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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
sheep trials Archive
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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... -
These Dogs Count Sheep!
Posted on December 16, 2008 | No CommentsFrom Popular Mechanics, September 1947 These Dogs Count Sheep! Dewey Jontz’ piercing whistle drops Tess instantly no matter what she’s doing. He uses spoken commands, too, in ordering his canine “hired hand” to help with the chores. During field test the dog must drive a... -
Too Many Working Dogs, Too Little Work
Posted on December 4, 2008 | 12 CommentsFrom Donald McCaig’s The Dog Wars, you’d swear that there were too few working dogs and too much work to do, thus the dire need to “save” the entire breed (all 35,000 new puppies per year) to preserve the working ability only. But it’s not... -
A Dying Breed
Posted on December 3, 2008 | No CommentsDublin has always loved the Frisbee, originally uploaded by AstraeanBorderCollies. It’s easy for a young man like myself to surmise that sheep trialers are on whole an aged, if not aging breed. Their ranks are filled with people my parent’s age and older, the best... -
Embrace Cloning
Posted on September 19, 2008 | 2 CommentsIt’s been ten years since Dolly the Sheep was cloned and it amazes me that many a dog breeder believes in inbreeding (and line breeding, if you must differentiate, but realize that it’s still drunk driving with the gene pool, just at a slightly slower... -
A Breed Apart I
Posted on September 18, 2008 | 2 CommentsThose of us in Border Collies have long known that they’re in a class by themselves in the arenas of intelligence, agility, drive, and trainability. They’re different than other dogs and that difference is often wide. And we know that the difference is in their... -
Barbie Collies Can Herd, Really
Posted on January 4, 2008 | 9 Commentsreprinted, slightly revised (anonymized) from orignal post 9/14/07 ** Some Names and Images Changed to Protect the Innocent ** The end is nigh. The apocalypse is upon is. Pigs are flying and they are playing hockey in hell. A “barbie” collie won a USBCHA Open... -
McCaig’s Advice to Novices
Posted on December 28, 2007 | 1 CommentWhile the dog sport world might be filled with Gen-X and Yers who make their pets a significant part of their lifestyle, there are also a lot of younger folks involved in animal husbandry. One site that is catering to that market is Dogged Juniors:... -
Sheeple Admit They’re Hobbyists
Posted on November 23, 2007 | 1 CommentWed Aug 22, 2007 12:15 am But on the serious side of all af this, if mr kensmuir will allow, my take on all of this point earning, title seeking, usbcha presidential wantings,akc titles, best cowdog, greatest stockman, novice ribbons earning, sheepdogs are the best,... -
Too many working dogs, too little work
Posted on November 23, 2007 | No CommentsFrom Donald McCaig’s The Dog Wars, you’d swear that there were too few working dogs and too much work to do, thus the dire need to “save” the entire breed (all 35,000 new puppies per year) to preserve the working ability only. But it’s not...
Queen Victoria's Border Collies