Border Collies From Tonalee

All About Tonalee

	Well, just who are those folks behind Tonalee Border Collies anyway? Lee and Tonya Levy, of course! We started in Border Collies years ago when Lee, a USAF Officer, was stationed in England. He fell in love with the breed and it was there that he got his first Border Collie, a red merle Soon thereafter, Tonya got her first Border Collie, a red-tri. Once we had imported our first "show" dog, CH Merrybrook Layla, we both knew this was going to be a life-long passion.
We, along with our children, have worked with our Border Collies in the fields of Conformation, Agility and Herding. We are also active in Canine Education projects in our community. We are proud of the fact that we served as the Northern California Judges Education representatives for the Border Collie Society of America (BCSA). We have also started our judging career by judging AKC Sanctioned Matches and Tonya was proud to judge at the KTBCC's Puppy Sweeps at the Louisville Cluster in March of 2002.

Tonya owns and runs www.BC-Show.com, which is a web site for Border Collie breeders around the world. She was amazed at the response she got when she started the first e-mail list exclusively for Show Border Collie breeders in 1998. Currently there are over 150 members from nine different countries that are members of BC-Show. Tonya is also currently working with friends on a magazine for Border Collie fanciers called, The Border Collie Journal. We hope to have the first issue out sometime in 2003.
We know that the Border Collie is a special breed and that we should do all that is possible to protect those qualities, refined over centuries of breeding, that have made the Border Collie so special. Our goal is to breed carefully selected dogs to produce offspring that are well balanced across all aspects of the breed. Our kennel's creed is: Temperament, Type and Soundness.
Of first importance is temperament. We feel that no matter what other qualities a Border Collie may possess, if it is difficult to live with, it is a dog that will be less valued as a member of the family. It should be ready and willing to herd sheep all day and then have the disposition to curl up with the kids at night. We are also keenly interested in type. By that we mean the physical appearances that make a Border Collie a Border Collie. As someone once said to us about type: "If you can recognize a Border Collie from 100 yards away, that Border Collie has type." Border Collies should have a certain appearance, we feel, that will leave no doubt in anyone's mind that it is the finest herding dog in the world. This isn't to say that all Border Collies should be "cookie cutter" identical, as there are a variety of colors and physical traits that make up Border Collies. The final element of our triad of characteristics is soundness. A physically sound dog, a dog with good conformation, will be a dog that is far better suited to meet the demands placed upon it. A dog can not herd sheep all day, or perform obedience, agility,or flyball, or catch a Frisbee with the kids, if it is poorly constructed. Not only will the dog have less physical ability to work, it is more prone to injury. Finally, poorly conformed dogs are more prone to suffer greater discomfort in their twilight years. Soundness is a quality that will serve the dog well all throughout the days of its life, no matter what it is called upon to do.

Merely saying that we are committed to the ideals of temperament, type, and soundness are not enough. We focus our Border Collie efforts on achieving that goal through careful research and testing. We have ensured our gene pool is diverse and as disease free as possible by conducting thorough research into the lines that we chose to bring into our kennel. We have New Zealand and British lines primarily behind our dogs with some Australian as well added for genetic diversity. We have analyzed these lines for disease related problems as well as good performance abilities and of course sound, stable temperaments. We have been ecstatic with the results. However, it is important to acknowledge that the Border Collie does have some genetically related problems that can still appear no matter how careful one tries to be. Although we are confident in the dogs we have brought into Tonalee, we still feel that it is the responsibility of every ethical breeder to conduct testing in order to have even more confidence that their Border Collies are as sound and as healthy as possible. Here at Tonalee we test our dogs for Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD)by conducting Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) hip testing and registration as well as the using the newer and more advanced PennHIP Method of hip analysis. Dogs must pass these hip and joint tests before they are considered as part of our kennel and breeding program. We also use OFA registration to certify the elbows of our Border Collies.
	The Border Collie also has several known eye problems. Two of the more well known are Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) and Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA). To ensure our dogs are eye disease free, they are tested as puppies and annually thereafter. The results are registered with the Canine Eye Research Foundation (CERF). As part of our pedigree research we also evaluate the eye and hip scores of a dog's ancestors to further determine the soundness of the dog for a breeding program.
In breeding and genetics there are almost no guarantees, but at Tonalee, we do all that is possible to stack the deck in our favor. As veterinary science advances, we will continue to perform whatever tests become available in order that we may always strive to produce a Border Collie that is genetically free from potential problems. We put our kennel's name behind it. We hope that we have given you an insightful glimpse into what it is we believe in and stand for at Tonalee Border Collies. Our dogs are not just a hobby, but a passion and a way of life for us. We are blessed with the privilege of having such wonderful Border Collies, but we are ever mindful of the awesome responsibility that we bear for these magnificent members of our family.

We invite you to ask us all about our Tonalee Border Collies. We love the breed and are happy to share our knowledge. At Tonalee Border Collies, it is our firm belief in and commitment to the three principles of Temperament, Type, and Soundness that serve as the cornerstone of who we are and what we stand for. Please feel free to e-mail us. We look forward to hearing from you.