Our Puppy Guarantee
“Astra Sheepdogs - dedicated to the welfare and improvement of the Border Collie breed, by endeavouring to ensure the optimal health, with help from our Owners, of the Astra sheepdog bloodlines.”

Guarantees and how they work together with the Emotional attachments to your puppy in relation to the Sale of Goods Act.

Unfortunately, a puppy or a dog is classed as "goods" under the Sale of Goods Act.

We understand that for you and us too - the puppy is not seen as "goods" - the puppy is part of both our families and must always be treated as such.

Therefore - we assure you that we will gladly discuss with you, all of the best welfare options available, for the puppy in question, obviously, depending on everyone's circumstances.,

Because we have many years of experience, we totally understand that; from the moment you have picked up your chosen puppy, you will have an emotional attachment,. This emotional attachment rarely happens, when you purchase any other "goods" such as a piece of furniture, as described in the Sale of Goods act.

Therefore, in relation to anything going wrong with your pup, we both need to be very clear, calm and polite, sensible and preferably without entangling emotion, in all communication to enable a constructive, informative and mutual agreement with "the sole aim of the dogs welfare" can be achieved from an often difficult subject.

The Sale of Goods act states that in certain disputes the goods must be be returned to the seller especially if there is a refund or exchange requested. Every request is taken on it's own merit.

BUT once a refund or exchange is agreed we assure you that the dog being returned to ourselves may not be always be the best solution for the dog's welfare, so this has to be discussed in detail and mutually agreed upon whilst investigating any claim.

However, in some instances, returning the dogs to us, may be the right and only decision for the owner to make because we are able to provide re-training and then a suitable home once training is complete. (especially if the dog becomes behaviorally unsuitable for the purpose for which it was purchased)

We also know that people's circumstances change, sometimes they become unable for reasons our of their control, to give the dog the time it needs, or perhaps a baby comes along and the dog can't cope with the new addition to the family, or the dog has become a behavioral nightmare for any reason at all. Don't despair we will be there for you.

We will be there to help you and the dog and we will not blame you as "the unexpected often happens despite all our best intentions" .

At all times we are more concerned that the dog's welfare is carefully considered, with all advice and help, used and taken into account, so that the dog does not suffer mentally nor physically.

OUR puppies must NEVER end up in a "rescue Centre" or "put to Sleep", until ALL other avenues (including contacting me) have been exhausted, this also includes any dog who's owner is residing outside of the UK.

Health on collection/delivery.

All our puppies are checked by a qualified Vet at the age of 8 weeks.

When you receive your puppy; we will guarantee that it is in good health, and all noticeable/visual/known defects will be pointed out to you, however, just to ensure we have not missed anything ourselves,.

You must take it to the Vet within 24 hours or at the latest if on a weekend, within 48 hours, for a routine health check by your own vet;

if there are any problems.
Before we will consider a return for a full refund on health grounds. We require a veterinary certificate issued by your vet stating any defects or health problems encountered at this visit.

The puppy must also be certified by (your vet talking to my vet) as being fit to travel back to me the breeder.

Every puppy/dog and family have different needs and all of this will be taken into account in any claim to us.

You should also take the opportunity to discuss your puppies vaccinations schedule. Here are the vaccination guidelines which our own vets recommend.

Free Email and Telephone help

I will be available to offer help and advice on all matters pertaining to the health and training of your "Astra Sheepdog" no matter where you live.

Our puppies live all over the world and we have a vast network of owners who are only too willing to help you and your Astra Border Collie.

We will also endeavor to keep you informed when I am scheduled to give a talk or training seminar in your country of residence.

You must contact us to receive updated information and advice, on the health of relatives of your dog and the intended partner, if you intend to breed - You should do this before you mate your dog/bitch.

Registered with the ISDS

Guaranteed parentage as registered with the ISDS.

Registration to be complete by the pups seventh month birthday.

At present all our puppies and dogs eligible for full registration with the UK Kennel Club and therefore transfer by UK Kennel Club Export Pedigree in to all Kennel Clubs of the world.

