The "Standard"

What is "the standard" that the show people talk about? Have you ever looked at it in depth? I haven't looked at it in a long time, and I know it was changed fairly recently to make it more encompassing. Let's check it out, shall we?

GENERAL APPEARANCE: The Border Collie is a well balanced, medium-sized dog of athletic appearance, displaying style and agility in equal measure with soundness and strength.

"Well-balanced" ... does that mean they have an ear on each side of their face so they don't walk around with the head cocked to one side?

"Style and agility in equal measure" ... Style? You mean like the tuxedo markings? Seriously though, is this gibberish what the show folks are really working off?

"Its hard, muscular body conveys the impression of effortless movement and endless endurance."

Muscular? Are you serious? They call the bulk around their bodies muscle? "Conveys the impression" ... that's the best you can do? "Endless endurance" ... for putting up with having a string put around your neck, your head held up by said string, and then being dragged around by the string for the ever-coveted "flying trot" to "convey the impression" of effortless movement. People are buying this crap? Wow. If you want to see endurance, come to a real trial.

The Border Collie is extremely intelligent, with its keen, alert expression being a very important characteristic of the breed.

The intelligence didn't land there by accident, and certainly didn't get there by breeding for standing around a show ring.

"Any aspect of structure or temperament that would impede the dog's ability to function as a herding dog should be severely faulted."

And how do you find these faults by watching CH Captain McFluffy Pants trot around the ring?

"The Border Collie is, and should remain, a natural and unspoiled true working sheep dog..."

I have to admit ... I couldn't have said this better myself. Unfortunately, the rest of the sentence says:

"whose conformation is described herein."

Wait till you see it. Keep reading.

"Honorable scars and broken teeth incurred in the line of duty are acceptable."

Now tell me, what depicts an honorable scar from a dishonorable one? Honorable would be taking McFluffy out to chase livestock and have him get hung up on a fence and need stitching? But if you take a couple of real working dogs out to the lake and throw one ball and they tussle over it and break the skin on someone's nose, is that dishonorable? Oh, and how does the ACK determine where the scars are from? Silly me. They ask the oh-so-honest handlers! "Gee, Ms. Uptight, where did Mr. Poofy Paws break his wittle toofy? Oh! He was out pulling the little moo moo's off da' lil' pasture and got kicked in his blocky head? Oh his big head is so pretty ... is that blaze naturally white or did you use chalk?"

SIZE, PROPORTION, SUBSTANCE "The height at the withers varies from 19" to 22" for males, 18" to 21" for females."

Otherwise they might scare the sheep.

"The body, from prosternum to point of buttocks, is slightly longer than the height at the withers with the length to height ratio being approximately 10:9."

In other words, the dogs you see in the arena that look like choo choo trains with itty bitty legs do not fit the standard, and therefore, do not "look" like they can herd sheep.

Bone must be strong, medium being correct but lighter bone is preferred over heavy. Overall balance between height, length, weight and bone is crucial and is more important than any absolute measurement.

In other words, any bone will do, and it all falls within the standard. I am sure the ACK didn't want to exclude all the heavy boned dogs that have been bred forever and ever, as that would cut a nice chunk out of their income. And of course, they needed to put in the blabber about overall balance, as if that has some sort of meaning.

Dogs must be presented in hard working condition. Excess body weight is not to be mistaken for muscle or substance. Any single feature of size appearing out of proportion should be considered a fault.

How does a dog get presented in "hard working condition" when the dogs are not being worked? I know people are going to start screaming about how their dogs work ... that's not what I said. Chasing three sheep in a round pen long enough to obtain an HT or PT is not "being worked" and will not muscle up a dog. Reading this makes me wonder if the judges have actually read this standard. Can they tell the difference between muscle and excess weight?

HEAD: Expression is intelligent, alert, eager, and full of interest.

Interest? Interest in what? That little piece of liver in your fingers?

Eyes are set well apart, of moderate size, oval in shape.

Keep your cyclops at home. Oh, but wait. Actually ... the standard doesn't say how many eyes the dog can have. I think I might start breeding three eyed dogs. After all, if a little bit of coat is nice, a lot must be better. If two eyes are good, three must be great.

The color encompasses the full range of brown eyes, dogs having body colors other than black may have noticeably lighter eye color. Blue eyes (with one, both or part of one or both eyes being blue) in dogs other than merle, are acceptable but not preferred.

