reprinted, 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 sheep herding trial with 99 out of 100 points. And her coat looked marvelous, absolutely marvelous.
Barbie collies are fluffy, conformation-bred, AKC-registered “border collies” that don’t work stock because they can’t.
– Luisa, Lassie Get Help: Barbie collies, bandana collies and the Unexpected Pit Bull
As fellow dogblogger and Border Collie ‘expert’ Luisa points out, “Barbie Collie” is the name that petty sheep people (shall I call them sheeple?) have cleverly given to AKC (read:conformation) border collies to demean them en masse as being hollow headed, shallow, and callow…or at least victims of people who are. Famed Border Collie author and anti-AKC crusader Donald McCaig agrees:
I am happy to say that the AKC’s virtual Border Collie is widely and popularly known as the “Barbie Collie.”
– Donald McCaig, The Dog Wars p.154
Apparently, the sheeple forgot that Barbie comes in a Stanford model. And in case you’re not familiar with my alma mater, it’s the premier academic and athletic university in the nation and there’s an oft told anecdote that Playboy rated Stanford “Top 10” in their beautiful undergrad survey. Apparently you can be brainy, brawny, and beautiful.
I can forgive Donald McCaig and the trialing community for the slight, since I’ve never really believed that anyone can “love the sinner, hate the sin.” In this case, sheeple hate the sinner (AKC), hate the sin (breeding for looks) and so why shouldn’t they belittle the spawn of such evilness? I know he has a Scottish name, and I know he has Scottish dogs, but you really can’t expect all Scots to be Rob Roy and embrace the bastard child of your aristocratic arch nemesis after he raped your wife and raise the little cuss as your own. Plus, I don’t think very many sheeple made it to the movies to see Rob Roy in 1995 to be inspired by Liam Neeson’s magnanimity, they were too busy protesting Babe.
Donald McCaig forgot to mention in his recent Dog Wars that he and his two dogs were soundly beaten by the barbie collie at the *National Finals* last year. That’s right, a barbie collie qualified for the National Finals and beat 95 of the 144 dogs there. Don’t expect to read about it in McCaig’s next book, “If (Good) Looks Can Kill” either.
The National Double Lift Finals are run tournament style with the Open Draw of 140+ dogs cut down to the Semi Finals with 40 dogs, and the Finals with 17 dogs. These are the best dogs and handlers in the nation and they have to qualify to be invited by scoring a minimum number of points during eligible trials throughout the year.
The 2006 USBCHA National Finals were held in Klamath Falls, Oregon and all the “big hats” were there. During the first round, where only the top 40 scores out of 140 dogs advance, a full fledged “Barbie” Collie named “Davidson” (who didn’t want to be identified by name for this story) finished in the top 50 dogs only 2 points out of breaking with a score of 131. Davidson’s owner and trainer “Andi Sandersen” (who also didn’t want to be identified by name for this story) was also running another dog, who came in 27th and broke to the semis with a score of 142.
Given their very respectable finish, it’s no surprise that “Andi” and “Davidson” beat out some of the top teams in the nation, including both of Donald McCaig’s dogs, and top teams like Derek Fisher and Heidi, Beverly Lambert and Bill, and Alasdair MacRae and Don. Her number 2 dog beat their number 2 dogs.
Davidson and both of his parents are conformation champions in the AKC and thus his line will never be allowed in the ABCA genepool, regardless of their merit. Not even if Andi went through the brutal Register On Merit program:
A video of the dog working livestock must be supplied to each member of the ROM Committee. That Committee will make a recommendation whether to refer to the full Board of Directors or not. If referred to the full Board, a video of the dog working livestock must be supplied to the rest of the Directors unless some of them have seen the dog and do not need a video.
A. Written proof that the dog seeking registration on merit has placed in the top 10% of three open, advertised National style and size trials judged under ISDS or USBCHA rules.
B. To pass the working qualifications, the dog must demonstrate outstanding abilities in outrun, lift, fetch, driving, and must satisfy the Directors as to his good balance, power, and eye. At least three of the Directors must see the dog in person working livestock at a place other than his home on livestock that he is not used to.
