We kept Roper from our 2016 Holly/Zeke litter for our next generation of English Shepherds. Roper is our fourth generation of ES being raised here. In general Roper is a very loving girl, a quick thinker, a carrier of objects (like her grandmother Kira), has proven herself to be a varmint eradicator, listens well and has excelled as my agility partner. She is quite a talker (not barker, but talker) and does like to greet and lick. I am still working on the extra licking part.

Roper interacted with puppies from both Holly's & GG's final litters here and did well with them. She also raised a 2 pup litter back in 2018. Roper earned her UKC AG1 title at 17 months of age and earned her AGII title in March 2020 right when all the Covid 19 stuff started shutting things down in NC. This was only the second trial that she had participated in.

While we do not have livestock here, Roper & I attended a Cathy Hartley herding clinic over the summer of 2018. Roper showed drive, and tended to be a heeler, not a header. She also did some barking, but it did not remind me of force barking to make the stock move.

Since Dillon has passed on, Roper has become my main varmint eradicator and will go after snakes, moles/voles and anything else that doesn't belong in her backyard/woods. She does seem to keep her barking limited to what she feels is important, so I may find her barking at a deer, or other pests, but not usually just because one of the other dogs is barking. It seems that she needs a reason to bark.

As I have watched her mature tremendously over the past year and a half, I can see that she is an appeaser - wants to maintain the peace in the family. As I have stated before, I see a lot of her grandfather Dillon in her make up and personality, which is a very good thing to me. She also took over as Riker's main playmate & teacher about a year ago, following Kira's death. She is super fast, super smart, wants to please more than anything and is truly an enjoyable dog to have around.

From April: Duke is a black and tan English Shepherd and comes from Whippoorwill and the old Blankenship lines. Gentle, Loyal, Loves people and great with kids, varmint eradicator, dabbled in beginner agility, eager to please, alerts us to visitors (people and animals). He has produced pups that have done well both on working farms and as companions.

From Me: I was thrilled that April agreed to let Duke sire Roper's litter. In 2015, I had this to say about Duke & it is still true today.

"I was very impressed with Duke's friendliness and temperament while we were there visiting.  One reason I chose Duke is because he is Rex's grandson. Duke's sire was from a one time cross between Rex (as an old male) & a b&t female that went back to the Blankenship lines. Duke reminds me a lot of Rex with his temperament, but is actually a better looking boy! Rex was the male we used for Bec's second & third litters."

I expect this litter to produce black & tan pups with some minor white markings or sable (like Roper) with minor white markings. I believe that these will be eager to please pups, but will also need owners who will set fair & consistent rules and be willing to work with their pup.