A Bit More About McNab Dog Breed
Many a times - not so often though, I receive tele-calls and emails from people far and wide, inquiring if I can get them McNab puppies or can give them any clue about a McNab breeder. "I can't", I say, because I don't know any McNab breeder, here in India. Most of the times I find people, heard of the breed, but don't know much about them. Interestingly, just the last week I got two phone calls from my friends asking "What is McNab Dogs... How do they look like?" "Much like a Border Collie," I told both of them.
Friends... hope you guys won't mind reading a little bit about McNabs once again, although I had writen about this beautiful breed before... check out "McNabs". This fabulous breed, although known only by the name "McNab" world wide, is actually called McNab Shepherds. Originated in United States, this is one of those fewest dog breeds that have not yet been recognized by any major Kennel club, besides The National Stock Dog Registry, which is the major registry of McNab dogs so far.
Spanning back to 1866, we would find a name Mr. Alexander McNab, who used to raise sheep dogs in the Gampian Hills of Scotland. After many years of staying in Scotland, Mr. Alexander McNab decided to shift to Northern California along with his family. While shifting he took with himself a Scotch Collie from Scotland; he built a McNab Ranch upon a 10,000 acres of lush green land. But a pity that the dog had a short life and Mr couldn't use him in developing a new breed. Mr. Alexabder McNb wasn't happy working with the kind of dogs he found in his time.
Later in the year 1885, he went back to Scotland and imported a couple of male dogs (Scotch collies) - the ones that he was actually accostomed to work with. He named them Fred (a natural head Scotch collie) and Peter (natural head & drive Scotch collie). Mr. McNab actually left Ferd in Scotland until the completion of his general training session. Peter was brought to California.
During this point of time Mr. McNab's attention was captured by a typically Spanish dog breed, which were brought to America by Basque sheep herders, they say. Both Fred and Peter was bred to female herding dog of Spanish origin. Candidlly speaking I don't have a clue as to what kind of dogs did these Basque sheep herders bring that time. Over times selective and continuous breedings ultimately gave birth to what we call McNab Shepherds today. During the entire project of development of this breed, Alexander McNab did not divert his focus from the "herding quality" of the dog. It is said that the origin of the McNab Shepherd dogs are the Fox collie or Scotch Collie... both are reported to be the ancestors of Original Border Collies.
Other Names of the McNab Shepherd:
McNab Border Collie
McNab Sheepdog
McNab Herding Dog
2 comments:
great info for dog lover like us
My dog "Mojo" appears to be a McNab. He was sold to me by a breeder, and his registration papers state he is a Border Collie of the Lock-Eye Border Collie line. As a child my father had a McNab named Max. He had a natural bob tail - unlike Mojo - who has a long tail and a white tip. Anyway, the line seems blurred between B/C's and McNabs. They are both excellent herding dogs, have a huge amount of energy, intelligence, and loyalty. The main difference is that McNabs always have short, shiny coats and rarely weigh over 50 pounds. Their small paws and spindly legs give them outstanding agility and quickness making them the perfect agility, disc, flyball breed. McNabs leaping ability is amazing. They are fantastic herding dogs as they stay focused on the job, and are tireless.
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