In all cases, at least three Directors must see the dog seeking registration on merit and 11 of the 12 Directors must vote to approve the dog for registration.
The objective requirements are strict, but perfectly reasonable if you’re willing to accept the mantra that a good trialing dog is the exact same thing as a good working dog. I submit that trialing is a game, not work. Think of the difference between shooters and hunters, boxers and street fighters, NASCAR and real bootleggers. When work is elevated to sport, fundamental things change, and little things that are unimportant in the field become critical in the arena.
But I’ll let that slide for now, no one would disagree that even though trialing might not be true work, it’s magnitudes more relevant to assessing working dogs than a beauty contest is.
The reason the ABCA ROM program is a brick wall is not so much the high standards for trialing (it does say any USBCHA trial, not just the National Finals) but the 11 out of 12 vote. Getting 91.7% of any group to agree on anything is a nearly impossible task, and the ABCA couldn’t even get all three Border Collie registries on board to fight the AKC.
Again, not that it matters because an AKC dog could win every major trial in the world and still be ineligible, and all of his offspring ineligible, for ABCA registration.
Davidson didn’t win last year’s National Finals, but she did come in first out of a field of 18 dogs in August at the USBCHA sanctioned California State Fair trial. Andi and her dogs took first and second in that trial last year, along with several other first place wins at USBCHA trials.
Now, Andi is not a sheep insider. Quite the opposite. She got into sheep trialing because of an AKC breeder:
“[Davidson]” was a gift to “[Andi’s]” daughter as she wanted a Border Collie to show in conformation shows. As per the co-ownership contract, “Davidson” was brought to sheep one day to see what herding capabilities she had. “Davidson” showed lots of potential. From that day on “Andi” got bit by the herding bug! Together, “Andi” and “Davidson” have achieved amazing wins in both AKC, AHBA and USBCHA sanctioned herding trials! Besides earning her breed championship and herding championship titles, “Andi” and “Davidson” have garnered several wins at the Pro Novice level and now compete at the Open level in USBCHA trials many times placing in the top ten!
– “Danice JeMello,” “Nob Hob Border Collies”
An AKC breeder who makes her Barbie Collie buyers take their dogs out to work sheep? Simply mind blowing. Impossible. The sky must be falling and the oceans drying up. The unthinkable has happened and the only explanation is a fundamental disconnect between space and time, cause and effect, and the separation of good and evil.
Or the simple observation that demeaning a large group of varied dogs and breeders with a single shallow phrase is pointless. The sheeple could simply allow merit to show through without all the insults, but they can’t. They’ve even stipulated that the ABCA’s prize money only be given to ABCA registered dogs. Sure, come and compete, but you won’t get a cent of our money even if your Barbie Collie can herd.
I can tell you now that this won’t be the last time a Barbie Collie wins a sheep trial, but it will be the last time that the sheeple can pretend that it will never happen. Barbie Collies can herd? Yes, Barbie Collies can herd.
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Anton
Christopher
Lawrence Dillard
Lech
Stephanie
Essere
Dear Mr. Landauer,
Since you don’t name either handler or dog, it’s hard to know what to
make of this. In Oregon, only Rose Anderson’s dog was identified as
AKC registered and Ms Anderson didn’t do well. Perhaps the dog was
dual registered? Many are – although they are deregistered when they
obtain a conformation championship.
Since the AKC “recognized” the Border Collie only recently and since
they are still accepting ABCA registrations, it wouldnot be difficult
to deliberately select a working dog that looked like a show winner,
dual register it and win both dog shows and trials.
My guess is that it takes four generations of show breeding to
destroy the sheepdog’s working genetics. There may be rare
throwbacks but they are the exception that proves the rule.
Donald McCaig
Dear Mr. McCaig,
Please, call me Christopher. I’d say that “Mister” Landauer is my father, but he’d probably say the same thing, and gramps has been gone for a while now.
