Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
Davenloch Collies was established back in 1993 under the guidance of J. David Clarke, in Spruce Grove, Alberta. With the purchase of a lovely sable rough female in 1994 who became Can Ch. Glennloch's Beaming Sun CD we were on our way!
This girl soon found her place as the matriarch who excelled in our home, the show ring, obedience ring and the whelping box, placing as top obedience collie in Alberta in 1995, and sharing the spot of number 2 champion producing collie bitch in Canada for 1997.
Starting off with Canadian bloodlines as our foundation, Davenloch has evolved and grown with the introduction of a few key U.S. lines based on the Parader/Glenhill/Tartanside families, undoubtedly some of the best past & current bloodlines in the world. From these lines come the top all time producing sires and dams for the breed. More recently we also introduced a small amount of the Timeless line for our smooths. We have also taken steps to further solidify the overall type of collie we currently envision here, by working with Mike (Sheela) Cheatham and her absolutely exquisite Southland Collies out of Petersburg, Tennessee. We have bred on the foundation of the illustrious sire Am. Ch. Southland's Bowen Island ROM, - Best of Breed - Collie Club of America 2002 by way of directly utilizing his tightly linebred immediate descendants in our breeding program. We have bred some of our very best bitches directly into the Southland line and its' immediate complimentary crosses. The reason for such a decision on our part, can be summed up in a write up about Bowen contained on the Wyndlair Collies website of Matt & Anita Stelter. Wyndlair has also had great success in utilizing Bowen and his descendants and the write up says it all respecting why Davenloch has chosen to utilize this line - As quoted directly from the Wyndlair website: (Thank you to Matt Stelter of Wyndlair for permission to use this quotation)
"It has been in the years following Bowen’s momentous win where his true impact on the breed has been felt. Our confidence in Bowen’s ability as a sire has been realized in spades. Bowen has proven dominant for many of his virtues, particularly his beautiful & correctly placed eyes, soft expression, balanced body type with depth of chest, length of body, and long, well-bent stifles & short hocks. Breeders from all lines have sent their finest bitches to Bowen, and the progeny will positively impact our breed for generations. Bowen’s outcrossed progeny have been just as successful as his linebred progeny, for astute breeders realized an interesting fact, Bowen’s producing ability. As the pendulum has swung away from the ‘cookie-cutter’ sires, breeders that have outcrossed to Bowen have found that he doesn’t change their long-established type, but rather improves it by giving his progeny his timeless virtues. It has been said that timing is critical in the success of a stud dog. That certainly has been the case with Bowen’s siring career, at a time when the breed is looking for improvement in eye shape, eye placement & body balance."
Certainly acknowledging that we have been entrusted with such outstanding collie familes, we are genuinely greatful to those breeders having come before, that have extended the trust they have to us. As a result we also acknowledge the utmost in stewardship that flows from that as we move forward. It is a fact, that a Davenloch collie has the blood of some of the world's finest and most sought after collie lines running through their veins. With that said, we do not as a kennel, while based on such quality lines, wish to merely be an additional arm of another breeder's vision. We incorporate our own vision of what we see the collie to be, and seek to be acknowledged by our peers and our adoptive puppy families as a source for quality collies that excel in temperament, beauty, balance and health with that 'Exceptional" and distinctive look that is Davenloch. We are greatful for such acknowledgement at this point in our breeding program, acknowledgement and respect that has been over 16 years in the making. This is not saying that we have arrived, only that this helps in affirming in our minds that we have progressed for the benefit of the collie and that this progression continues to drive us towards producing the "ultimate perfect collie". Although the "ultimate perfect collie" may be unattainable, our vision and interpretation of the Official Collie Breed Standard nonetheless evolves with each breeding that is done here, leaving behind mere words on paper, and becoming a living breathing representation of such vision and interpretation, an interpretation that is to us, as close to the "ultimate perfect collie" as possible! We breed with the whole dog in mind as the collie is not only a dog of beauty, but of brains. Even with these two highly important and virtuous characteristics, they are all for not if the dogs are not healthy. We carefully investigate bloodlines and pedigrees to maintain health within our collie family. We strive to produce collies that are not only beautiful to the eye, but healthy and sound in temperament and body. After all, people are attracted to this great breed because of how they look and how they act and any individual or family who welcomes a collie into their life, family companion, performance, show or otherwise, should expect a healthy sound dog! In the end we believe in the complete collie. We do not concentrate strictly on esthetic beauty, but base our breeding philosophy on four key cornerstones. These key cornerstones are true collie type, temperament, health and soundness. Without concentrating on all four, the collie is not done justice, and we are proud to say that we are truly diligent in maintaining this four cornerstone focus. In a nutshell, we choose to be a kennel of consistent overall quality rather than quantity, carefully planning each breeding that is done here for the betterment of the collie.
