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My name is Sue Courtenay- Blake and with my Husband Martin and son Fraser Have the pleasure of living with “Four Wonderful Beardies”- Let me introduce our "beardies" (Bearded Collies), and share with you some of their achievements and adventures. 

Dottie

Click on the names above or the navigation bar on the left where there is a separate page dedicated to each of them and one for the puppies.........See the News page for their latest adventures

Brae as a puppy

See the News page for all we got up to at the festive season including "Tousie's Tails", "Brae's Brags" and "Chloe's Capers" and introducing "Tom's Torments" !

Why did we chose a beardie? – Or rather how did a Beardie chose us!

 When our little rescue bitch died it left a huge gap that needed to be filled,   The house was silent and everywhere I looked there was space.  The place was looking too tidy – and incredibly quiet.  My young son was devastated at the death of a friend, but where could we find another pet that would be able to take over our lives.  I took it upon myself to make a list of what I wanted in a dog and more importantly what we could offer?  After I made a few phone calls I was put in touch with a lovely lady called Janette Burns, who really understood what we were feeling and talked to me for well over an hour on the phone.  She invited the whole family over to see her dogs, and although she said she did not have any puppies, she felt that it would be a good experience for us to get to know the breed and also to help us get over the grieving period that always follows the loss of a close member of the family.  

Over we went, and had a wonderful time, with met with her husband Ernest and later were introduced to the other couple in the partnership – Robert and Selina Ballantyne. 

It did not take long before we realised that we were hooked, we had beardies all over us, and there were puppies to play with. The puppies that were there, were being kept.  So we had no trouble in letting our guards down and fully enjoying ourselves.  There was one pup in particular, who would not leave my son, he was a brown boy, with a temperament so gentle and a face with eyes so knowing and yet so full of love and friendship that we could not help becoming close.  Yes! we wanted a Bearded Collie – 

Our visit was nearly over, and we were having a hard time leaving our new found friends.

 Janette and Robert then went into the kitchen, came back and said – You can have the brown boy if you want him, we were going to keep him, but we feel that you would be a good match.  Bustroc Tousie Tyke now joined the family, our happiness was back.  All of a sudden we had plans to make and a puppy to look after.  I always wanted to show dogs, and actually did some agility work with an Australian cattle dog I had in my early 20’s.  This was like a dream come true and the start of a wonderful hobby that the whole family could take part and enjoy.  Thanks to the help and support of the Burns and Ballantyne team, we were able to live our dream.

 Once we had started showing, we found that we were soon to make friends with a group of people who had similar interests and were as much fun as their dogs.  The majority of Beardies recognise another Beardie from a great distance.  The tail normally shows the first sign of a Beardie in the vicinity.  

 The Bearded Collie, hardy, active, strong and agile, is a devoted and intelligent member of the family. He is a stable and self-confident animal, showing no signs of shyness or aggression. These dogs are typically 40-55 pounds and 21--22 inches tall at the shoulder. 

 Beardies need regular grooming to keep their coats free of mats and at least one to two hours of exercise each week to keep them fit. Obedience training is highly recommended as Beardies do think a lot and can be headstrong at times. 

A member of the Herding group, The Beardie, one of Scotland's oldest breeds, is a medium-sized dog with a medium-length coat that follows the natural lines of the body. The Beardie prefers to be outdoors. They are not recommended for apartment life. 

Beardies can sleep outdoors and make excellent working farm dogs. They are bred to work long hours and to think for themselves, how best to get their job done. Beardies are very intelligent dogs, and are very quick to learn as long as the teaching is fun, consistent, and fair. 

By nature they love to have something to watch over and may take charge from instinct and start herding whatever they consider to be their flock. Above all, the Bearded Collie is a family dog who loves children and they are the perfect companion for children.

Brae as a "Baby"

"An introduction to Bearded Collies" 
- this is a great site to learn about Beardies
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