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Cassie of SomersetCassie was born on the 25th November l998 on a farm near Barnstaple in Somerset. Her father's name is Bert, who came from a breeder in Wales, and her mother is Jinny, who was bred on Springfield Farm where Cassie was born. Bert was three and Jinny was two and this was her second litter, ten pups in all. Seven were dogs and three were bitches, and all were black and tan, although Cassie has a small white mark on her chest like Bert, one had a white foot and some of the others had small white marks. Cassie was the only one who was destined to be a pet, and I had to convince Richard and Anna, her breeders, that we did know what a huntaway was like. We had previously had a huntaway cross labrador for twelve years - a beautiful dog called Buster, and we were well aware of their need for plenty of exercise and work and of their noise! We brought Cassie home at eight weeks, weighing 4Kg. She is now 24" to the shoulder, 4ft.2" nose to tail and weighs 26Kg. She barks on running out on her walk initially, and again when asking for directions or on meeting other people. Otherwise she runs like the wind out and back the whole walk, as if she is working. She has been to obedience classes and is extremely easy to train. She has an enormous sense of fun and I am convinced she thinks she is human. I have never come across a dog, other than Buster, who is so totally trustworthy with children, and will even allow my grandchildren to help themselves to her food when she is eating! I have warned them not to try that with other dogs! She is very loving and has even persuaded us to let her lie on our bed in the morning for a cuddle, something we said we would never allow! When I first had Buster, I received an article from a breeder in Wales which might be of interest. It was by Clive Dalton and he gave some information about huntaways. He said that the mix of breeds was thought to include the border collie, old English sheepdog, beardie, labrador and the "Smithfield" hound — all working dogs. There is little comment about the inclusion of the German shepherd. The Smithfield was reputed to be the small barking dog which was used by drovers at London's Smithfield market and which came out to New Zealand — an interesting story, but he wondered if it could be verified. He says that there are varieties of huntaway, the straight mustering huntaway which barks all the time, the variety that both heads and hunts and the "handy dog" — one that can do anything round the farm and is especially good in the yards and woolshed. He says a shepherd's team would usually be made up of one good eye-dog and a novice, four huntaways and a couple of handy dogs. He says that they are easily trained and that their friendly, non-temperamental nature gives them great understanding of some of the daft things their owners expect. The other interesting information I have had was from a friend who visited New Zealand and visited the Agrodome at Rotorua. There she saw the sheep and huntaways being shown and also saw them working. Below are two pictures taken in the Agrodome. Cassie's breeders are Richard and Anna May from Devon. Norma Just click on the image for an enlargement. If you would like to have your dog profiled on this site (it's free), just call me.
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