Critical Reviews

"Animal Research Foundation Clock-wise Breeding" (Lewis) discusses the breeding program established by the Animal Research Foundation, which involves a method called clock-wise breeding. The program, designed by Mr. Tom D. Stodghill, aims to keep the breed pure and retain the desirable qualities in dogs.   The Clock-wise system was used pervasively by Stodghill and his ARF acolytes in establishing the now extant strain of Texas black and tan English shepherds.  Indeed, Stodghill advocated this system for other breeds of dogs and several species of livestock.

The article “Sold On Shepherds,” goes a long way towards telling us what John and Pauline Blankenship had in mind when selecting and breeding their black and tan English Shepherds.  They had been breeding ESBT for more than nine years when Murphey’s article was published, and they would continue to do so into the 1970s.

The newspaper article "Some Dogs Said True English Shepherds" offers insight into the heritage of the English Shepherd breed, a cornerstone of early 20th-century rural American life.  At the heart of the article is Tom D. Stodghill’s journey back to Middle Tennessee. Stodghill came to Tennessee in search of dogs that paralleled those his grandfather had once cherished. His quest, rooted in personal history and a passion for the breed, marks a pivotal moment in the conservation of the English Shepherd.