Comes a time, when one must have the courage of one's convictions. I've thought so much about what my next pup should be, given all that I have learned, that my head should have fallen off by now. I've combed through many and many a pedigree, written and received many letters, looked at many photographs, and wondered mightily.

If stockdogs were a more predictable and standardized product, I wouldn't be in this position (along with everyone else who wants a working dog). I have read a hundred times, and firmly believe, that the best — not surefire, but the best — prediction of the possible but invisible talents of a pup, are its parents. That's why it is so critical to train and work every stockdog breeding prospect, so that a breeder has some idea of what they are going to contribute to their offspring.

And, it is why it is so critical, as a buyer, to be able to watch the parents of a prospective litter work. Just that they work is not much information. Do they head or heel? And exactly how do they grip? And where? Do they problem-solve or default to making a mess? What happens if they get bowled over by a nasty sheep or clocked by a cow? Are they kind to their stock? Will they quit if they get yelled at? Do they take cheap shots out of frustration? Or maybe out of fear? Do they tend to be too speedy, or are they perhaps loathe to exert themselves when needed? Are they natural raters, do they cast wide, do they track lost animals? How strong is their sense of group? Can they walk up confidently and move a stubborn animal with their presence alone? So many things to know.

Everyone seems to think they have great working dogs, but I've learned that one person's "great" might well be my "mediocre", or "significantly flawed". It might even be my "useless". Not merely that people naturally tend to be optimistic about their own dogs, but that everyone has different needs, and different tastes.

If I just wanted a great working dog, that would be a difficult search. But I also have come to see that it is up to each of us to strive to preserve the genetic diversity of the working Aussie, while we still have it. So I'm also looking for a dog which in some way represents old, worthy bloodlines that are in danger of disappearing. And not only that! I also believe that the inbreeding coefficients that most dog breeders are comfortable with are in fact quite dangerous. I want an Aussie with as low an inbreeding coefficient as I can get, including the oldest dogs known in the pedigree. Once you go past four or five generations, you sometimes find that dogs you thought were unrelated in fact have many relations in common.

There are not that many breeders who think this way. And those few that are, are a long way from me. But if I don't go see them, how will I watch those parents work? Am I going to put my money where my mouth is, or not?

I am planning a road trip.