OLD HEMP BORDER COLLIES & OPEN HORIZON SPORT DOGS
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Oranges litter

Mushu x Penny
DOB 09/12/2024
5 puppies: 4 males and 1 female
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Sire
Ryla's BCs Guardian Of Lost Souls BCAT TKA
"Mushu"
DNA - Optimal Selection Clear
OFA - Good hips, Normal elbows, Normal shoulders, Normal patella, Normal spine, Normal heart


Dam
Old Hemp’s Lucky Day CGC TKI VHMA
"Penny"
DNA - Optimal Selection Clear, Carrier EAOD
OFA - Good hips, Normal elbows, Normal shoulders, Normal eyes



This is Penny’s second litter (first was the Apples litter) and Mushu’s first. Penny is my co-own from the National Parks litter, out of my Abigail and you can read all about Penny on her page.

Penny’s first litter is nearly 2 years old and they have grown into excellent dogs. Of the litter of 9, there are sport dogs (rally, obedience, agility, disc), one service dog, and several active family pets. They all have fabulous temperaments and are good natured dogs. Drive levels mostly fall around medium. Size ranges are from 30lbs on the small end to 50lbs on the large end. 

Penny is a medium drive and overall low energy Border Collie with a wonderfully friendly, outgoing and stable temperament who enjoys doing whatever her person is doing, be it going to farmers markets, parties and events, walking around cities, going on hikes, beach days, or just relaxing at home. While she is a more medium drive dog overall, Penny does have very high toy drive - for tugs, discs, balls, you name it. Her favorite is probably tug and she has a very full and firm bite. She has some foundational training in a few sports (primarily agility and herding, where she showed a lot of promise) but is mostly a working service dog and excellent companion. She has a lot of potential for sports and has had great feedback from many trainers but her owner's life doesn't accommodate trialing at this point. Penny is very social, loves all people, is great with dogs, kids, and all of the hustle and bustle of city life. She doesn't show any environmental sensitivities and takes on new settings with grace.


Mushu is a high drive and medium/high energy Border Collie who is always up for fun. He is very sporty and has impressive physical skills like high natural hops and great coordination. He loves to play, loves disc and is naturally very cooperative. He also loves to tug and play competitively and will shake and thrash with all his might, but if he’s playing with a child (which he loves to do) he tones it down and is super gentle and intuitive with them. He and Penny are similar in what they do, as he is also a working service dog, task trained and public access trained, who dabbles in several sports with lots of potential for greatness but a lack of access to most dog sports. Although he is a high drive dog, he is very mentally stable and his structure is also very nice and functional. 

I am expecting some great, very versatile puppies with lovely temperaments and the drive to do sports but also the ability to be good active pets and companions, like their parents. 
In birth order;
Valencia - female
Sumo - male
Tangerine - male
Mandarin - male
​Clementine - male 
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Valencia - newborn - 11.2oz/318g
Sumo - newborn - 11.9oz/338g
Tangerine - newborn - 13.3oz/378g
Mandarin - newborn - 10.7oz/304g
Clementine - newborn - 12.0oz/340g 
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Valencia - 1 week old - 1lb 7.1oz/657g
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Sumo - 1 week old - 1lb 7.9oz/680g
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Tangerine - 1 week old - 1lb 11.1oz/770g
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Mandarin - 1 week old - 1lb 3.2oz/545g
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Clementine - ​1 week old - 1lb 7.2oz/660g
Valencia - ​2 weeks old - 2lbs 3.9oz/1kg 20g
Sumo - 2 weeks old - 2lbs 3.5oz/1kg 6g
Tangerine - 2 weeks old - 2lbs 5.6oz/1kg 65g
Mandarin - ​2 weeks old - 1lb 14.0oz/852g
Clementine - 2 weeks old - 2lbs 3.6oz/1kg 10g
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As both litters graduate from being neonates and make their way into the transitional phase and socialization period, let's talk a little about it!

Neonates are just tiny little heat-seeking missiles on a mission for sustenance, spending most of their time resting and growing at a very rapid rate. This is the stage during which we implement ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) and ESI (Early Scent Introduction), which consist of small series of exercises that activate different parts of the pups' brains and nervous systems, providing lifelong benefits. These are the only real "work" that can be done with such young puppies, aside from lots of touch and getting them accustomed to being handled. Neonates are very fragile, and I joke that they're always just 24 hours from dire straits, so the biggest thing we do as breeders during this period is to ensure that everyone is healthy and thriving.

