Mad & I Cessnock 1994 The Gang 2004 The Three Stooges - Sprog, Cloe & Rage
The prefix "Ourgang" belongs to Annabel Wolf of Wilberforce, NSW, Australia who raises the "kids" in conjunction with my partner Glenn Spink. The choice of prefix name came from the Ourgang Series of stage plays and cartoons of Ginger Meggs. My first choice of prefix was actually Wolfgang due to my name however that was already taken so I was given my second choice. These days it certainly suits as they are definitely Ours and they are definitely a Gang.
I became interested in Staffords through the purchase of my first dog in Sydney, "Cloe", an RSPCA reject who was a Stafford x Kelpie. Having grown up in the South West region of NSW on a sheep station I knew what the Kelpie side was like and there was no way I was going to get a Kelpie in the city so for my next dog I went for the other side of Cloe's 'pedigree' and purchased a purebred Stafford.
I did all the right things and researched into what bloodlines I wanted, put my name down on a waiting list with a couple of well known kennels and then rushed out and impulse bought a puppy out of the Trading Post (our local classifieds paper). This was "Sprog" aka Lagoona Lady Daisy CD ET. Sprog didn't quite turn out to be the wonder dog I had hoped for being more of the Terrier type, being diagnosed early with Hip Dysplasia, having a heavy case of Demodectic Mange as a youngster and being misdiagnosed as having Juvenile Cataracts (I still curse that Vet). Needless to say I decided to have her desexed and start again.
This is where "Rage" (Ch Borstaff All the Rage CD) came into the picture from Linda Szirer in Victoria. Rage was far more successful in just about all areas than Sprog and gained her Championship and Companion Dog titles. She became the foundation for Ourgang and even today all my dogs directly descend from Rage. She is the only non Ourgang bitch in my pedigrees, a feat not many have achieved - having all their stock descend from one bitch.
Ourgang was first registered in 1992 with my first litter being in 1993. Basically I average around just under one litter a year to 18 months as I don't believe in breeding unless I have a goal I want to achieve with that litter and normally I only breed if I want to keep something. It doesn't always work out that way but that is life. Here are the litters we have produced so far:
1993 - Litter 1 - Grand Ch Boldhart Booker Bates x Ch Borstaff All The Rage CD - 2 Champions
1994 - Litter 2 - (Grand) Ch Borstaff Dicky Doodles x Ch Borstaff All The Rage CD - 2 Champions, 1 CD, 1 CDX
1996 - Litter 3 - Ch Boldhart Hugo Who x Ourgang Still The Rage - 1 Champion
1996 - Litter 4 - Ch Leatherwood Iron Mike x Ourgang Truly Madly Deeply - 2 Champions, 1 Grand Champion
1999 - Litter 5 - (Grand) Ch Southstock Pot Black x Ourgang Divine Madness
2000 - Litter 6 - Supasound Milk N Hunky x Ourgang Truly Madly Deeply - nil shown
2000 - Litter 7 - Ourgang Callnth KetlBlac x Ourgang Truly Madly Deeply
2002 - Litter 8 - Grand Ch Boldhart Booker Bates x Ourgang TrueLove N Chaos - 2 Champions, 1 Triple Champion
2003 - Litter 9 - Ch Keltarjess Darcy Blue x Ourgang Put The Ketl On - 2 Champions
2005 - Litter 10 - Grand Ch Ourgang Hell For Leather x Ch Ourgang Misguided Angel - 1 Champion
2006 - Litter 11 - Ch Ourgang Tmorrow Blongs TMe x Ch Ourgang Queen Moussette - 2 Champions, 1 Dual Champion
2007 - Litter 12 - Grand Ch Ourgang Hell For Leather x Ch Ourgang I Want It All - nil shown
2009 - Litter 13 - Ch Tykabul The Cracker x Ch Ourgang I Want It All - 1 Champion
2011 - Litter 14 - Ch Colliermans Lionheart at Dazmarnic - Imp Uk x Ch Ourgang I Want It All
GRAND CH OURGANG HELL FOR LEATHER
"Basty"
Born: 1/12/96 Litter 4
Sire: Ch Leatherwood Iron Mike
Dam: Ourgang Truly Madly Deeply
TRIPLE CH OURGANG MISGUIDED ANGEL FM
"Angel"
Born: 18/11/02 Litter 9
Sire: Grand Ch Boldhart Booker Bates
Dam: Ourgang True Love N Chaos
DUAL CH OURGANG DONT STOP ME NOW FDCh
"Freddie"
Born: 20/1/06 Litter 11
Sire: Ch Ourgang Tmorrow Blong TMe
Dam: Ch Ourgang Queen Moussette
CH OURGANG I WANT IT ALL
"Oprah"
CH OURGANG I WANT IT NOW
"Jitterbug"
Born: 15/8/09 Litter 13
Sire: Ch Tykabul The Cracker
Dam: Ch Ourgang I Want It All
Litter 4 - Ch Leatherwood Iron Mike x Ourgang Truly Madly Deeply - 01.12.96
Litter 8 - Grand Ch Boldhart Booker Bates x Ourgang True Love N Chaos - 18.11.02
Litter 11 - Ch Ourgang Tmorrow Blongs TMe x Ch Ourgang Queen Moussette - 20.01.06
Litter 11 - Ch Ourgang Tmorrow Blongs Tme x Ch Ourgang Queen Moussette - 20.01.06
Oprah was the second born in Queen's litter (sister to Freddie) and was to set the mark for the girls to come in this litter. She is all black, no white hairs (though there is some now from scars) so my tradition of dogs with hardly any white / no white on them continues. She was an absolutely stunning puppy, very similar to her great grandmother Ch Reigate Satin Doll with some of the same attitude (with more and more coming through unfortunately). She grew in typical Ourgang style and went right off as a baby and started to come back together around 14 months and fulfilled her potentially nicely at 2 years, my guess is she wont finish maturing until around 4-5 years which was right.
