Being a small kennel, we have 4 dogs right now, Jacqui and Star, living in New Mexico with Sheryl.  And True and Merri, living in Washington state with Tera. Tera is no longer active in showing so both True and Merri are retired from competition.  They are now busy hiking in the great Pacific Northwest and having a blast.  Sheryl is also taking a break from showing due to health reasons.  All of our dogs are registered with AKC and ASCA.

Regarding breeding we have hips certified with OFA and/or with Penn-hip. We feel the information gleaned from both methods is valuable. That said, we do not believe that all hip problems are attributable to genetics. The environment, meaning primarily diet, vaccines and exercise, play a role in how your dog's hips or elbows will turn out. We feel it is extremely important that you feed and exercise your puppy properly to avoid dysplasia.

At Daybreak Kennel we also check thyroid and eyes. Our breeding animals have their eyes CERF'd annually. These are genetic problems in the Australian Shepherd and it is only through responsible breeding and screening that we will reduce the incidence of these concerns.

Equally important as physical soundness, our dogs must have the correct temperament for the breed. We will not use any shy or aggressive dogs in our breeding program. From there we look for superior intelligence coupled with a good work ethic. We want a dog who loves to work, be it obedience, herding, agility or whatever. They must be versatile, focused, sensible and want to please.

Since we breed so infrequently we try to make every litter count. We breed the type of dog we think best personifies the standard. In addition to the above traits, we feel that movement is extremely important. If a dog can't move freely and easily, he can't work sheep all day, or do a lot of jumping in agility or obedience. A good shoulder layback and proper front-end assembly is a must. That has to be balanced with correct angulation in the rear and a good strong rear. This balanced, solid body, is complimented by a typey head. Coat and markings are not as important. We like the moderate coat called for by the standard. In fact we love that word "moderate". We feel it truly exemplifies what our breed was meant to be.

We fell in love with the Australian Shepherd because of their temperament, intelligence, hardiness and good looks. We hope to keep the breed the way we found it.