Sires

Barru Merlin – 2004-2019

Semen stored

Merlin was an exceptional dog in working ability, temperament and intelligence. He worked all stock with a great deal of style, calmness and confidence. A dog with inherent presence along with good break, cover and nice arcing cast. Merlin worked all manner of livestock from feral goats to mobs of 300 or so merino and crossbred sheep. His primary role was educating weaner and adult beef cattle of many breeds. 

Merlin won and regularly placed well in cattle and 3 sheep trials. He consistently produced high quality trial and work dogs to a wide range of bitches – a true proven sire. He was an exceptional dog in so many regards.

Merlin lived to a ripe age of almost 15 and was laid to rest at the rear house yard gate at Barru in 2019.

WE HAVE 3 VIALS OF MERLIN SEMEN FOR USE AT A LATER DATE

Trial achievements (first trialled in 2008):  
2008 – 2nd place – Wollomombi Short Course encourage 3 sheep  
2008 – 2nd place – Dorrigo Cattle Dog Trial 
2009 – 1st place – Pinkett GWSDC Cattle Dog Trial – Novice 2009 – 4th place – Pinket GWSDC Cattle Dog Trial – Maiden 
2009 – 2nd place – Dorrigo Cattle Dog Trial 
2010 – 2nd place – Nowendoc Golden Collar Cattle Dog Trial – Novice – (scores of 98 and 96) 
2010 – 1st place – Dorrigo Cattle Dog Trial 
2010 – 4th place – Wollomombi Short Course 3 sheep Trial – Novice 
2011 – 5th – NSW Cattledog Championships Red Range – Novice  
2011 – 8th – NSW Cattledog Championships Red Range – Open 
2011 – 2nd place – Australian Working Cattle Dog Championship Alstonville – Novice – top 20 Open dogs – Australian Working Cattle Dog Championship – Alstonville 
2012 – 2nd place – NSW (State) Cattle Dog Championships – Woolbrook (scores of 97 + 97) – top 15 Open dogs – NSW (State) Cattle Dog Championships – Woolbrook

Karrawarra Boozer 2010 – 2021

Semen stored

Boozer had natural cast, arc and distance off his stock at an early age. He was able to contain his stock with absolute minimal movement. There is video on this website of him at 8 months of age on flighty lambs, not moving an inch further than he has to. He also has the ‘drive and hold’ traits so hard to find in a dog, that allow him to maintain control of runny stock from behind. He is a true shepherding dog that will freely back a race. He is a good calf and dry cattle worker also. Tremendous big-boned type with broad head to match. A proven sire of so many Barru pups which he produced from 10 months of age.

Barru Luke

Semen stored

Luke is the biggest casting dog in our camp and has passed that trait on to so many of his progeny, both Barru and outside bitches. Tony Parsons saw him work when he was only about 12 months old and said “He was rare in that he had exceptionally wide break – break-on-break. You can’t train that into them. They need to be born with it” were Tony’s remarks.

Luke was still only one year old when he had his first crack at feral goats in the rugged hills of Bigga, NSW. Merlin and his young son Luke put together the first mob of 30 or so which we started moving toward another mob a couple of gullies away. On the way we came across a few pigs rooting around in a swamp and my son Coen shot his first 3 pigs there and then, while the dogs held the goats up. After that we drove the first mob of goats ahead of us toward the other mob and joined the two mobs to make up about 70 head – with a handful of big challenging billies. We took them a few kilometres and yarded them, with Luke standing up to a big billy that went to butt him. Luke casually leaned to the side as the big stinker came down on him and grabbed the bugger by the nose and stayed clamped until the billy wheeled and ran back into the yards. It was impressive!

Luke has since done a lot of sheep and cattle work and has lovely clean nose bite on cattle, after which he immediately gives relief to keep them calm. He is very effective on the runniest and flightiest of stock and has developed a very wide, searching cast.

A proven sire that has progeny in the workplace that cast out of sight and work off scent.