However, you must check with your own Kennel Club especially if you wish to use your puppy for breeding at a later stage, as some Clubs do not accept the progeny of ISDS/KC = Dual registered dogs.

Four Weeks FREE insurance

We will give all UK (Eire and Northern Ireland excluded) purchasers four weeks free insurance from a leading insurance company.

As there is no such thing as a Completely HEALTHY dog (you and your dog will be lucky if you do not have to visit the VET for accidents or minor illnesses during the lifetime of your border collie)

We Highly recommend that you take insurance cover for your new pup to cover these unforeseeable mishaps.

We cannot be held responsible just because you do not take out insurance to cover the health of your border collie puppy.

Microchip

All our puppies are Microchipped on the day that they leave us, UK Pet-log basic registration is included, though

(all non UK residents must ensure that they transfer the microchip details to their countries registry as soon as possible, so that if lost, your dog can be reunited with you when found).

Genetically healthy to work

We have health tested for over 25 years, and are continually investigating their pedigrees for known information regarding hereditary health problems.

We are confident that our dogs are "genetically" healthy to perform a job such as herding/agility/fly-ball.

However, should it be found that the dog is unable to work due to a genetic fault (not injury) by the age of 12 months, such as CEA, PRA, Impaired Hearing, Hip Dysplasia, etc. we may be able to compensate you.

The purchaser should be able to prove, by their extensive Veterinary investigation as shown on a detailed written veterinary report, that it is directly due to genetics AND could have been reasonably preventable "AT THE TIME OF BREEDING" by DNA testing

or any recognizable Veterinary testing scheme within the UK such as Hip Scoring.

If such evidence is provided (in accordance with the Sale of Goods act) - We will gladly make full refund or replacement and discuss with you what the best welfare options for the dog in question will be.

see above for more detail

As you will come to realize – we require full evidence from your vet or testing body, in order to record these details correctly into our records and only then will any decision be made as to any compensation due, under our personal guarantees or the Sale of Goods Act,

whichever may be appropriate – each and every case is different and your input will be much appreciated and each case will be treated on it's own merit.

At all times we are more concerned that the dog's welfare is carefully considered with all advice and help, taken into account, so that the dog does not suffer mentally or physically.

In the case of:- EOD (Early onset Deafness) and Hip Dysplasia HD and Epilepsy

EOD (Early onset Deafness) -

This is very difficult to diagnose without a BAER hearing test - the dog will be around 3 - 6 years old at the onset and you may just think the dog is taking the mickey.

It is currently being researched in great detail in the USA and I will keep you posted.

As of the April 2014 we have had no reported cases - but we are still vigilant and want your help to ensure that our lines remain unaffected.

Hip Dysplasia HD -

Hip Dysplasia has been recorded in the border collie, it is not a rare disease, but it is certainly not endemic and a major problem.

It is believed that HD is polygenic which means multiple genes are involved, so it is highly unlikely that a genetic test will ever be available to help breeders prevent occurance.

Regardless of what the hip score results are of the parents, it it is also understood that any dog with a predisposition towards hip dysplasia is more likely to develop the disease if the environmental factors are not sufficiently controlled.

This is why it is not unheard of for horrific scores to suddenly be seen after generations of excellent scores.

Currently the best way to reduce the incedence of hip Dysplsia is to hip score all dogs (including siblings not used for breeding) and then recording the information into a central database for analysis to produce the Estimated Breeding Value for the incedence of Hip Dysplais. (EBV) unfortunately for this to work all breeders need to act together, I cannot see this ever happening unfortunately.

However, as ASTRA have been breeding extensively for almost 30 years we have a pretty good idea what our bloodlines could produce (there will always be surprises no matter how careful we are).

The big problem come in when we introduce new blood as hip scoring ISDS registered working and trials dogs is currently NOT standard practice, so stud dog owners are not willing to subject their valuable working dogs to the risk of sedation to undergo the xray procedure. Therefore more often than not any outside stud dogs used will not be hip scored and there is nothing we can do about that if we still want to improve the breed as a WHOLE working dog and keep the genetics as diverse as possible.