The one thing that Oprah (named as she was a black girl with attitude who wouldn't shut up) is that she thinks she is an absolute princess. I am the best, better than all you plebs, I don't have to do what anyone says and I will do exactly what I want hence her registered name. This attitude has not changed much though it is slowly improving with age though her talking back to you is getting more and more especially if she doesn't want to do what you ask.
Oprah was very naughty growing up and was very hard work toilet training (after all we are her servants to clean up after her) as I think she is scared of the dark as we have never had accidents during the day only at night. She absolutely annoyed all the others (and still does annoy every one), ignored you when you called or ran the other way (she is better now) and generally did exactly as she wanted, which is rather trying at times. She is a bit of a horror sometimes though she has now grown out of most of her wicked ways.
She started off her show career brilliantly with a bald spot the size of a 10c piece in the middle of her back from a spider bite and her baby teeth undershot, needless to say we didn't do so well with her early in the Baby class until all her teeth fell out in dramatic style (all of them in two days) and then she managed to get a Baby in Show at the British Terrier Show. She has always been one who didn't like the show ring so she wasn't shown that much but still managed to get her title at just over two years with multiple class in groups and class in shows along the way as well as a specialty Reserve Challenge. She is now retired as she really does hate the ring so it is not worth it, I did think about Neuter for a while but having taken her to a couple of shows as a spectator I have decided it is definitely not worth it.
Opie loves being a home body and being Glenn's couch potato, of all of the dogs she is definitely his. She is very loving and attentive at home, the opposite of what she is when she is out. Her only real fault is her inability to cope with her grandmother's strutting, Murty likes to puff up as though she is so tough and strut around eyeballing everyone which they all normally ignore but Oprah just feels the need to flatten her every now and again so unfortunately these girls are not together much these days as it isn't worth Murty being bashed.
She has had three litters, her first litter consisted of only one baby - a boy - Ourgang Legacy of Leather "Nougat" (Litter 12) to our own boy Basty (Grand Ch Ourgang Hell For Leather). She missed with the second mating, we found out why with the third, she is a ready early girl and you only have a very very small window of opportunity, luckily we got it right this time and was blessed with 6 girls and 1 boy born on 15/8/09 (Litter 13) thanks very much to the sires owner's Kylie & Matt (without you guys I don't think we would have got anything again so thanks to you and to Theo of course). She was an absolutely wonderful mother with this litter and we kept one of her monsters in Ch Ourgang I Want It Now - Jitterbug. Her third litter was to the Reeder's UK import Ch Colliermans Lionheart at Dazmarnic which consisted of 2 red boys - Chuck (Ourgang All or Nothing) and Rex (Ourgang All Hero). Look out for Chuck in the ring with his owner Mitch Orr in 2012.
Basty
Jitterbug
Litter 14 - 15.08.2009 - Ch Tykabul The Cracker x Ch Ourgang I Want It All
Jitty was the princess from the beginning, she was the littlest in the litter and anyone who knows Glenn & I know we are a sucker for the littley's and she really proved no exception. I was adament she was not staying as I didnt want another littley but she wormed her way in from the start and wrapped us around her little paws which she still does today not to mention her grandparents Kylie & Matt were insistant that she should stay. I even got my friends to try and choose another for me but I just couldnt resist - she is our baby and she knows it.
We call her the EEEEEVVVVVVIIIIIILLLLLL black one, and evil she is, she is very naughty, very very cunning and very very VERY intelligent and knows she only has to flash her beautiful face at us to get exactly what she wants. She is the most disobedient and gets away with far more than the others as she knows she is pretty and she KNOWS how to use it - sitting on our laps giving us kisses and cuddles and batting her eyes at us while she checks out what's on the plate beside us. Sneaking into our bed just before bed time so she is the first one on there so couldnt possibly be kicked out .... (bat bat bat of those eyelashes sleepily) .... hmmm ... I think I know who rules in this household.