Then the pups wake up! They open their eyes, begin to hear, and start to perceive their surroundings. You'll start to see the dams licking the pups' faces and interacting with them differently. The pups begin toddling and playing with one another; they start to wag their tails and become social. This is when the fun really begins! I start to introduce new experiences every day, including sound desensitization, startle recovery, tactile experiences, classical music, their first toys, and even their first meals. I rearrange the whelping box a little and add a distinct potty area and separate sleep area—because yes, potty training begins this early! Pups will almost always choose to be clean and not soil their resting and living spaces if they are given the opportunity. You'll even see them, before their eyes are totally open, stumble away from the sleep nest to potty as soon as they are able to do so. It’s something I take full advantage of and continue to encourage as they grow! We also keep up with lots of love, snuggles, and handling, as well as visits from select people. This period of time is low-key and very fun. It's my personal favorite!
Valencia - ​3 weeks old - 3lbs 0.4oz
Sumo - ​3 weeks old - 3lbs
Tangerine - ​3 weeks old - 3lbs 2.7oz
Mandarin - ​3 weeks old - 2lbs 8.6oz
Clementine - ​3 weeks old - 3lbs
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Valencia - 4 weeks old - 3lbs 10.0oz
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Sumo - 4 weeks old - 3lbs 14.5oz
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Tangerine - 4 weeks old - 4lbs 2.0oz
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Mandarin - 4 weeks old - 3lbs 5.0oz
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Clementine - 4 weeks old - 3lbs 15.0oz
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Valencia - 5 weeks old - 4lbs 15oz
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Sumo - 5 weeks old - 5lbs 4.2oz
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Tangerine - ​5 weeks old - 5lbs 14oz
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Mandarin - 5 weeks old - 4lbs 5.5oz
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Clementine - 5 weeks old - 5lbs
Valencia - 6 weeks old - 6.2lbs
​Observant, driven, mindful, outgoing, friendly, playful, very sweet with humans
Sumo - 6 weeks old - 6.6lbs
​Bold, outgoing, driven, playful, forward, confident, friendly, big kisser
Tangerine - 6 weeks old - 7.2lbs
Thoughtful, focused, observant, driven, friendly, mindful and calmer than siblings
Mandarin - 6 weeks old - 5.4lbs
​Playful, driven, outgoing, confident, friendly, sweet, well rounded little guy
Clementine - 6 weeks old - 6.2lbs
Focused, driven, sweet, affectionate, bold, confident, pushy, curious
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Valencia - 7 weeks old - 7lbs 
This week, she loves laying on her back for belly rubs, tugging, and manding
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Tangerine - 7 weeks old - 9.6lbs
​This week, he likes playing with toys, tugging, and doing drive by bites off my pants
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Sumo - 7 weeks old - 8lbs 
This week, he enjoys biting the hose water, tugging, and giving kisses

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Mandarin - 7 weeks old - 6.4lbs
This week, he loves dangling off my clothes and tugging with all his might, and laying on his back for belly rubs
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Clementine - 7 weeks old - 7.4lbs 
​This week, he loves following me around, sitting for petting, and climbing out of the puppy areas

Temperament testing 

Before we dive into each puppies results, let's go over what the test items are!
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This is the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test (PAT). While I find the test to be a little outdated, especially in terminology, it's still a fine tool and it doesn't hurt to do. It basically just confirms my findings through raising and knowing my litter well. It’s always important to note that this test is a very brief moment in the puppy’s life whereas I have been watching all of their moments.