Yes, so the woman with the bi-eyed dog that exhausted sheep all weekend in the rain at the Regionals ... don't put him in the show ring. He's not worthy. And doG knows that if you can't put him in the show ring to be evaluated by these oh-so-educated judges, he must not be a working dog.

Eye rims should be fully pigmented, lack thereof considered a fault according to degree.

Oh yes, of course. But it's ok for them to be "affected" according to the DNA test for CEA. Pigment is way more important.

Ears are of medium size, set well apart, one or both carried erect and/or semi-erect (varying from 1/4 to 3/4 of the ear erect). When semi-erect, the tips may fall forward or outward to the side. Ears are sensitive and mobile.

I'm confused. How many ears are these dogs supposed to have???

Skull is relatively flat and moderate in width.

I can tell you whose skull is flat.

The skull and muzzle are approximately equal in length. In profile the top of the skull is parallel with the top of the muzzle. Stop moderate, but distinct. The muzzle is strong, tapering slightly to the nose. The underjaw is strong and well developed. A domed, blocky or very narrow skull is faulty according to degree, as is cheekiness and a snipey muzzle.

Katy, I hate to inform you ... you can't show Ms. Snipey Muzzle in conformation. Here. Here's a tissue. Please stop crying. I hate it when you cry.

Nose color matches the primary body color. Nostrils are well developed. Lack of nose pigmentation is a fault according to degree.

Then why don't the yellow Border Collies have yellow noses?

Bite: Teeth and jaws are strong, meeting in a scissors bite. Complete dentition is required. Missing molars or pre-molars are serious faults as is an undershot or overshot bite.

I thought you were allowed to have missing teeth if you had a tried and true working dog? Or are they talking about the handlers here? Speaking of the handlers, where do we get to the dress code for the handlers? If there's something that needs a standard around here ... that might be worth looking into.

NECK, TOPLINE, BODY: Neck is of proportional length to the body, strong and muscular, slightly arched and blending smoothly into the shoulders. Topline: Back is level from behind the withers to the slightly arched, muscular loins, falling to a gently sloping croup. Body is athletic in appearance with a deep, moderately broad chest reaching no further than the point of the elbow. The rib cage is moderately long with well sprung ribs. Loins moderately deep and short, muscular, slightly arched and with a slight but distinct tuck up. The tail is set on low and is moderately long with the bone reaching at least to the hock. The ideal tail carriage is low when the dog is concentrating on a given task and may have a slight upward swirl at the end like a shepherd's crook. In excitement, it may be raised proudly and waved like a banner, showing a confident personality. A tail curled over the back is a fault.

Maybe I'm not paying attention, but doesn't this describe the general appearance of just about every mammal on the planet? Who was the rocket scientist that came up with this stuff?

FOREQUARTERS: Forelegs should be parallel when viewed from front, pasterns slightly sloping when viewed from side. Because sufficient length of leg is crucial for the type of work the breed is required to do, the distance from the wither to the elbow is slightly less than from the elbow to the ground and legs that are too short in proportion to the rest of the body are a serious fault. The shoulder blades are long, well laid back and well-angulated to the upper arm. Shoulder blades and upper arms are equal in length. There is sufficient width between the tops of the shoulder blades to allow for the characteristic crouch when approaching and moving stock. The elbows are neither in nor out. Feet are compact, oval in shape; pads deep and strong, toes moderately arched and close together with strong nails of moderate length. Dewclaws may be removed. (Emphasis added).

Question: How do you judge a working dog by how it looks?

Answer: You can't.

Yes, it's that simple.

Please tell me what leg length matters if the dog does not have the instinct to work stock? And please tell me if a dog works stock, and covers ground sufficiently to be able to control the livestock effectively ... why leg length matters. So does this part of the standard mean that the dogs that have had the instinct bred right out of them have also been bred so that their shoulder blades are too close together thereby now allowing the dog to crouch, and prevents the dog from working stock? Is that the theory?

Is anyone still reading this?

I am floored that there are actually people that believe this standard is a bible that needs to be followed to the letter.

HINDQUARTERS: Broad and muscular, in profile sloping gracefully to the low set tail. The thighs are long, broad, deep and muscular. Stifles are well turned with strong hocks that may be either parallel or very slightly turned in. Dewclaws should be removed. Feet, although slightly smaller, are the same as front.

It still doesn't tell me how many legs or how many feet are required.