Davenloch's success as a kennel, can be measured by those who have purchased a puppy or two or three from us in the past. The best advertising for the collie, is a well bred, well socialized, healthy beautiful collie. Seeing just how amazing they truly are in the homes and lives of those families who have a Davenloch dog says more than any write up or spoken word can ever say! The collie, although a magnificent animal to look at in the show ring, is first and foremost a family member that brings such quality of life to those who invite such a great breed into their homes.
Using the show ring as a benchmark with which our breeding animals are evaluated by our peers, we have also been truly successful in this venue, co-owning BISS Can/Am Ch. Cassori A Minute Past Midnight, Best In Specialty Show - Collie Club of Canada National Specialty 2007 & Award of Merit at the Collie Club of Canada National Specialty in 2000, having produced Can Ch. Davenloch Midnight Wind, Best In Sweepstakes and Reserve Winners Dog at the Collie Club of Canada National Specialty in 2002, as well as Reserve Winners Dog at the Canadian Collie & Shetland Sheepdog National Specialty that same year, producing Multi Group Placing, Multi Best Puppy In Group, Best Puppy In Show, Best Puppy In Specialty Show Can Ch. Davenloch Prometheus Unbound, who went Best of Opposite Sex/Best Puppy at one of Canada's most prestigious and certainly oldest collie specialty shows, the Dominion Collie & Shetland Sheepdog Association Specialty in 2006, and who finished 2006 as Canada's # 8 collie both rough and smooth variety, producing Can Ch. Davenloch Here Comes The Sun, who went Winners Bitch/Best of Winners Smooth at the 2007 Collie Club of Canada National Specialty, owning Can Ch. Camloch Davenloch's Pinnacle who was Winners Bitch, Best of Opposite Sex Smooth and Best Puppy Smooth at the Collie Club of Canada National Specialty in 2004, owning Am/Can Ch. Camloch Reflection who finished his American Championship with 4 U.S. Specialty major wins, was a Canadian Specialty Best of Breed winner, and who finished 2004 as Canada's # 4 smooth collie! In fact Davenloch has had a dog place in the nation's top 10 collies in 2004 (Am/Can Ch. Camloch Reflection), 2006 (Can Ch. Davenloch Prometheus Unbound) and also 2008 with the lovely blue rough bitch Ch. Davenloch Colour Me Happy. We have obtained numerous other specialty show wins, all breed group placements, and Best Puppy In Groups, along with numerous other Champion titles that we either bred, purchased or co-owned with others including dual titled Canadian & American Champions. We believe that because we breed with the whole dog in mind, that this is evidenced by our successes under collie breeder judges at Specialty shows, in the all-breed ring and in the performance ring. Please note a LEGEND as to what these various title acronyms stand for is included towards the bottom of our OUR PAST page.
Our dogs are usually owner handled when they are shown, as we find a great sense of satisfaction in exhibiting and handling our own dogs. When we can't make it to a certain show, we have utilized select handlers but for the most part choose to show our own dogs. As breeder/exhibitors, our successes in the show ring mean so much to us as a result.
There are also Davenloch dogs engaged in pet therapy, competitive obedience, and agility throughout Canada and in the U.S. We are just as proud of them as we are of our successes in the conformation show ring.
Today, Davenloch consists of an average of 12 - 14 dogs, as we believe that individual attention can not be properly afforded to our dogs with a larger operation, and we strive to maintain numbers that make the best sense for our dogs all the way around. We reside on 80 acres of land only 30 minutes from Edmonton International Airport, and take great care in ensuring that our dogs have ample room to run, play and socialize safely. We purchased this property in July of 2008 to allow more room for our dogs after spending numerous years on a smaller property. To the left are a few pictures of some of our large dog runs, and our property. To the right are a couple of pictures of our home. All of our puppies are born in the house, right in our kitchen area as a matter of fact, and raised underfoot. Our puppies as they grow, become very used to the sounds of house and home. They also socialize with our Siamese cats, and our Cockatiel named Spencer who very much enjoys whistling up a storm to the collie pups as they make their way around. When our puppies are a bit older, we also take them with us on brief social visits with family and friends to introduce them to a variety of new environments. We certainly welcome visitors, and especially enjoy visitors with young children as an additional socializing aspect for our puppies.