  • Social attraction - This test is done right when the puppy enters the test area and is first met with the tester. The tester calls them over and scores based on what they do, testing social attraction and reaction to strangers. 
  • Following - Tester walks and encourages puppy to follow them, scoring their reaction. Another test of sociability and also biddability. 
  • Restraint - This exercise is when the tester lays the puppy on it's back and holds them there to see how they react. Gives insight to how the pup handles human spacial pressure and being restrained. 
  • Social “dominance" - But I like to call it Social forgiveness. It's done right after the Restraint exercise and you see if they quickly "forgive" the person for making them uncomfortable. Tester kneels there and strokes the puppy to see what they do. Can show a pup’s level of independence, confidence, sociability, softness, etc. 
  • Elevation "dominance" - This is another that uses the word dominance in a way I wouldn't typically use it, but the test is holding the puppy elevated just over the ground with both hands, seeing how they react. Another gage of the pup’s reaction to restraint and human pressure as well as body handling. 
  • Retrieving - This test is tossing a crumpled piece of paper and seeing what they do. Score can give insight to the pup’s toy drive and natural cooperation. 
  • Touch sensitivity - This one isn't major and is very easily trained to be better. The tester squeezes the webbing between the toes firmly but not hard and scores based on how quickly the pup reacts by pulling away. This is done for 10 seconds or until the pup reacts. Can give some insight to the pup’s ease of body handling/cooperative care. 
  • Sound sensitivity - Someone on the sidelines of the testing area bangs a spoon on a metal bowl and scores how the puppy reacts. Tests the pup’s reaction, sensitivity and recovery towards loud noises. 
  • Sight sensitivity - For this test, you have a cloth on a string of some description (like a flirt pole) and jerk it around the floor. All of my puppies seem to pretty much score 1s on this which is anticipated with my dogs. It means they looked, chased it, and bit and played with it. Another good indication of toy drive, prey drive, visual/movement stimulation. 
  • Stability - This test item involves the tester unexpectedly opening an umbrella and setting it down, seeing how the puppy reacts. A good gage of the pup’s reaction to and recovery from the unexpected. 
​•Social attraction: 3-4. Interested in the environment but after a little sniffing around, went to say hi and get petted. Sweet, friendly, not over the top.
•Following: 4. Followed readily, but again was sniffing around and wanting to check out the place. Nice mixture of biddable and independent.
•Restraint: 5. No struggle. Submissive and sweet nature.
•Social forgiveness: 4-5. Easily forgiving nature, wanted to get back onto her back for more belly rubs.
•Elevation: 4. No struggle, relaxed.
•Retrieving: 3. Did a perfect retrieve to hand for the tester.
•Touch sensitivity: 1. Ten seconds before response.
•Sound sensitivity: 2. Listened and located sound, walked towards it.
•Sight sensitivity: 1-2. Chased and attacked, tugging, very into it. High tug and play drive, stimulated by motion.
•Stability: 4. Sat calmly and looked, wasn’t startled or cautious. Environmentally sound, not nervy.
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Valencia - 8 weeks old - 8.4lbs 
​•Social attraction: 3. Wanted to check out the environment, but was happy to say hi afterwards. Curious, friendly, easy going.
•Following: 3. Followed readily, still wanted to check the place out a bit. Nice mixture of biddable and independent.
•Restraint: 5. No struggle. Easily relents to human pressure.
•Social forgiveness: 3. Very forgiving, cuddled right up for kisses.
•Elevation: 4. No struggle, relaxed.
•Retrieving: 3. Went and retrieved the item to the tester but then wanted to play keep away.
•Touch sensitivity: 4. Five seconds before response.
•Sound sensitivity: 4. Listened and located sound, didn’t go towards it.
•Sight sensitivity: 1. Chased and attacked, lots of strong tugging. High tug and play drive, stimulated by motion.
•Stability: 2. Went to check it out, wasn’t startled or cautious. Environmentally sound, not nervy.
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Sumo - 8 weeks old - 8.8lbs 
​•Social attraction: 4. Started out with a few sniffs, then went up wagging and sweet to say hi. Calm, friendly, not crazy.
•Following: 4. Tail stayed wagging, more interested in checking the place out than following right away. Independent streak, but still engaged with humans.
•Restraint: 5. No struggle. Easily relents to human pressure.
•Social forgiveness: 4. Very forgiving, snuggled up calmly.
•Elevation: 3-4. Relaxed almost the whole time then had a little wiggling at the end.
•Retrieving: 3. Did a perfect retrieve to hand for the tester.
•Touch sensitivity: 1. Ten seconds before response.
•Sound sensitivity: 3. Listened and located sound, went towards it to investigate.
•Sight sensitivity: 1-2. Chased it and also wanted to head it off, did some tugging, but more nonchalant about it all. Medium/high tug and play drive, stimulated by motion.
•Stability: 3. No startle, briefly checked it out while wagging, then went about his way. Environmentally sound, not nervy.
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Tangerine - 8 weeks old - 11lbs 
​•Social attraction: 4. Interested in the environment, then went to say hi bashfully. Calm, friendly, easy going.
•Following: 4. Politely sat and watched tester walk around, then followed briefly and did some exploring. Not over the top, observant, but still engaging.
•Restraint: 3. Very little struggle but would rather be loose. Accepting of human pressure but has a mind of his own.
•Social forgiveness: 4. Forgiving nature, but was ready to take off and get back to the fun.
•Elevation: 4. No struggle, relaxed.
•Retrieving: 2. Ran and got the toy, kept it to play with for himself.
•Touch sensitivity: 1. Ten seconds before response.
•Sound sensitivity: 2. Listened and located sound, walked slowly towards it.
•Sight sensitivity: 2. Chased it and put his feet on it, didn’t feel like tugging (for once, as he’s a big tugger most of the time). Medium/high tug and play drive, stimulated by motion but not overly so.
•Stability: 2. Quick startle then hopped inside to play, wagging all the while. Environmentally sound, not nervy.
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Mandarin - 8 weeks old - 7.8lbs 
​•Social attraction: 3. Sat down for a moment then wiggled up sweetly to say hello to the tester. Thoughtful, friendly, sweet.
•Following: 2-3. Wiggled around following the tester, tail wagging and staying close. Social, biddable, into humans.
•Restraint: 5. No struggle, made some eye contact. Easily accepts human pressure.
•Social forgiveness: 3. Snugged up eagerly for kisses and pets. Very forgiving.
•Elevation: 4. No struggle, relaxed.
•Retrieving: 4. Ran to the toy and started to play with it, then ran back to tester without the toy.
•Touch sensitivity: 1. No response.
•Sound sensitivity: 2-3. Listened and located sound, went away first then went to investigate.
•Sight sensitivity: 1. Chased and attacked, tugging and having fun, didn’t want to stop. High tug and play drive, stimulated by motion.
•Stability: 2. Quick startle at first, then climbed into the umbrella to check it out. Environmentally sound, not nervy.
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Clementine - 8 weeks old - 9lbs 