She also has a bit of a mouth and loves to bark, taking her door bell barking to the extreme - barking and growling like a pork chop - she learned that one a little too well from Uncle Freddie, but come in through the garage and no problems. She also likes to put on the bluff and growl sometimes in the car and with people - which we are not happy with - but we are working on. We know it is a bluff as she wont look at you or them when she does it, pretending there is something behind to go on at.
In the showring she was slow to start, as I said she is a littley, and though her height has exceeded what I thought she would be (she is 15 inches) her build is not large though she is steadily filling out. My guess is she will be like most of my line and will be 5-6 years before she is fully mature in the body. She has won age in groups at every level, gained her title before 2 years of age and won Reserve Challenge Bitch at the ACT & Dist SBTC specialty show in 2011 under Liz Stanway - a thrilling win but to be honest she really doesnt like showing and it shows in the photos you take of her freestacking versus collar and lead on - dramatically.
She is a very active dog so we had hoped that Flyball would have suited her down to the ground and it would have, she would have been brilliant at it except she injured her spine in her neck at 12mths of age and has never fully recovered from it so flyball is too risky. She is undergoing Agility training now and absolutely loves it and this really suits her athletic personality, unfortunately she has a big handicap - me ... not the most co-ordinated in the world I have already tripped over, trodden on and squashed her several times so god help us when we actually get to the higher levels - she will be fine but me .... well, we'll see.
She has not had a litter as yet and we are in no rush to breed her as she is very young in the head, we are planning a very exciting litter in 2012 to some frozen semen from our good friends in Denmark - Alissa & Kenneth from Angelic Staff kennels with Angelic Staff Bang Bang Boogie. We will have fun naming this lot once they arrive!
CLOVELLY CD
"Cloe"
Born Approx 1981 - 1996
My introduction to Staffords, a Stafford x Kelpie
rescued from the RSPCA in 1984
LAGOONA LADY DAISY CD ET
"Sprog"
Born 9th March 1989 - 9th October 2005
Sire: Mosstrooper Masta Marina
Dam: Trilbandys Eastender
CH BORSTAFF ALL THE RAGE CD
"Rage"
Born 1st March 1991 - 24th June 1995
Sire: Ch Jehard Peregrin Pickle
Dam: Ch Borstaff Cecily Parsley
OURGANG TRULY MADLY DEEPLY
"Mad"
Born 27th July 1994 - 24th April 2005
Sire: (Grand) Ch Borstaff Dicky Doodles
Dam: Ch Borstaff All the Rage CD
OURGANG TRUELOVE N CHAOS
"Murtle"
Born 28th August 2000 - 3rd December 2010
Sire: Ourgang Calln Th Ketl Blac
Approx 1981 - 1996
Cloe, Clover, Clovelly, Woedy was my introduction to Staffords, as you can see she wasn't a pure Stafford but rather a Kelpie Stafford cross (we think). Cloe came from the RSPCA as she had been grossly mistreated and it took us years for her to gain confidence in herself. It was three years before she barked and we praised her lavishly for it, only to regret it in the following years as she certainly made up for her silence.
When we went to the RSPCA to pick a dog, Cloe or 'Scrubber' as she was then known (this lady like dog was NEVER a Scrubber!) was not my choice. I actually wanted a corgi like dog that was like Dad's dogs but mum could not resist her sad eyes so home she came with us and this is where the name Woedy came from as she was really good at putting on the woeful look.
Her taste in things was somewhat direct - that is, everything my sister owned. My sister is not a dog person and thought Cloe particularly ugly and told Cloe that at every opportunity. Cloe's revenge was to chew ... Cate's shoes, Cate's clothes, Cate's school books, her clothes off the line, her bag, basically anything that smelt of Cate was fair game. She never destroyed anyone else's possessions, only Cate's. Luckily we got her out of this habit eventually (after much fighting between my sister and I), still it was a perfect revenge for a younger sister (hee hee hee) :-)
Clover lived to the ripe old age of approx 15, she was the matriarch of the Ourgang household. She taught all of the younger dogs "manners" and how to respect an older dog. There are still some of her habits evident in the household today such as sleeping in the car, which I am forever grateful for as it makes travelling with dogs so much easier. She was mum's favourite dog and was often liked by non dog people due to her quiet ladylike manner.
As per most rescue dogs, she was there to please and would do anything to make you happy. She was my introduction to the Obedience and Agility arena and is still remembered with fond memories. Without her I would never have been introduced to this beautiful breed so thank you my Clover child.