Thank you for reading my blog, it’s a pleasure and an honor, and I’m grateful that you’ve opened up a line of communication. I was in the process of drafting a long letter to you in response to your earlier e-mail when a Christmas guest decided that my Laptop would be the perfect place to dispose of their eggnog, leaving my data stranded until I can find a means of liberating my files.
I hesitated drafting this letter as I feel a rather delicate approach is merited here and I’m more adroit at slash and burn rhetoric than diplomacy. But it would be rude of me to delay a response.
Let me first clear up some confusions.
If you’re reading the current version of the “Barbie Collies Can Herd, Really” post, I guess my thinly veiled reference to Sandi Andersen a.k.a. “Andi Sandersen” and her dog Harley a.k.a. “Davidson” weren’t as easy to decipher as I’d have guessed. “Danice JeMello” of “Nob Hob” Border Collies is, of course, Janice DeMello of Hob Nob Border Collies. She appears in your book, The Dog Wars, specifically on the “AKC Hands Off Petition.”
I figured that the details in the post would lead anyone familiar with the rankings straight there if they didn’t figure out my “anonymization” right off.
The 2006 USBCHA National Finals were held in Klamath Falls, Oregon and all the “big hats” were there. During the first round, where only the top 40 scores out of 140 dogs advance, a full fledged “Barbie” Collie named “Davidson” (who didn’t want to be identified by name for this story) finished in the top 50 dogs only 2 points out of breaking with a score of 131. Davidson’s owner and trainer ” Andi Sandersen” (who also didn’t want to be identified by name for this story) was also running another dog, who came in 27th and broke to the semis with a score of 142.
Here’s an excerpt from the results that verify the information I presented:
1. Wilson, Tom – Sly 178
…
16. MacRae, Alsdair – Star 154 (went on to win)
…
27. Andersen, Sandi – Brock 142
…
48. Andersen, Sandi – Harley 131
…
96. McCaig, Donald – Luke 79
97. McCaig, Donald – June 77
Apparently, you have Sandi Andersen confused with Rose Anderson. Rose’s USBCHA standings can be seen here and here. Sandi’s results are here , here, and here. The USBCHA can’t keep their names straight either, Sandi is listed as ” SANDRA ANDERSON” and “SANDI ANDERSEN .” Same person.
If I’m not mistaken, Rose Anderson runs merle dogs (GASP! the horror! merle dogs can’t work–silly), so I guess that might contribute to the general confusion, as they’re both easy to dismiss as one of “those women” with “those dogs.”
As for the dog in question, Harley, she’s a conformation champion out of two conformation champions. I don’t believe that any of them have been de-listed, despite Janice having at least one dog that has.
Harley = DC Hob Nob Riding High DL735080/01
Breeding 3/24/1998 – Great Glen Hi Y’all x DC Hob Nob Freeze Frame UDX3 DL595880/01
Dam: Freeze Frame’s Pedigree: http://www.bordercolliesociety.com/images/images_rom/2freeze_ped.png
Sire: Great Glen Hi Y’all’s Pedigree:
http://www.jandemellobordercollie.com/Jakepedigree.htm
Now, you can process this information in any way you see fit. I don’t think it means anything more than on the face of it, a certified Barbie Collie, product of two Barbie Collies is doing well enough in sheep trials to merit mention.
Despite both Janice DeMello and Sandi Andersen e-mailing me and asking me to pull my article, Janice still has her brag page up:
http://www.jandemellobordercollie.com/HobNobHarley.htm
Sandi Andersen was worried that this would bring undue bias and negative attention to her and in her words, she’d prefer that her performance on the field do the talking. In my view, if people feel the need to belittle an accomplishment because it speaks against their biases and taboos, that only speaks to the critics, not the competitor.
That should clear up the first confusion. Rose Anderson != Sandi Andersen.
I’d like to clear up some other confusions, but now is as good of a place as any to break.
