Comments on: British rural sports, Stonehenge – 1875 edition http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/historic-collie-articles/golden-age-1861-1900/british-rural-sports-stonehenge-1875-edition/ "Of all the canine race, the Scotch Colley is the most intelligent. The herder's help-mate and friend, and gentleman's pet." Poultry Monthly, 1881 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:45:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Proposed Breed Standard for Old fashioned Scotch Collies | Old Time Farm Shepherd .org http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/historic-collie-articles/golden-age-1861-1900/british-rural-sports-stonehenge-1875-edition/#comment-2656 Proposed Breed Standard for Old fashioned Scotch Collies | Old Time Farm Shepherd .org Mon, 24 May 2010 22:54:06 +0000 http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/?p=625#comment-2656 [...] British Rural Sports – 1875 [...] [...] British Rural Sports – 1875 [...]

]]> By: Courtney http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/historic-collie-articles/golden-age-1861-1900/british-rural-sports-stonehenge-1875-edition/#comment-2463 Courtney Mon, 17 May 2010 00:47:37 +0000 http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/?p=625#comment-2463 Shep: I do find it strange that there are so few collies with a blaze nowadays. The famous Lassie has a blaze, and he was responsible for a surge in the collie's popularity. It seems Hollywood fashion statements do not hold sway in the show ring... Shep: I do find it strange that there are so few collies with a blaze nowadays. The famous Lassie has a blaze, and he was responsible for a surge in the collie’s popularity. It seems Hollywood fashion statements do not hold sway in the show ring…

]]> By: Shep http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/historic-collie-articles/golden-age-1861-1900/british-rural-sports-stonehenge-1875-edition/#comment-2236 Shep Thu, 06 May 2010 18:16:20 +0000 http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/?p=625#comment-2236 It's interesting to me that so many of the ideas as to what a proper collie ought to look like are merely subjective decisions based on the whims and fancy of the day. The "gay tail" for example. The collie has herding spitz in it's ancestry, it is only natural for spitz type dogs to carry their tails over their backs, especially when they are excited or on alert. Yet for over 100 years breeders have been working against that characteristic which has no real value for or against the dog except that somebody long ago decided that they didn't like that. How about the collie's blaze? A rough collie with a blaze on its face is a rare thing today, yet 100 years ago it was fairly common. Why is this the case? Because somebody, for some entirely subjective reason decided that it was not a good thing and therefore breeders have been eliminating that feature from the breed. It’s interesting to me that so many of the ideas as to what a proper collie ought to look like are merely subjective decisions based on the whims and fancy of the day.

The “gay tail” for example. The collie has herding spitz in it’s ancestry, it is only natural for spitz type dogs to carry their tails over their backs, especially when they are excited or on alert. Yet for over 100 years breeders have been working against that characteristic which has no real value for or against the dog except that somebody long ago decided that they didn’t like that.

How about the collie’s blaze? A rough collie with a blaze on its face is a rare thing today, yet 100 years ago it was fairly common. Why is this the case? Because somebody, for some entirely subjective reason decided that it was not a good thing and therefore breeders have been eliminating that feature from the breed.

]]> By: Dianne taimsalu http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/historic-collie-articles/golden-age-1861-1900/british-rural-sports-stonehenge-1875-edition/#comment-2235 Dianne taimsalu Thu, 06 May 2010 17:07:09 +0000 http://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/?p=625#comment-2235 amusing to see that his tail is carried over his back when controlling his excitement - certainly not something admired by modern judges. amusing to see that his tail is carried over his back when controlling his excitement – certainly not something admired by modern judges.

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