Archive for January, 2009

  • Ice, Ice, Baby

    Ice, Ice, Baby

    .. My dogs love a good ice cube, as long as I wet it first so it doesn’t stick to their tongue. It’s a great way to cool them off on hot, sunny days–their black fur soaks up the heat–and the best way to stop...

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  • The Dog Toss

    The Dog Toss

    Here at Border Wars, we’re always on the lookout for potential new dog sports. Frisbee, flyball, agility, and dock jumping aren’t for everyone, and the more venues there are for friendly competition, the better. In the tradition of the Highland Games and that frat house...

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  • A Dog’s Breakfast

    A Dog’s Breakfast

    Since it’s the dreaded middle of the week and I’ve hit you with a lot of text lately, please enjoy this wonderful black comedy staring a black and tan mutt named Mars and the stars from TV’s Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis. A Dog’s Breakfast. .....

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  • Close But No Collie

    Close But No Collie

    In digging around the internet looking for picture and painting evidence of Queen Victoria’s dogs, it was impossible not to come across Sir Edwin Landseer. He was in with the Royal Family from before Victoria became Queen and was a specialist in animal–especially canine–paintings. Queen...

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  • Queen Victoria’s Border Collies

    Queen Victoria’s Border Collies

    For 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

    Show Me the Collie

    Having 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

    The Queen and the Collie

    The 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

    The Victorian Collie Myth

    The 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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  • Breed My Bitch, Please.

    Breed My Bitch, Please.

    I just got a comment on a year old post that is a lesson in poor breeding practices in only 17 words: Im looking for a breader for my border collie. she is in heat know can u help? - Jeanie 1/13/2009 I have a...

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  • Impending Doom

    Impending Doom

    “For the sins of your fathers you, though guiltless, must suffer.” -Horace, “Odes,” III, 6, l. 1. Many of you saw Pedigree Dogs Exposed and were shocked. You were looking at breeds that were so far gone as to never return; disfigured, diseased, and dead...

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