COAT: Two varieties are permissible, both having close-fitting, dense, weather resistant double coats with the top coat either straight or wavy and coarser in texture than the undercoat which is soft, short and dense. The rough variety is medium in length without being excessive. Forelegs, haunches, chest and underside are feathered and the coat on face, ears, feet, fronts of legs is short and smooth. The smooth variety is short over entire body, is usually coarser in texture than the rough variety and may have slight feathering on forelegs, haunches, chest and ruff. Neither coat type is preferred over the other. Seasonal shedding is normal and should not be penalized. The Border Collie's purpose as an actively working herding dog shall be clearly evident in its presentation. Excess hair on the feet, hock and pastern areas may be neatened for the show ring. Whiskers are untrimmed. Dogs that are overly groomed (trimmed and/or sculpted) should be penalized according to the extent. (Emphasis added.)

Translation: The dog can have any coat type it wants.

Red highlight: Does this mean to leave the mud on or something?

COLOR: The Border Collie appears in all colors or combination of colors and/or markings. Solid color, bi-color, tri-color, merle and sable dogs are to be judged equally with no one color or pattern preferred over another. White markings may be clear white or ticked to any degree. Random white patches on the body and head are permissible but should not predominate. Color and markings are always secondary to physical evaluation and gait.

... and working ability is not even an issue, so bring all of your non-predominately white dogs and come enter our shows.

OMG... there's more?

GAIT
The Border Collie is an agile dog, able to suddenly change speed and direction while maintaining balance and grace. Endurance is its trademark. The Border Collie's most used working gaits are the gallop and a moving crouch (stealth) which convert to a balanced and free trot, with minimum lift of the feet. The head is carried level with or slightly below the withers. When shown, Border Collies should move on a loose lead and at moderate speed, never raced around the ring with the head held high. When viewed from the side the trot is not long striding, yet covers the ground with minimum effort, exhibiting facility of movement rather than a hard driving action. Exaggerated reach and drive at the trot are not useful to the Border Collie. The topline is firm. Viewed from the front, action is forward and true without wasted motion. Viewed from the rear, hindquarters drive with thrust and flexibility with hocks turning neither in nor out, moving close together but never touching. The legs, both front and rear, tend to converge toward the center line as speed increases. Any deficiency that detracts from efficient movement is a fault.

Ah yes ... the "flying trot." This is what all working dogs look like when they are working livestock! And the handlers must learn to wear nurse shoes, nylons, and paisley print skirts and do the "flying trot" right through the sheep shit right next to their dogs, who are being led by that skinny little lead. It's very effective.

TEMPERAMENT
The Border Collie is energetic, intelligent, keen, alert, and responsive. An intense worker of great tractability, it is affectionate towards friends but may be sensibly reserved towards strangers. When approached, the Border Collie should stand its ground. It should be alert and interested, never showing fear, dullness or resentment. Any tendencies toward viciousness, nervousness or shyness are very serious faults.

So your dog must not react when a perfect stranger walks up and feels its balls.

If you ever have the chance to meet my dogs, you might not want to do this to them. They will take your arm off. Click/treat. Good boy.

FAULTS
Any deviation from the foregoing should be considered a fault, the seriousness of the fault depending upon the extent of the deviation

Yeah, right. Don't look around at what's being shown then. Or what's winning.

It blows me away how the "dog fancy" people, who have never stepped foot on a real trial field, can sit in their little world telling everyone how a working dog "should" be built, and what attibutes the dog must have the stamina to work all day long. Meanwhile, the dogs they are producing couldn't herd their way out of a paper bag, and would drop dead from trying after about five minutes. Think I'm being mean? Prove me wrong. Show me. Where are all the dogs who are bred for conformation? Why aren't they competing in herding? Oh, they are? Oh, that's right. They have their "HT" and "PT" titles. Some even have started titles and, ooh ... some might even have Championships. Oh wait, then you have the really really good ones who have their dual championship -- usually in conformation AND herding. So they can look good while they are herding three dog broke sheep up against the fence in a 200' x 100' arena and can do it without disrupting the little sheepies and do it better than Corgis and Aussies and Bouviers. Whoopie! If these dogs are all built so correctly and are able to hack the toughest of jobs, why are there NONE competing in Meeker, Soldier Hollow, Big Willow, etc.? Where are they all?

Hmmmm ... seems a bit fishy to me ...

Happy tails,
JD