Placements...

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Valencia

Not only was she our only girl in the Oranges litter, but she grew into such an amazing puppy. Beautiful structure, super sweet and friendly, outgoing, personable, loves to play and to train. High drive without having high arousal! She loves nothing more than to lay on her back in your arms and stare lovingly into your eyes and get a belly rub. I knew early on she’d be staying close and as the only female, she was going one of two places. After temperament testing and final decisions, she was placed with another second time OH owner! Gregory with Sage from the Spices litter. Sage is Abigail’s first daughter and therefore Valencia’s half aunt!

Gregory does agility with Sage and Valencia will be his next agility dog. While they’ve not done a ton of trialing yet, Sage is super well trained to a high level and I couldn’t be more proud of how well Gregory has done with her! Especially considering she was his first agility dog. I know Valencia will be following closely in her aunties footsteps and achieve amazing things!

Her new name is Grace, Old Hemp’s Citrus Got Real. She is my co-own of the Oranges! So I have high hopes she’ll be coming back later on to have amazing babies herself, who would be my Abbie’s great grandchildren. 🥹

Congratulations to Greg on his second OH pup! Can’t wait to see all the amazing things they do together.

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Sumo

​He’s always been a fan favorite and has had such a big personality and presence. He’s very much a little copy of his daddy and has a very outgoing and friendly personality and lots of drive! He’s our second puppy of the litter going to be a farm dog. Sumo is living on a beautiful farm in north Florida where he will be a true working dog and help his people move their livestock. They do regenerative farming and moving the livestock around regularly is a key component which thus far they’ve been doing by hand, so I’m super excited to see how much Sumo can help! His owners are a fabulous couple and while Sumo is the only dog, he will be sharing his life with three great kids who I’m sure he is going to be best friends with. When I did their phone interview, I was so happy they applied with me and knew for a fact any dog they got would be so fortunate to live with them. It’s not often people buy Puppy Culture for themselves and their one puppy, so amazing to be so ready to learn and begin the journey of training their dog! Sumo will also be eating from the farm and their hunted game, so he’s going to fully spoiled in the best ways.

Sumo embarked on the long journey home last weekend and was a great puppy through all of the long flights and hustle bustle of traveling. His new name is Silas and his registered name is Old Hemp’s Floridas Natural.

Can’t wait to see what a cool guy he grows up to be! And so happy to welcome Murphy, Joshua and their kiddos to the OH family.

