First Harmony Farms
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People are always asking us for training references, favorite books, supplies, and so on. So I decided that we would add a page just for links to some of our favorite things. There are a ton of other things available out there. These are just a few of ours that we use.  

Health

Breed Stats
Hip Dysplasia  We have been very lucky that most of the dogs we have bred have had excellent (22) and good (68) hip scores as of 2022. We have also had one Fair and one unilateral DJD 1. All of our breeding dogs have OFA +/- Penn Hip scores done before breeding with links from our site to their OFA page.  
Elbow Dysplasia 
Patella Although not common in our breeds, patella luxation does happen. We have produced one Miniature American Shepherd with patella luxation, which we noted as a puppy. Otherwise, our dogs have passed testing for patella luxation. 
CAER
Thyroid  The biggest downfall to thyroid testing is the timing. Due to limitations due to heats and vaccines, not all of our girls do get their thyroid tested. We do try to test all of the main stud dogs. A few of our Border Collie girls did not pass their first test. They tested borderline hyperthyroid, but passed the following year. Dash was tested 3x, a year apart, and his test was never definitive (equivocal), meaning not positive or negative. All of the girls bred with him were tested clear. As of 8 years old, he still has a normal thyroid. 
Border Collie Diseases
MDR1 
Border Collie Collapse
HSF4
PRA/PRCD
NAD
NHHC
CDDY
DM

Training Websites

Clicker Training
​This website is dedicated to clicker training and has some great resources.

Do More With Your Dog
​This website is devoted to trick training with your dog. These books are great for kids for training as well. 

Trick Training
​This website is devoted to trick training with your dog.

Supplies

Hero Disks-This is the website we buy our Frisbees from. We use a variety of types. They are much more durable than most frisbees you can buy at pet stores and are much easier to throw.
Jolly Ball-Shiver's favorite toy
ITZA Tugs-This is where we buy our martingale leash tugs. 
CET Chews- We go through a ton of these chews with our dogs. We buy the huge size for ours so they last longer than 1 minute and do a great job on the teeth. 
Rawhides - Despite the bad rap rawhides have, we use a ton of these with our dogs. We do not currently own any dogs with sensitive stomachs or any that try swallowing them whole. I buy the 4" for the puppies and the 10-12" for our dogs. They tend to last for weeks and the dogs love them.  
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19718971/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2384322/
Retriever Rolls - These are the other rawhides we use for our dogs. Once again, these tend to last for weeks at our place and stay out most of the time. I also buy the huge ones at Menards for black Friday.

Books

101 Dog Tricks 
            We love the layout of these books. Kyra does a great job laying out training sessions in short, fun ways. 
101 Dog Tricks Kids Edition
          This book is great for kids that want to start training. 
51 Puppy Tricks
Unleashing the Velcro Dog - Training Your Agility Dog to Love Working at a Distance
            ​With our crazy schedule I could never take a class, so this is where I started in Agility. I think it is a great
            starter book for beginners just starting to understand how hard handling can be in agility. 
Herding Dogs: Progressive Training 
            I had taken lessons for years before I received this book as a Christmas present. Best present ever. It truly                helped me have a deeper understanding of what we were training for. Even if you are not herding, it 
            explains so many of the traits we love.  

Clubs

These are some of the clubs that our dogs are showing and are registered with. 

ABCA-American Border Collie Association
ASCA-Australian Shepherd Club of America
ASDR-American Stock Dog Registry
AKC-American Kennel Club
CPE - Canine Performance Events Agility
FDSB -Field Dog Stud Book
MASCUSA-Miniature American Shepherd Club of the USA
NADAC- North American Dog Agility Council
NADD -North America Diving Dogs
NAFA-North American Flyball Association
NAMASCUSA-North American Miniature Australian Shepherd Club of the USA--no longer an active club and evolved into MASCUSA. 
NSTRA -National Shoot To Retrieve Association
OFA-Orthopedic Foundation For Animals
U-FLI-United Flyball League International, Inc
UKC-United Kennel Club
Up Dog - Up Dog Frisbee and agility competitions

Location
​
Tiskilwa, IL

Contact Us

Lynette VandeVenter
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 815-876-6796
  • Home
  • For Sale
  • Stud Dogs
  • Our Dogs
  • Breeding Dogs
  • Adults Available
  • Resources
  • Questions