A bit about our journey on what we have done and how we have come to where we are.  

Our first two Foundation dogs were Queblue River Rose bred by Flora McKewon and Copperridge Red Devi bred by Ken Angus.  Mel was blue and Dusty was red and both were beautiful dogs.  We have always loved the Queblue lines and spent many years looking for a male and came across Ken Angus by accident.  Dusty was a magnificent male with great confirmation and the shows he went to he  always won Best in Group.

It has taken us many years to find the right dogs and we still are always looking as you need to continue to improve your breeding every generation you keep.  We brought in some other lines to breed to Dusty and they were good but it still wasn't the direction we wanted to go.  We then came across Robyn Spargo from Pureheel Australian Cattle Dogs and she allowed us to purchase Zoe (Pureheel Royal Obsession) and then Bayley (Narracain Blue Hurracan) who were exactly what we were wanting.  We mated Zoe and Dusty and the end result was brilliant just what we were wanting.  A solid dog with great angulation and temperament,  Clearisge Ozzie Assassin (Elvis). We mated Bayley to Ash and  and the two litters were amazing.  Solid pups with great temperaments.  We knew this was where we wanted to go in our breeding.

Shortly after I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia which there is no cure for and I have now had it for 7 years.  It is a terrible disease and we were forced to place many of our dogs with friends and my parents till we knew what I could do.  We had to sell some which was very hard.  We sold our farm and moved to town which for 12 months was hell for us and I missed the dogs so much.  I have given up the cattle and horse breeding but decided I wanted the dogs back.  Without them I had nothing. We decided to buy another small property and get our dogs back home which has given me a new lease on life. Showing will be hard but I am trying to get back into it but am so lucky to have wonderful friends who will run my dogs if I get sick at a show.

We are now on 202 acres and it is in the process of being fully set up for the dogs.  They have 2 dams to swim in and large areas to run and play.  We have started our breeding again this year (2008) and have some great things planned and as a serious breeder we feel you need to be always thinking ahead.  We are on our second and third generation of Clearidge Dogs that we have kept in our Kennel and this shows our committment to the betterment of the breed.  We have been looking for some time to bring in some new bloodlines but have been very dissappointed in our search.  On paper they look good but in the flesh nothing so I always like to look at the body of a dog before the bloodlines.

 We have planned on retaining several Clearidge pups from each litter and showing them to promote the quality of our dogs.  We do not stand our dogs at stud as it is easy to cash in on a quality male but it is the end result of the mating that can be a disaster.  We have a select couple of people who have good dogs that we allow them to use our dogs and we retain a pup from each mating in an attempt to see the continued success of our breeding program.

Our breeding program is planned many years in advace and we always look forward to the results of the matings and the positive feedback and photo's from our clients as there pups grow and develop.

"WHAT IS A BREEDER"

A Breeder with a capital "B" is one who thirsts for knowledge and never really knows it all, one who wrestles with decisions of conscience, convenience and commitment.  A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests, finances, time , friendships, fancy furnature and deep pile carpeting. 

She gives up the dreams of a long luxurious cruise in favour of turning that all important show into this years "vacation".  A Breeder goes without sleep (but never without coffee) in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the birth process, and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle or cry.  A Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due or the babies have to be fed a eight.  A Breeder's lap is a marvelous place where generations of proud and noble champions once snoozed.  A Breeder's hands are strong and firm and often soiled, but ever so gentle and sensative to the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose.  A Breeder's back and knees are usually arthritic from stooping, bending or sitting in the birthing box, but are strong enough to enable the breeder to show the next choice pup to a Championship.  A Breeder's shoulders are stooped and often heaped with abuse from competitors, but they're wide enough to support the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations.  A Breeder's arms are always able to wield a mop, support an armful of puppies, or lend a helping hand to a newcomer.  A Breeder's ears are wondrous things, sometimes red (from being talked about) or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a phone receiver), often deaf to criticism, yet always fine- tuned to a whimper of a sick puppy.  

A Breeder's eyes are blurred from Pedigree research and sometimes blind to her own dog's faults, but they are ever so keen to the competitions faults and are always searching for the perfect specimen.  A Breeder's brain is foggy on faces, but it can recall pedigrees faster than an IBM computer.  It's so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse: it catalogues thousands of good bonnings, fine ears and perfect heads.. and buries in the soul the failures and the ones that didn't turn out.  A Breeder's heart is often broken, but it beats strongly with hope everlasting.... and it's always in the right place!

Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then, there are BREEDERS!

- Author unknown