About Burlywood Collies
	~ Melinda & Duane Sunnarborg ~ P.O. Box 2169,Livermore, CA 94551Phone: (925) 443-8925
	Thank you for your interest in our collies. We are located in the South Livermore Valley of northern California (about 45 miles east of San Francisco.) We have owned, bred, trained and exhibited collies since 1981 and we cordially invite you to browse our Web site and meet some of our dogs. We are proud of our "family" of collies which consists of American Kennel Club (AKC) conformation and obedience titleholders. Nearly all of our collies have also been certified for Herding Instinct via tests conducted under either American Working Collie Association (AWCA) or Collie Club of America (CCA) guidelines.
	The pedigrees of our collies go back to several top U.S. collie kennels. We work basically with the Parader type, beginning with dogs from the Arrowhill line. During subsequent years, we added the Twin Creeks line, using the more contemporary families of Executive, Highcroft, Fantasy and Overland. Since we house a relatively small number of dogs, all of our collies are "house dogs" and are our companions as well as our show and breeding stock. We are proud to be members in good standing of the following organizations:
	Collie Club of America, Inc. Quarter-Century Collie Group Collie Health Foundation, Inc. American Working Collie Association
	In 2005 the American Kennel Club granted the registration of our kennel name, "Burlywood," and in 2011 we received admission into the AKC Breeder of Merit Program. We do have puppies and adult dogs available occasionally. We breed to improve our stock -- to produce a collie which is physically and mentally sound, one which is a proper representative of the breed, and one which would be a joy to own. Our collie puppies that are placed as pets receive care identical to those destined for the show-ring. They receive inoculations, they are wormed, they are micro-chipped with the HomeAgain chip, and all are checked by a veterinary ophthalmologist for the presence of hereditary eye disease. Our active breeding stock has now been DNA-tested for PRA (Progresive Retinal Atrophy) and DMS (Dermatomyositis). We support health screening of all breeding stock. Our dogs are OFA hip and elbow x-rayed, they are tested for normal cardiac and thyroid function, as well as for the MDR-1 gene (causes sensitivity to certain drugs). More information about DNA health-screening test can be viewed on the Collie Health Foundation's web site. Test results for our collies are listed on the CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) search page as well as on the OFA search page. Our puppies are raised in a home environment. They are socialized and exposed to situations which they must become accustomed to as adults, such as car rides, household noises, and being groomed and handled. We apply many of the Puppy Culture early training protocols and try to make the transition from our home to the puppy's new home as stress-free as possible. Since our breeding program is limited - averaging about one litter per year - our puppies are often promised before they are born. However, we are very willing to refer inquiries to other collie breeders if we have no puppies available at the time. We always encourage careful consideration on the part of all prospective puppy owners to be sure that a collie is the perfect breed for them. Read on to learn more about collies!
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