Karen Moureaux, of Contact Point Border Collies in Fillmore, CA, is the first and only AKC Breeder of Merit- Platinum in Border Collies and was named the AKC Breeder of the Year for Agility in 2014. She is a Southern California native who started in dog sports in 1989 with her first Border Collie, Dallas. After competing in agility, obedience, flyball, herding and scent hurdle racing for 10 years, she bred her first Border Collie litter in 1999. In 1994 Karen started Contact Point Agility, which was the first AKC Agility Club in Southern California. Contact Point Agility continues to offer AKC Agility Trials twice a year.
AKC: How did you get started in breeding dogs?
Karen: I really loved my friend Marge Henderson’s dog Spin. He had a great temperament, loved to work, was fun to train, and was successful in multiple dog sports. Marge had bred Brittanys and Border Collies and was willing to let me use Spin for my first litter. She was a good mentor to me for Border Collies and for breeding. I met her when I got my first Border Collie in 1989, and we became good friends and enjoyed sports with together with our dogs.
AKC: What is the most important thing to know about Border Collies?
Karen: The dogs are active and smart and not for everyone.
AKC: What is your favorite question to ask of potential puppy buyers?
Karen: I’m asking about their plans for their future puppy.
AKC: What are the main qualities you look for in potential owners?
Karen: The first thing I’m looking for is a good home for my pups. It’s important that the owner has realistic expectations of the amount of effort they need to put in to have a successful relationship with their pup. For me an active home is important, and it’s a bonus if the dog will get to do dog sports.
AKC: What is the best advice you would give to novice breeders?
Karen: Ask questions. Start with nice dogs. Do all the available health testing and check out who you are placing your pups with and be willing to take them back if it doesn’t work out for any reason.
AKC: Do your dogs participate in AKC sports?
Karen: Yes, many of my pups go on to compete in many AKC sports. They have done well winning National Agility Championships, and many have attained titles in Agility, Herding, Rally, Scent Work, Obedience, Flyball, Dock Diving and more. So many so that I’m proud to be the first and only Border Collie breeder to attain the AKC Breeder of Merit Platinum designation and also was honored by be named the 2014 AKC Breeder of the Year for Agility.
AKC: What do you like best about breeding dogs?
Karen: I love the puppies and watching and following them as they grow up. The advent of social media has made it so much easier to keep in touch.
AKC: Do you have a favorite breeding story?
Karen: I had a litter of pups in May 2001, and there were 13 puppies. My daughter, Kate Moureaux, was 15 years old at the time and was at the AKC Agility World Team tryouts with her Sheltie, Heisey. I was in contact with Kate all day starting in the morning to see how she was doing and to update her on the puppy delivery. It was the longest whelping ever and the first pup was delivered during the day when Kate was competing in Minnesota. She arrived home to California in time to see the last pup born around midnight. It was crazy. Then the whole litter ended up having to be bottle fed, and that’s a whole other crazy story.
The next time I bred Sue, 12 pups could be seen on the x-ray, and her vet and I opted for a scheduled c-section. There was a TV show on Animal Planet called “That’s My Baby,” and they came and filmed the c-section and the pups as they grew up and then went to their new homes.