Hello and welcome to the website of    TALRAZ BEARDED COLLIES

We are a small family kennel based in a tiny village in rural North Yorkshire, just north of the beautiful city of York

 Our dogs are our passion, and we have shared our lives with this wonderful breed since the arrival of "Razzle" (Rayre's Rhapsody-in-Blue) in 1979 at our former home in Norton, near Malton.  She was soon joined by the beautiful "Tallie" (Deanfield Black Lace of Talraz JW 1CC) - between them of course they gave us the inspiration for our kennel name, Talraz.

Razzle was bright and brainy, a real dog and a half, and in self defence Liz  took up obedience classes with her.  She proved a quick learner, though with a challenging streak of wilful defiance and an inappropriate sense of humour which cost points and places at competition level.  A great dog to learn on!

Tallie was the pretty one, and took to the show ring like the proverbial duck to water, introducing us to the world of dog shows.

   In 1982 we bred our first litter with the Talraz affix, from which we kept sweet little Zephyr (Talraz On Target).  Zephyr proved a great dual-purpose dog, being naturally obedient and easy to train as well as a modestly successful show dog.  She still remains the blueprint for the ideal Talraz Bearded Collie, and has never truly been equalled - her memory holds a special place in our hearts.

In 1988 we moved to the peaceful and pretty village of Crambe, which proved an ideal place for our children to grow up. Since moving to Crambe we have run a small but very busy pet grooming service from our home, under the name of Superdogs.  We specialise in Bearded Collies of course, but many other breeds find their way through our doors.  See the page "Visiting Beardies" for some pictures, or for more information about our grooming services see www.spanglefish.com/superdogs

 We specialise in grooming Beardies - here regular visitor  Millie relaxes on the grooming table after having been bathed and groomed

******    Please visit our  "NATURAL DOG CARE" page for information about the way we raise and care for our dogs and puppies.   *******

Senior Beardie This is our veteran girl Jessie (Talraz Passion Fruit) posing with the daffodils in our front garden in the spring of 2006. She is a great-granddaughter of Tallie (Deanfield Black Lace of Talraz) by Ch Chriscaro Charlock of Merrythorpe (Bruce) Jess has a Junior Warrant and a Reserve CC to her name, but has not been shown nearly as much as she deserves, preferring to rule the roost at home. She has been in semi-retirement since winning Veteran Bitch at Crufts in 2005	A puppy leaves for his new home Mick and Liz plus Ruby (Talraz Golden Earring) saying goodbye to one of Ruby's small sons. Mick needs a haircut and Liz with no make-up on so that's about par for the course! Both dressed in our "favourite oufits" of jeans and fleeces - the TV makeover teams would find plenty to get their teeth into if they ever chose to visit our village!
Not a Bearded Collie The odd one out in our canine family is Crystal the Portuguese Water Dog. Being black, and not keen on the camera, she is difficult to photograph!	Sunny and his favourite lady It wouldn't be fair not to mention Sunny, our clever little cockatiel. He considers himself more than equal to any Bearded Collie in the household. Loves to chat to them when the opportunity arises! To be truthful they find him a little intimidating. Here Phoebe pretends to be asleep hoping he will eventually leave her in peace.
Why won't you play? This is one of my favourite pictures, taken on the back steps in the September sunshine of 2006. The youngsters Honey and Diva are hopeful that their older relatives will be tempted to join them for a playtime, but Ruby and Jeannie aren't too impressed.	Pretty Jeannie I moved in closer to get this head study of Jeannie (aka Talraz Silver Charm) I think it captures the sweet wistfulness of her expression and sums up totally the essence of a Bearded Collie lady!
Honey at Crufts 2007 Thanks to Lenke (Kiaora Beardies and Skye Terriers, Czechoslovakia) for some super photos from Crufts 2007. Here's Honey, 3rd in Junior Bitch	Ellie at Leeds 2007 Thanks to Linda Pierson for this nice photo of Ellie, taken on a grey day at Leeds Ch show 2007
Diva in flight Here's Diva aged two demonstrating her ball-catching talents, she loves to fly high!	In the garden June 2007 Diva looking more sedate as she rests briefly between activities!
Her first encounter Diva meeting sheep for the first time and circling quite keenly at a good distance. For updates on her herding activities see our NEWS page and the BEARDIE HERDING page	Honey on the move Thanks to Alan Hood again for this lovely action photo of Honey, on the way to winning her class at the Three Counties Ch show in June 2007

                    The view from our kitchen window