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Tangerine

​Tangerine is staying in Nevada but going deeper into the state, to Ely. He’s going to be a farm dog who works goats with his uncle Riley, who is Penny’s full sibling! Making him his owner Betsy’s second OH dog. She’s been super pleased with Riley and wanted another dog like him! With the drive to get the job done and the temperament to support being a good dog no matter when, where or what’s going on. Tangerine has been home for almost two weeks now and doing super well learning the ropes and showcasing his nice temperament! He’s a very well balanced pup who I expect to grow into a great dog. Tangerine’s new name is Murphy (making him Penny’s second son named Murphy 😂) and his registered name is Old Hemp’s Murphys Orange Twist.

So happy for him to have such a perfect Border Collie home and a great handler!
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Mandarin

The second Orange going to Florida! He will be living in Miami with his new owner Alex and her other Border Collie, Ellie.

Alex and I have been friends on the internet for a very long time and talk regularly so I was so excited when this litter was happening because I had a very good feeling it would produce the puppy for Alex. And as the pups grew up, I knew Mandarin was going to be the guy! He’s a sweetheart who adores his people and isn’t a pushy or demanding puppy but he does have the drive and biddability to do whatever sports they may want to try their hand at, which Alex is thinking about herding and dock diving as the primaries. A perfect beginner sport dog! He may even have a future of service work for his human if things go well, which is very cool since both of his parents do that work for their people too.

Mandarin’s new name is Rowan, Old Hemp’s Main Squeeze. And yes, that’s a shout out to Throne of Glass!

So happy to have finally met Alex in person and to officially welcome her to the OH family!
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Clementine

Last but certainly not least! Clementine, my special guy. This puppy spoke to me from an early age, with his perfect balance of sweet and spicy. He was the first puppy to launch himself over the little step cover we have installed at the entrance to the puppy pen, to try to be able to enter and exit without pups following. Well, he said don’t fret! Nothing will stop me from being with my person. I could always look down and find him staring up at me! He loves to nap on his back in your arms. Loves to tug with all his might, growling like a beast all the while. He is a high drive pup with a sensible demeanor, lovely structure, and really just quite a little catch. A super special boy and it’s hard to believe I actually had to place him twice!

Clem went on his first adventure to WA, where he lived with his first placement for two weeks before she realized puppy ownership simply wasn’t for her. It wasn’t an easy choice for her nor something either of us took lightly but it was for the best for everyone and there are no hard feelings.

It ended up being the best thing that could have happened because within 48 hours of being back with me, Clementine was matched with his perfect fit. I enjoyed the little extra time we got together to do more training and get some extra love. On the last night together, he climbed all the way into my lap and flopped on his back for a snuggle that I cherished.

He’s living in Northern California where he will be an agility star! He is now owned and loved by Karla Ahn who is a super impressive agility trainer and high level competitor who was looking for her next prospect to take her far. We spoke at length over the phone and I loved everything I heard and knew Clem was going to be so lucky to have this dream life! Plus, he’ll get to see his sister Grace (Valencia) almost every week because her owner trains with Karla. So cool!

Clementine’s new name is Crush - Old Hemp’s Orange Crush It. And he’s absolutely going to crush it! He also may be used in my program in the future to sire some more awesome pups.

Huge congratulations to Karla and a very warm welcome to the OH family. I couldn’t be more happy for Crush!
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  • Home
    • Border Collies
    • Whippets
    • Papillons
    • Purpose Mixes
  • Puppies
    • Details
    • Litters >
      • Wines: 01/20/26
      • Beans: 05/16/25
      • TOG: 05/04/25
      • ACOTAR: 09/18/24
      • Oranges: 09/12/24
      • Gemstones: 07/19/23
      • Flames: 04/22/23
      • Fabrics: 09/30/22
      • Apples: 11/14/21
      • RPG: 07/08/21
      • Space: 02/23/21
    • Puppy Updates
  • Our Dogs
    • Calypso
    • Vintage
    • Lucid
    • Jon
    • Whimsy
    • Mana
    • Co-Owns/Guardians >
      • Penny
      • Mushu
      • Sprite
      • Figment
      • Alta
      • Retro
      • Dash
      • Lurk
    • Retired >
      • Abigail
      • Lapis
  • Reviews
  • Application
  • Educational Videos
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • Hip x-rays
  • Contact