Barru Spiderman

Deceased – semen stored

Spiderman is a lovely big-framed, well-muscled and leggy dog – with one heck of a nice attitude. He Loves backing a race and is an outstanding driving dog. Extremely compliant and has made a number of yard trial finals and placings as well as being able to nurse a few touchy sheep around a 3 sheep course. He is a go-to dog at home to put around our 70-100 sheep and just allow him to take them to the home paddock himself while you check water troughs or the like. He has innate ‘drive-and-hold’ and is very good at working obstacles – either trial or work.

Barru Billy

Deceased – semen stored

Chris Johnson – NSW Riverina

“Billy would be without doubt the toughest, most fearless and intense dog I have owned. He wasn’t screw-loose, crazy type fearless, just strong and intense. His ability to carry pain without even blinking left me shaking my head on occasion. I have said more than once I am glad he never looked at me the way he looked at any stock. Away from work Billy was like a pet. You had more chance of tripping over him than losing him. The way he was around my kids told me all I needed.

I cannot remember looking at a job and thinking I needed more dogs. For example, for 3 or 4 years these two dogs did the bulk of my saleyard work where I handled around 320 000 sheep a year on Thursdays. Billy and Glider did this work without a bark, such was their ability.”

Barru Shadow III

Barru Shadow is a proven work and trial dog at a relatively young age. He is consistently holding his own with the best trial cattle dogs in the country (see trial achievements below) and is just as comfortable at home bringing a few hundred dairy cows in for milking. He has done a lot of educating of both young and old cattle and is regularly blind cast in the dark and left to his own devises to gather and direct cattle while his owner Warren moves electric fences. The milkers need to be taken across a tidal river and if Shadow and the cows beat Warren there, he can be seen working them in the water like a black and tan crocodile. He is cool under the pressure of a cow with newborn calf and will begin to force with a gentle style of nose bite to initiate movement and has the uncanny ability to gradually step the intensity of his bite up quite a few notches if required. Dogs like Shadow aren’t born every day.

Owned, trained and trialled by Warren Taylor

Cattle trial achievements:
– Murwillumbah 2016 Encourage placed 3rd
– Glencoe 2016 Maiden placed 1st 93 & 93
– Glencoe 2016 Novice placed 3rd 93 & 93
– Grafton 2017 Open placed 2nd 95 & 92
– Delungra 2018 Novice placed 1st 87 & 92
– Ulmarra 2018 Novice placed 1st 99 & 97
– Australian Open Championship Grafton 2018 placed 12th 93 & 93.5
– Armidale 2019 Open placed 4th 91 & 88
– Australian Open Championship Wallumbilla 2019 placed 8th 91.5 – 94 & 98 in the final.
– Murwillumbah 2019 Open 6th 90 & 89

Barru The Kid

In the mould of his father, Billy, Kid is an outstandingly tough dog that carries a strong work ethic and high pain threshold all the way through from his great grand dam Karrawarra Gypsy. Kid is a shifter of stock but is showing more hold and patience as he ages. A dog that would turn himself inside out for you, very faithful.

Barru Snow IV

Barru Snow is all DOG. While he is first and foremost a ‘shifter’ of stock, he also has outstanding style and class and can read livestocks’ next movement extremely well. As a young dog he takes a bit of handling, but is beginning to take command well and steady up in his work. He can do virtually any job on the farm, and we expect he will just get better and better. Strong heading dog that is gaining cast as he matures. Nose bite on cattle. This style of dog that is loaded with work commitment, we don’t really expect to truly mature into full thoughtful work until he is around the 4 year old mark. He is a tremendous companion as many of the really good dogs are.

Karrawarra Strider

Strider is a hugely faithful dog that puts a lot of thought into his work and doesn’t do any more than he needs to take control of his stock. The video above shows him as a raw young dog. He works cattle as well as he works sheep – and he will nose bite cattle cleanly if needed. He has sired a few litters already and the pups have started and look very nice. Looking forward to watching this fella mature and testing him in all manner of situations. His natural work style highlighted him as a sire as soon as he started.

Karrawarra King IV

King is first and fore mostly a sheep dog, but has stepped up to some very good cattle work of late. His cover and hold on sheep is phenomenal. I’ve not seen many dogs with the speed of cover this dog has. He can work wide and off his stock, but the second you ask him to come in he does so with all guns blazing. He has a compliant nature and is a very nice dog to have around camp.