We also discovered a very interesting piece of history related to our new property and our home. Our home was built back in 1910, old by our standards here in Western Canada, but perhaps not so old when compared to other parts of the world. In looking back into the history of the property, we discovered that the land was orginally owned by the Hudsons Bay Company, a massive fur and land company back in the mid 1800's and one that still exists today as a large Canadian retail and department store operation. The land was purchased again by a different company around 1878. Following this, the land then became the homestead of a Swedish immigrant family. In fact this whole area around us here was settled by Scandanavian immigrants who either came directly here from their respective countries or through the United States, namely Minnesota. We soon discovered that the orginal homesteader of our property was Oden Peterson. The significance of this was that as we traced back family history it was discovered that Mr. Peterson was a distant relative of David's, albeit quite distant, through his grandmother whose maiden name was Peterson. Having come to Canada through Minnesota, parts of the Peterson family homesteaded in what is now the Province of Saskatchewan, and others made their way to what is now the Province of Alberta and in particular, to areas around where we are now located. It appears although not confirmed, that the original homesteader of what is now our land, also ran a post office on it from 1907 - 1914. For part of this time at least, 1910-1914, it appears that the post office might have been ran right out of the very home we now live in. Old maps indicate that our very property was called Oden at one time, with such maps showing a post office aptly named the Oden post office right where our house currently stands. As one additional bit of historical information, Oden is actually the name of a Norse god. Not having any idea of such history whatsoever when we purchased the property, the fact that a distant relative of one of us was the prior owner and founder of the home makes us feel we are truly in the right place for ourselves and for our collies! Not only do we absolutely love living in a place with such history, character and let's not forget space, we are also certain that our collies love it just as much if not even more than we do. You can just tell.
We actively support The Collie Club of Canada, and in the past have held various executive offices in the club, including Vice President and more recently as President. We have also sat on various sub-committees and are past Editors of the national breed club magazine "Expressions" We have enjoyed making contributions by way of articles and content on various subjects affecting the collie and collie owners to this publication. The Collie Club of Canada represents first and foremost the breed itself in Canada, its interests and wellbeing, as well as the membership of collie owners and fanciers from one end of the country to the other. We have been an active member of the CCC for over a decade. In the lives that require careers to pay for the Collie passion, David is a Director of Insurance & Risk Management for local government authorities in the Province of Alberta, and Shawn operates a successful oilfield manufacturing company with his family. As an extension of his dog passion, David also teaches show handling classes on a regular basis at a canine training centre in Leduc, Alberta.
Our focus on collie families is based on the Parader bloodlines established by Mr. Stephen Field in the State of Nebraska over 65 years ago. We chose these base lines for their overall vigor, intelligence and beautiful faces that were synonymous with Parader dogs, and that lives on through the hard work of other breeders of the past through to the dedicated breeders of today.
At Davenloch, we are truly dedicated to the health, wellbeing and beauty of the Collie. Through a selective breeding program, we utilize only the best dogs based on some of the world's best bloodlines, to ensure Collies that are sound in mind & body, and true to outstanding Collie breed type as outlined in the official breed standard. We do not treat the stewardship of this wonderful breed merely as a hobby, but as a passion.
Davenloch continues today as a source for quality Collies that excel in the areas of beautiful faces & expression, correct head structure, balance & temperament, and we continue to strive towards perfection with every breeding that we do.
We welcome you to our website and hope you enjoy your visit. If you are interested in a Davenloch collie, please feel free to contact us. We promptly answer all inquiries and would be happy to chat with you.
Am Ch. Southland's Bowen Island ROM
BEST OF BREED - COLLIE CLUB OF AMERICA 2002
Sire of 60 American Champions
Bred & owned by Sheela (Mike) Cheatham
Southland Collies
Petersburg, Tennessee
Bowen's pedigree is a linebred blend of the finest daughters of Am Ch. Tartanside Th' Critics' Choice ROM ROM-P. He truly is the result of generations of judicious breeding.
I act like a dog because I know nothing else.
Please accept, love and respect me for who I am,
Teach me, so that I do not annoy, frighten or hurt my neighbors,
And protect me from those who may annoy, hurt or frighten me.
Socialize me so that I do not live my life in fear,
Teach me independence because I am a pack animal
And do not want to suffer every time you leave.
Take leadership responsibility so that I won't have to,
Teach me manners so that I can go with you,
And take care of my needs when you are away.
When my time here is over, please let me die with respect in your arms,
So that I may leave this world in peace.
I am your dog,
Whatever you give me, I will give back ten fold.
