For some time, we have been on the lookout for a good male to bring to our farm as an outcross, but it was a difficult step to take because we also wanted to stay with the old bloodlines that have served us so well. Certik-Bertik kept catching our eye because he kept those Hangin’ Tree bloodlines close to the forefront, and he is just one incredible dog.   (I mean how can you not love saying “He is the most titled Aussie in the world?”)  Certik really exemplified everything we loved about the old working lines from his keen stock sense to his stick-to-it work ethic to his devotion for his family. When a male pup was available from him, we had to jump at the chance and so Hans joined our family.

Hans has fully met the expectations we had of a Certik son. He joined our household at the same time that Rose Marie was getting a knee replacement (that turned into a painful three surgery affair lasting most of a year).  While there is no doubt that Hans is an active fellow preferring to rough-house with Ren and bounce through life, he dutifully slowed his step beside Rose Marie recognizing that she wasn’t so spritely as he. He paused at each step and gave her the “Are you sure you can make it?” look when they headed upstairs together. And as he has grown, his brains and focus have really shone through.  He loves games from fetching frisbees to “can you walk this tree log?” to “find your toy.” (His only disadvantage on this score is our habit of directly comparing him to Ren’s uncanny intelligence combined with Ren’s extra two years of life experience.  Truly Hans is a remarkably sharp dog in his own right.)

After Rose Marie’s knee replacement, the older more experienced dogs seemed a safer bet when working the cows until she could hobble a little faster if things went south so Hans hasn’t gotten any time in with the larger stock. However, he has helped with the sheep and goats during feeding time or when someone (ahem.. Angela) forgot to latch the gate. He works with a lot of eye and intensity compared to most Aussies — an intensity that is probably most similar to Char among dogs that we have previously worked.  Hans is a very silent worker and only barks or bites with purpose.  While this degree of presence and self-confidence often develops with time and experience, it is really impressive for a dog with limited time on stock.

Note:  Hans moved to Iowa with Angela late 2015 to get more diverse experiences, and (hopefully) see if they can enter some competitions together.  He has adjusted to being a housedog remarkably well (although he was less than impressed to go from a 50 – 70 degree Arkansas winter to  a 0 – 15 degree Iowa winter.)  Angela is hopeful that they can learn enough to get their feet wet in a few more trials this year.  We will keep you posted on the progress.

Torrie was the only female from the Max and Little Miss litter that brought us Coal. Angela was determined to keep a female from this cross. Little Miss was getting up in years and another litter wasn’t in the cards so destiny selected Torrie to be our girl or, more specifically, Angela’s girl.  Some dogs are easy to gush over.  For example, we could tell you how brilliant, well-mannered, and impressive Ren is for hours.  Torrie, on the other hand, is a piece of work.  There is awesome and there is “really Torrie?” in the same unassuming package. Torrie is a beautifully put together little girl with little being the optimal word.  Everything fits together in proportion, but she is the smallest Aussie we have ever owned.  It is not uncommon for her to be smaller than “miniatures” we happen to meet.  And, no, she is not a miniature. She simply forgot to grow.

She is also the second toughest Aussie we own at the moment (second only to her brother) when facing an angry bull.  She knows she is the boss when it comes to stock and she moves with her Grandma Gypsy‘s speed and agility.  No field is too big, no chute too small, and no turn to fast for her. She’ll hit both heads and heals and has a good sense of group. But she does love to find any excuse to nip (usually nip and duck) so you may have to remind her to not be annoying. (She argues that the sheep might turn if she didn’t tell them them to keep going.) On the other hand, she is a dream at holding a newly purchased flock in a makeshift pen without a latching gate while you try single-handedly to deworm, vaccinate, and sort them while they are trying to vacate for the great wide open. She also has never been too cold, too wet, or too hot to work stock.  We’ve always paused on the sweltering Arkansas summer days because we or the cattle weren’t up to anymore long before she was flagging. You have to appreciate a dog with work ethic, particularly considering she was usually travelling from Iowa where the summer heat and humidity are much easier to take.
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Torrie is not a social butterfly. She is great around elderly, wheelchairs, walkers, and even stoically accepts strange children that chase her down screeching “doggie!” while we take walks.  (She does give Angela the “please make them go away” face.) But she isn’t a fan of crowds or strange adults and is very much a “one-person” dog.  She is the most unlikely of any of our dogs to take instructions from strangers.  Most of the “really Torrie?” moments arise from combining this distrust of strangers with a strong dose of her Grandma Mischief‘s stubbornness and independence.  She calmly reasons out that most of the world are idiots so why should she listen to them?  That being said, we dabble in agility, rally, and tracking, and I’m convinced she would title in all three if Angela would ever get her to some competitions. (We did make it to one rally competition where Torrie did much better than Angela. Torrie can fortunately read the instructions and tell her left from right while Angela can’t.)

​So what is Torrie like? She combines Mischief’s conformational correctness, stubbornness, independence, and stoic mindset with Gypsy’s speed, agility, brains, work-ethic (on stock particularly), and target-driven approach. She’s also little, slow to warm to strangers, and convinced that squirrels are throwing nut-nukes from above as the first step in their planned apocalypse. Really Torrie?