-frou show ring thing on Animal Planet."

Lori Pruett's dog working philosophy is to take a client's dog and within six months and get it ready for trialing

"That's working it three or four times a week, she says. "We'll only work a dog a half-hour at a time, twice a day, three times a week. It's more what you do with that time than how long you are training. Our dogs have worked ducks, sheep and cattle.

"With drought, it's been tough to sell and train the last few years because there aren't as many cattle in the area."

In 1994, Lori Pruett introduced Cooper to a bitch owned by Katherine Buetow of Katwala Australian Cattle Dogs, Sidney, Ill. This litter produced the Pruett's first homebred bitch to earn the titles of Champion, Herding Started and Companion Dog. Ch DuWest Yippeekiyokiyay CD HS, better known as Yippee, became her operation's foundation female.

"Kathy and a lady in Pennsylvania helped me pick the dog that they thought would work for me," Lori says. "I've met other breeders over the years and started selecting other dogs to purchase."

Yippee, who has been retired to being "queen of the house," earned multiple group placements (owner handled) including a Group 1 as well as a herding High In Trial on Cattle.

"Yippee is both an excellent example of an Australian Cattle dog by earning all those titles on her own as well as by the numbers of champions, agility title holders and herding title holders she has bred.

"Yippie just turned 10. She is spayed, but she's still happy, healthy and just the same Energizer Bunny she was when breeding," Lori says.

Now bitches like Crystal and Birdie are breeding puppies for the Pruetts and males such as Spud are offering their services. Lori says she does not take special orders for puppies. "We can assure you that if you want a blue puppy you will get a blue and if you want a red puppy you will get a red," Lori says. "If you want a male puppy you will get a male and if you want a female, then you will get a female. In some cases, I won't know until they are born.

"Beyond that, we try to the best of our ability to match your personality with that of the dog and that personality may not come in the 'markings' you want. I try to fill certain requests like a male with a mask on it or something like that. I always ask what a person is looking for in a dog. I want to make sure the breed is right for you."

If it sounds like Pruett is saying she wants to make sure you are right for one of her dogs, it might be a correct assumption. She views the adoption of her puppies as serious business. She does not take deposits on puppies until after they are born and has screened purchasers as a potential home.

"We retain the right to not sell you a puppy if we do not think you will be a good fit for one of our pups," Lori says. "We want to make sure to get you connected with all that you will need to be prepared to bring one of our puppies home. We also want to make sure we have enough time to get to know you to make sure we get the right puppy for your situation."

All of Pruett's puppies come with a binding contract that owners must enroll their dogs in an obedience class by the time they are six months old. She also recommends that you purchase a crate for the dog to assist with teething, potty training and general ACD destructiveness.

"You must be willing to attend to the dog's care and well being and I retain the right to take any dog back once you have notified me that it can no longer live with you for whatever reason," she says.

"We take pride in the fact that so many of our dogs have gone on to new homes, have blended with the family and met the expectations that the family has had. Many of our puppy buyers are repeaters and/or waiting for another dog from us. We know if someone's matched with one of our dogs they will be a part of the family for a long time."

Cost for the screening a possible purchase starts at $1,000. Potential ACD buyers may spend a lot of money, but may not get what they want if a dog isn't "just right." Pruett works to try to make sure there is a fit between dog and owner early on.

"You can't tell what a dog will really look like until they are five or six weeks old," she says. "You also can't tell what their conformation and temperament are until then. We also test for various medical things."

A sad part of the life of an Australian Cow Dog is a propensity toward several genetic illnesses. Deafness is common. So is a progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) called progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRCD), which is known to cause blindness in at least five dog breeds, including ACDs. It appears to be the canine version of the human gene defect producing retinitis pigmentosa, a leading cause of familial blindness.

"All of our adult dogs have their hips x-rayed prior to breeding to rule out any hip dysplasia," Lori says. "The PRCD blood work that has become so vital to assist us in ruling out PRA is completed on all adults prior to breeding and new owners will be informed of the possible status of their puppy prior to sale.

"Most people want dogs that are healthy and energetic. A lot of people don't realize that without testing, people may not know their puppies can't hear. Our puppies are guaranteed to be healthy prior to coming to you. We also include worming and their first set of shots."

Despite the hoops Pruett places toward adoption and purchase of her ACDs, there's a waiting list of potential buyers.

"Our dogs are not for everyone and we feel it is our job not to sell you one of our puppies but to make sure you get the right dog for you and your situation," Pruett says. "Our dogs are thinkers and come with the challenge that a thinking dog is born with. These dogs are active, energetic and have a desire to please you as long as you make sure you are the boss and take control."

Larry Dreiling can be reached by phone at 785-628-1117 or e-mail at ldreiling@aol.com.

Date: 12/16/04

	Web hpj.com

Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2011.  High Plains Publishers, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com