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Recent Battles
Queen Victoria
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Juicing The Sheep
09 April 2009 11:11 AM | No CommentsThe Journal of Queen Victoria Thursday, October 21, 1868 “Juicing the Sheep“ At a quarter to twelve I drove off with Louise and Leopold in the waggonette up to near the “Bush” (the residence of William Brown, the farmer) to see them “juice the sheep.”...
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Queen Victoria’s Border Collies
26 January 2009 4:40 AM | 18 CommentsFor well over a century the “Collie” name has been co-opted by show breeders who have created a monster whose face looks like a door stop with beady eyes set in triangular slits. These same people have co-opted the notion that Queen Victoria was deeply...
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Show Me the Collie
22 January 2009 3:38 AM | 1 CommentHaving established that Queen Victoria’s direct influence on the proliferation of the show Collie is insubstantial at best, let’s explore what impact the Monarchy may have, in fact, had on the culture of dogs during her reign. Five. If the show Collie owes more to...
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The Queen and the Collie
20 January 2009 2:57 AM | 2 CommentsThe old wisdom on the rise of the show Collie is that Queen Victoria met them on a trip to Scotland in the 1860s, became infatuated, acquired them, sponsored them in shows, bred them, and her abundant trend-setting prowess lead to their bountiful rise to...
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The Victorian Collie Myth
19 January 2009 8:03 PM | 3 CommentsThe prevailing creation myth among show Collie enthusiasts is that Queen Victoria’s infatuation with the breed set the ball in motion, elevating the humble farm dog to aristocratic splendor. Queen Victoria saw her first Collies in the 1860′s, and she enthusiastically began to sponsor them,...
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Juicing The Sheep
Archive for December, 2008
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Merry Christmas
Posted on December 24, 2008 | No Comments -
The Ancient Language of Dog
Posted on December 23, 2008 | No Commentsreprint from 8/23/07 The Ancient, Modern, and Future Language of “Dog.” Part 1. The Ancient. Wherein the Author describes the Border War between Linguists on the history of the proto-word for “Dog.”Part 2. The Modern. Wherein the Author describes Dog’s omnipresence in modern language. Part... -
The Third Estate of the Border Collie
Posted on December 23, 2008 | 2 Commentsreprint from 9/16/07 The First Estate of the Border Collie is as a working stock dog. The Second Estate of the Border Collie is as a conformation show dog. The Third Estate of the Border Collie is as a dog sport athlete. The Fourth Estate... -
Golden Eyes & Uncle Sam
Posted on December 20, 2008 | No CommentsGolden Eyes and Uncle SamNell Brinkley, 1918 This illustration shows a young woman, “Golden Eyes,” dressed in a khaki-colored dress and cap standing with a collie dog named Uncle Sam who holds a “Liberty bond” in his mouth. A nude kewpie-like figure bangs a drum... -
A Dog of Virtue
Posted on December 20, 2008 | 1 CommentAEQUITAS et IUSTITIAThe dog is honest, fair, and tells the truth. The dog does what is right and not what is wrong. The dog embodies justice and equity.Homestead of Ole I. Gjevre and family, Cavalier County, Dakota Territory 1898. CASTITASThe dog is courageous and bold.... -
Pride, Envy, and Greed
Posted on December 20, 2008 | 5 CommentsBorder Collies are consistently at the forefront of science when it comes to dogs. The recent study which identified envy, specifically “inequity aversion” in dogs was carried out using a Border Collie test subject. And really, what other breed could you use to maximize the... -
Redemption: First Thoughts
Posted on December 19, 2008 | No CommentsReprint from 12/16/2007 Update Today marks the one year anniversary of my enlightenment to the true state of the shelter system in this country, its sordid history, and the hope for a better future. What a profound impact the words and research of Nathan Winograd... -
Still the Same after 70 Years
Posted on December 18, 2008 | No CommentsAlfred Eisenstaedt, the LIFE photographer famous for his V-J day photo of a sailor kissing a nurse, captured a Border Collie at work on a Connecticut farm in 1940, five years before he took his most famous shot.While these shots aren’t as romantic as the... -
More Christmas Lies
Posted on December 18, 2008 | No CommentsTurns out that the holiday myths just keep pouring in. According to a new study done at the Indiana University School of Medicine, we can add the following myths to our Christmas list: Suicides increase over the holidays? Not true. [A] pervasive myth is that... -
Border Collie Gladiator
Posted on December 18, 2008 | No CommentsIf you thought “dog dancing” was just for women and their dogs and had to include actual dance moves, you’d be wrong. “Canine freestyle” is a much better name, because you’re free to do whatever you want, as long as you’ve got style. For example,...
Queen Victoria's Border Collies