It is not just the breeder who can help here but you the owner and keeper as unfortunately, there are no easy answers to this problem but as the owner and keeper of your puppy you must ensure that the growing dog is properly fed and appropriate exercise during the first 24 months of life these are the environmental factors.

Early neutering and Spaying has been identified as contributing factors leading to increased incedence of Orthopeadic problems.

Plates must be submitted to the BVA (British Veterinary Association) or other recognized veterinary association for scoring such as OFA.

Penn Hip results will not be accepted until a full x-ray and full official scoring is done at a minimum age of 12 months. for more information please visit the following BVA Hip Scoring Scheme

Epilepsy -

Epilepsy is considered a 5% risk in ALL breeds of dogs, in the Border collie this may be as high as 10%.
From all the many dogs I have bred over a period of 30 years, the percentage of ASTRA pups affected with epilepsy is just 2%.  This is way below the expected 5% rate for ALL breeds of dogs.

There are NO bloodlines free of epilepsy and there are 1000's of causes for a dog fitting; many of them are environmental, caused by chemicals or food additives, tumors, illnesses. Only a few forms of Epilepsy are considered completely hereditary and there are others forms with a predisposition towards fitting when presented with environmental factors it is for this reason that correct and complete diagnosis is essential. For detailed information regarding Epilepsy we suggest that you visit these websites

Understanding Your Pet's Epilepsy

and Join us on our health forum which I have founded in order to draw together like minded people to do something positive about health.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ISDSbordercolliehealth/ there are always changing theories since Science discovery does not stand still and many advances are being made all the time is is good to keep in touch with these findings (this is what we try to do on this group) Keep in touch with Science.

If you have an "ASTRA" or a even a dog who has an "Astra" which appears in the first three generations of your dog, especially if that dog is not bred by me:

You should report all episodes of Epilepsy or ANY form of fitting regardless of diagnoses to me.

We will require a full written veterinary documentation or at the very least collaboration via email with my own vet, this must include details of all the procedures used to reach a definitive diagnosis. (please note that Idiopathic Epilepsy cannot and SHOULD not be made until ALL the process of elimination (including video;s, owners diary, feed analysis, environmental analysis, MRI scans and much more etc.) have been thoroughly carried out) - if you want more information on this please contact me.

~It is a very complex problem and one of the worst ever illnesses any dog can have, but is is more so for us Humans since we cannot understand the workings of the Brain and this causes us all emotional problems. I know that it is very hard to withhold your emotions when your dog is fitting but it is essential that in order to help him/her you remain absolutely calm, and clear headed so that you can take a video and/or notes which may help your vet in diagnosing a cause. Do not focus on the fitting but on discovering how to help your dog by keeping factual records of everything that happened before, during and after the episode. There is a report by a doctor of human children with Epilepsy and Autism who believes that Food, Water and Stress play a large part in the triggers of Epilepsy in Humans and I personally believe that this idea should be carried through to our dogs - therefore we need to keep an eye on these things in our own lives as well as our canine friends

We have had the very occasional case of Fitting reported to us by owners over the years,

but the current reporting and incidence within our dogs, does not indicate to us any definitive hereditary links (I say definitive since these reports have including different bloodlines and more often than not completely different diagnosis - Complete diagnosis is essential in determining any genetic links)
It is currently reported in several studies that the incidence of epilepsy in all breeds of dog is around 5%.
Currently the incidence in the "ASTRA" bloodlines stands at less than 2% - More information.

We currently do not know the Breed average since very little recording is being done within the breed societies, so it is difficult to say if we are above or below the breed average. - we will report back when we find this information.

It is an absolute lottery and a needle in the haystack scenario, if a breeder tells you that their lines are FREE of epilepsy then stay clear as they are either

very novice breeders,

have not bred enough litters for the law of averages to come into play.

have not done their research,

have not kept records or kept in touch with their owners.

but just as likely they have sourced their breeding dogs from other owners/breeders who have not done the above and/or kept them informed.

