About Me

The person behind Emerald Park Border Collies

I'm Donna, the person behind Emerald Park Border Collies.

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My love of Border Collies began in childhood, through Lassie, the beautiful tri-coloured working Border Collie belonging to our elderly farmer neighbour. I spent countless hours with her, fascinated by her intelligence, gentleness and remarkable connection with the people around her.

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What began as a childhood fascination developed over the years into a deep commitment to understanding, breeding and raising these extraordinary dogs responsibly.

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Emerald Park Border Collies is a small, personal breeding program. There is no team behind the name. There is me.

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I personally make the decisions about my dogs, my breeding program, how my puppies are raised and the families they join. That personal responsibility is central to the way I do things.

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The science behind my approach

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I have a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Diploma of Education, and spent many years teaching secondary science before moving into business management.

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My scientific background has strongly influenced the way I think about dogs.

I am naturally curious about why dogs behave the way they do, how genetics and environment interact, how puppies develop, how they learn and adapt, and how the decisions we make during a dog's earliest weeks and throughout its life can influence lifelong wellbeing.

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Teaching science also taught me something that remains important to me today: good information matters.

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Science is not about simply accepting what we have always been told. It is about asking questions, examining evidence, recognising what we know and what we do not yet know, and being prepared to change our thinking when better evidence becomes available.

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I bring that mindset to my breeding program.

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Always learning

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Living with, breeding and raising Border Collies has given me many years of practical experience, but I don't believe experience alone is enough.

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The more I learn about dogs, the more I appreciate how much there is still to understand.

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I continue to learn through research, professional education, observation and practical experience. My areas of interest include genetics, health, temperament, puppy development, behaviour, nutrition, learning and the influence of environment on the developing dog.

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I believe responsible breeding requires a willingness to keep learning rather than assuming we already know everything.

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It also requires looking beyond the puppy in front of us.

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Every breeding decision has the potential to influence future generations, while every puppy I bring into the world is my responsibility long before it leaves Emerald Park.

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Breeding is a responsibility

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Loving Border Collies is one thing.

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Making decisions that can affect the health, temperament, structure, behaviour and wellbeing of future generations is something else entirely.

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For me, responsible breeding means thinking carefully about the whole dog and the whole life ahead of it.

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It means considering genetics, health, temperament, structure, development and environment, while recognising that no breeder can predict everything a puppy will become.

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It means making thoughtful breeding decisions, raising puppies with purpose and providing families with the knowledge and support they need to help their puppy thrive.

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Most importantly, it means accepting responsibility for the decisions I make.

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Above all, I believe a breeder must always put the dogs first.

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Emerald Park is personal

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Because Emerald Park Border Collies is a small program, I know my dogs as individuals.

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I know their personalities, their strengths, their quirks and the things that make each of them unique.

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I am involved in the decisions about which dogs are bred, how pregnancies are managed, how puppies are raised, what experiences they are given during their critical early development and which families they eventually join.

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I don't see my role as simply producing puppies.

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My responsibility begins with the breeding decision and continues through pregnancy, birth, development, placement and beyond.

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When an Emerald Park puppy leaves for its new home, my responsibility doesn't simply end at the front door.

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Why I do what I do

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There are many reasons people choose to breed dogs.

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For me, it comes back to the same principle that has guided me from the beginning:

Do what is right for the dogs.

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I want to breed Border Collies with thoughtful consideration for health, temperament, structure and trainability, and raise puppies with the experiences and foundations they need to begin life well.

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I want puppy families to understand not only what to do, but why.

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And I want to keep learning, because every dog has something more to teach us.

Emerald Park Border Collies is the culmination of a lifelong love of Border Collies, a background in science and education, many years of practical experience, and an ongoing commitment to doing better for the dogs entrusted to my care.

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My mission is simple: to improve the life of at least one dog today.

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Donna Williams,
Emerald Park Border Collies.