Our new pupster, Frankie

[Donkees]

13. Photo Caption: Professor Duncan's Scotch Collies performed on both sides of the Atlantic ...

Professor Duncan’s Scotch Collies performed on both sides of the Atlantic from the 1890s to 1920s

https://nationalpurebreddogday.com/professor-duncans-marvelous-collie-dogs/



It turns out that these dogs were “Professor Duncan’s Marvelous Collie Dogs,” billed as Duncan’s Royal Scotch Collies. In the late 19th century leading into the early 1900’s, Professor Duncan’s dogs entertained the people of London, and, in fact, topped the bill of the Pavilion during the first week of 1915. They were described as the “acme of animal training,” having appeared ‘before their Majesties by Royal Command!

Dunrovins Ole Shep was one of the remnant Scotch Collies found in America in the early 1990s

(https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/)

Now I'm reading more about 'Dunrovins Ole Shep' here:

These dogs were essentially pure old Scotch Collie as they existed around the turn of the century, but Mr. McDuffie felt the name “Scotch Collie” carried implications related to AKC show dogs and all the health problems that goes along with it, so chose to call this breed “Old Time Farm Shepherd” (OTFS) and began to register them as such with the NKC (National Kennel Club) where they are still registered today.

Ole Shep was bred to a pair of female English Shepherd littermates he obtained from Western Tennessee, Dunrovin’s Moline and Dunrovin’s Sassy. Only two litters were obtained from him, one from each female, before Ole Shep was stolen and Mr. McDuffie lost interest in the project. From these two litters were obtained (as far as I can determine) four dogs that have contributed to the farm collie genepool; McDuffie’s Beethoven, Chesney’s Rebel, Carter’s Rusty and Dunrovin’s Tankard, the rest were presumably sold to places where they were not bred with other farm collies, or if they were, their progeny are less well documented. Richard McDuffie’s son Rick owned McDuffie’s Beethoven and bred a few litters, which was the largest contribution to the farm collie movement to come out of Ole Shep, but over time he lost interest too.

Today most of the descendants of Dunrovin’s Ole Shep are registered English Shepherds, which isn’t necessarily bad as these are good working dogs, but Mr. McDuffie and many others saw something different in these dogs, something that had been lost in the English Shepherd breed, and as we get farther and farther from Ole Shep, we lose more and more of that, as these genes are diluted with English Shepherd blood. There is therefore something to be said for keeping the uniqueness of the Scotch Collie alive by breeding OTFS to OTFS or at the very least to carefully selected individuals of other breeds.

https://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/current-collie-articles/dunrovins-ole-shep-and-the-otfs-legacy/


Dunrovins Ole Shep