It is hard to accept but I would rather go with the breeder who has some recorded epilepsy in their lines than the ones who do not record at all.

The devil you know is far safer than the one you don't. find out more about how breeders make decisions regarding epilepsy

Research is constantly being done into Epilepsy - at the present time we are unfortunately, unable to guarantee your dog for any form of epilepsy or fitting. BUT we will still take your notification seriously and may well consider your case worthy of compensation.

Researchers have yet to establish genetic links within the border collie (that does not mean however that a genetic cause does not exist).

REGARDLESS of this fact - We expect all owners to inform us fully in WRITING - together with a full veterinary report on any dog fitting and to continue to keep us informed on the progress of their fitting dog throughout its life.

In all claims due to perceived or confirmed health issues, for any partial/full refund or replacement of your ASTRA puppy = Each claim will be taken on it's merit and will be subject to

We cannot guarantee that any claim will meet your expectations or satisfaction, but we assure you that our main objective is the welfare of the dog at all times and this will always be taken into account.

We will also very much appreciate and take very much into account:- what; you the owner, will do to ensure the best outcome for the dog and how willing you are to help us to record and monitor the progress of the dog

and your participation in any research programs we recommend to you.

Is success with your dog guaranteed?

We cannot give you a guarantee for Success with your dog.

Guarantees are good for machinery like TVs or cars but not for complex workings of the human and canine minds combined.

Although the majority of our Owners find our puppies excel in all canine performance fields including Agility, Herding, Obedience and as family pets or walking companions, we cannot guarantee that everyone will find this, although, we can assure you that,

proper use of modern training techniques will lead to you having the best border collie you have ever owned to date.

How much you succeed with your new puppy is up to you.

For success you need to believe in yourself, have a clear vision of your goal and work hard to achieve this goal, maintain your "will power" to keep going towards your dream of success with your new dog.

Temperament

Temperament is very important for any companion and working animal.

We have gone to great lengths to ensure that the temperament of our breeding animals is excellent and we have put in enormous time and effort into the socialization of our puppies to ensure that they have the best possible start to life

in order to become your working, performance dog or companion and family pet.

If the new owner does not continue an extensive regime of on going socialization with all groups of people from babies, toddlers through the genders to mature persons and take the dog into many different situations we are unable to guarantee the temperament of the puppy.

However we will be happy to help and give advice in any behavioral issue; and we will guarantee to take the dog back for re-training/rehabilitation even re-homing should the situation get out of hand, UK & Ireland only, for other countries we shall endeavor to help source the most suitable help in this regard.

Herding Instinct

Our Border Collies are bred foremost for their herding ability and we would be happy to guarantee that any pups sold to herding homes will show the instinct to herd sheep by the time they are 12 mths of age,

But this is subject to the pup has been well kept and socialized with people, animals and transport.

It is essential that the pup has never been challenged or frightened when introduced to stock at any time.

The dog must be returned to Janet Beale for an assesment, this may take one hour or a maximum of one month, if she cannot bring out the instinct to herd then you will get your money back, but the dog will then become the property of Janet Beale.

Puppy not suitable for your lifestyle or chosen performance sport?

In my experience the dog will not be happy if an owner is unhappy with the dog. 

For example:

In this situation the dog would be physcologically better off being placed into a new more compatible home, where the owner does not require or wish to place the same or similar expectations on the dog; thereby reducing the stress to the dog.
Sometimes our human sentimentality and ego does not allow us to let the dog even when the dog will be better off without us or our situation.

we will work with our owners to resolve all issues before advising the re-homing of your dog, and therefore must be involved and request mutual agreement in the final decision as to what happens to the dog.

Our dogs must not be sent to any rescue Centre or re-homed or re-sold without our written permission.

NOW THEN !

We expect some guarantees from our puppy owners TOO !

On Border Collie Health - As an Astra Sheepdog owner you are required to notify us: -