Henam
Working Border Collies
Henam rears working dogs with the singular purpose to advance the study of dog cognition and communication. Advocacy for the breed must go hand in glove with the research, preservation, and husbandry of those canines whose genetics conserve the working instinct. At Henam, we prioritize courage, mental resilience, intelligence, stock sense, intensity, and long-term health. Our foundational dogs hail from the very best lines in the world, having worked sheep, cattle, and even bison.
Extraordinary Litter
6 puppies (3m/3f) were born on 10/10/25. From the day of their advent, they explored, cried out, struggled, and strove. It was a marvel to behold: such vigorous, well developed puppies each endowed with an inimitable configuration of talents, traits, and spirit. Their gifts for herding emerged early and consistently. Their focus at 5 weeks old was prodigious, sustaining unbroken herding activity for up 25 minutes! These incandescent creatures are grandpups of Dean McAuley’s Joe and Dewi Jenkins Clwyd Bob, and the greatgrand pups of Martin Feeney’s indomitable Jack, James McCloskey’s ever celebrated Sweep, and H.J. Francis’ powerful Glan Y Gors Tadgh. Bob, Joe, Jack, Sweep have competed in the International Supreme Herding trial on multiple occasions, and Joe and Jack in particular are tough as nails hill dogs; although we do not condone the practice, it may be worth noting that the offspring of Bob, Joe, Jack, Sweep are often sold at auction for tens of thousands of dollars so desirable are their bloodlines. Each puppy has received over a minimum of approximately 350 hours of training and neurological stimulation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only litter to unite these four exemplary dogs.
The Henam Dogs
Maeve, depicted here, is Henam’s venerated matriarch. Maeve sports a wild, wolf-like intelligence, an enduring desire to rule the world complete with a devil may care smile, and a spry, natural style: never a wasted movement or overcommittement, always reasoning. Her fiery ethos, devotion, iron will, and conviction make her more than a working dog. She is a creature whose very presence leaves an indelible imprint on the soul and the inclination for ready obedience in livestock. Maeve is the pup of Dean McAuley’s Joe and the grandpup of Martin Feeney’s Jack who managed a 500 sheep farm and trialed at the highest level, a legendary feat. Jack’s lineage has all but disappeared from the working dog community. Click the button below to learn more about our astonishing foundational dogs.
The Training Method
Henam utilizes a proprietary training methodology that incorporates principles from cognitve science, biosemiotics, artificial intelligence, linguistics, philosophy, and the long tradition of human-dog communication through stockmanship. Our dogs are all trained to activate their herding instinct on cue, and we shape that instinct on and off stock. This allows us to build courage, intensity, stock sense and athleticism no matter the environment. Work off stock, we contend, is as important, if not more important, than stockwork itself.
The argos Project
The Argos Project is a multidisciplinary research initiative that investigates the cognition of the working dog, and especially the working Border Collie. It seeks to discern not merely how to reconstruct the Border Collie mind, but how that reconstruction may facilitate new models of interspecies communication via biomimetic forms of artifical intelligence.