Frequency of Haplotypes in Embark Compare Tool DB

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The Old-fashioned Black and Tan English Shepherd Association previously maintained an Embark Results Comparison Tool for the English Shepherd Community. The database presently contains 64 English Shepherd dogs. The following report summarizes the frequency of haplogroup/haplotype occurrences among the English Shepherd dogs in the database. Haplogroup/Haplotype Frequency A1a_Y H1a.48_Y 14 A1e_MT A2a_MT 13 E_MT E11_MT … Read more

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Tony Bierman, "Frequency of Haplotypes in Embark Compare Tool DB," OBTESA, Accessed January 10, 2025, http://esbt.us/ee.

Why Foundational Strains Matter

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Black and Tan English Shepherd

First, it comes up a lot, so I think the subject of coat color deserves a brief mentioning.  The observable signs of a foundational strain are not trivial, as they reflect the underlying genetic package and are consequently indicative of congruence and predictability.  But confusion arises when individuals from composite strains appear similar to those … Read more

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Tony Bierman, "Why Foundational Strains Matter," OBTESA, Accessed January 10, 2025, http://esbt.us/ee.

What Exactly Makes It a Old-fashioned Black and Tan English Shepherd?

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Black and Tan English Shepherd

I was recently asked, “What exactly makes it a Old-fashioned Black and Tan English Shepherd?” When classifying members of a foundational strain within a landrace breed, three of the most conclusive tools we can use are genotype, phenotype and history. In isolation, any one of these three investigations can be inconclusive. But when all three … Read more

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Tony Bierman, "What Exactly Makes It a Old-fashioned Black and Tan English Shepherd?," OBTESA, Accessed January 10, 2025, http://esbt.us/ee.

Manding 501: Increase the Difficulty Level

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Black and Tan English Shepherd

Focus and attention are core precepts of my manageable companion dog philosophy. That’s why I’m obsessed with manding. Once your dog or pup has manding down to a science, you’re probably getting asked for a lot of treats. That’s great. But according to Purina Senior Nutritionist Jan Dempsey, 90 percent of daily calories should come … Read more

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Tony Bierman, "Manding 501: Increase the Difficulty Level," OBTESA, Accessed January 10, 2025, http://esbt.us/ee.

The Truth about Old-fashioned Black and Tan English Shepherds

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Back when I was in my early twenties, I went on a camping trip and made some friends.  One night when we were sitting around the campfire, the discussion led to how many states there were in the United States.   This was in the days before smart phones, so there was no way to lookup … Read more

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Tony Bierman, "The Truth about Old-fashioned Black and Tan English Shepherds," OBTESA, Accessed January 10, 2025, http://esbt.us/ee.

Invisible Treat Pouch

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I don’t believe in a visible treat pouch. With some dogs, I’ve seen the pouch become a distraction. For awhile I tried hanging the pouch from my belt on the back of my pants, but I found that location to be inaccessible. So instead, I carry treats in a sandwich bag in my pocket. I’ll … Read more

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Tony Bierman, "Invisible Treat Pouch," OBTESA, Accessed January 10, 2025, http://esbt.us/ee.

Focus and Attention Training

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When stone cold Hawkeye was a pup, he was hard to convince.  We had problems with focus and distraction.  Hawkeye forced me to raise my game and learn training techniques to overcome the issue.  Since then, I’ve proofed these techniques on several dogs and found them to be effective at forming a well-focused, less distractable … Read more

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Tony Bierman, "Focus and Attention Training," OBTESA, Accessed January 10, 2025, http://esbt.us/ee.

Heir Apparent to the Gold Nugget Strain

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We moved the goat herd from the pasture to the barnyard this morning.  This used to be an unpredictable and stress-filled event that I was not sure would take twenty-minutes or an hour.  One time, I even sustained a mild injury in the process.  But thanks to my fifty-pound gold nugget, that just isn’t the … Read more

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Tony Bierman, "Heir Apparent to the Gold Nugget Strain," OBTESA, Accessed January 10, 2025, http://esbt.us/ee.