Cheers,
Christopher Landauer
Sandi Anderson’s Harley is not what I would consider a “Barbie Collie” a predominant working background. Just because a dog earns a show CH title, it does not make them a Barbie Collie. And just because a barbie collie earns titles in herding, it doesn’t make them a Working Border Collie, which is what the so-called “sheeple” are trying to protect. I found this article to be a joke given that the dog who is labeled as a “full fledged barbie collie” IS NOT a barbie collie. Nor does she even LOOK like a Barbie Collie. Jan Demello does not breed barbie collies.
If Jan DeMello does not breed “barbie collies” how come Hob Nob dogs were deregistered and banned from the ABCA for being barbie collies?
Very interesting. Actually, I’m not surprised that second or third generation border collies bred for confirmation can still herd. I own a rough collie. They were first imported to the USA by JP Morgan the financier in the late 1800’s. In this country they have always been bred for confirmation and as family pets, never as working dogs. They were originally used more as guardians of sheep, although the smooth version was the drover’s dog, which is sort of herding.
The “Scotch Collie” used to look more like a border collie, but Queen Victoria took care of that when she bred farm collies with Russian wolfhounds that her cousin, the Czar of Russia, had given her. That’s where that long muzzle comes from.
Yet, today, after well over 100 years, many, many rough and smooth collies are tested for herding instinct, are found to have it and compete quite successfully in herding trials. So, over how many generations and the instinct is still there? Pretty amazing.
Our collie definitely “herds” us and wants to know that the “herd” (two adults, four cats) is ok and together.
I read Mr. McCaig’s book about border collies and enjoyed it very much. Border collies are really special. After doing my breed research, I realized that they were, as a breed, too high drive for us and that I couldn’t give one a sufficiently good job to keep him or her happy. But I sure love them and always enjoy meeting one.
What I take from the trial results myself is that border collies are maybe more resilient in terms of keeping their working instinct than was feared. Pretty satisfying when you think of it.
I cannot speak regarding collies of any kind, I am not a herding person. I have Afghan hounds. You would be hard-pressed to find an Afghan that would not chase a small furry animal, even though they have been bred almost exclusively in this country as a Barbie Dog. The instinct is there, unfortunately the conformation is not. Many modern show Afghans are too big and over-angulated to a make a good courser on anything but flat open ground. The Afghan should be a square, compact dog with his feet well under him. Most carry too much coat as well, and yes, the coat does affect the movement. I do not know anything about herding tests, but lure-coursing is nothing like actual hunting. Even open field coursing is not actual hunting. So I would not say that just because an Afghan can lure-course, it will hunt; the two activities are not even relatively equivalent. So just because the dog does well in the artificial construct, does not mean it will be capable of the ‘real thing.’
Chris sez: “In my view, if people feel the need to belittle an accomplishment because it speaks against their biases and taboos, that only speaks to the critics, not the competitor.”
Wise words. People don’t like to have their prejudices disrupted by real life.
Hi Christopher,
Wow–what a great article. Thanks a lot! I had seen your blog before but never read it. I assumed from the title that you were on the other side of the war: Eileen Stein, Heather Nadelman and Donald McCaig’s side…
Anyway, your article was lots of fun. I really respect Jan DeMello’s dogs and was familiar with “Davidson’s” accomplishments on the USBCHA course.
I’m surprised Mr. McCaig couldn’t figure out who “Davidson” was–I guess it was a case of reality being to hard to bear. He also mentions in his comment that the owner could just pick a pretty ABCA dog and show it in conformation. I guess he missed the point that the dog’s whole background is AKC conformation champions…
I’ve been the victim of Mr. McCaig and others in that clique. One of them anonymously invited me to a forum I’d never heard of (Kensmuir), ostensibly to write a nice bio of my dog’s accomplishments. (20+ titles in 6 sports with multiple HIT/RHIT wins in each).
After posting the bio, forum posters baraged me with over 400 hate messages, 3 a.m. hang up calls, and a death threat.
Why? Because my BC was a NEUTERED AKC conformation champion that had beaten (and was continuing to beat) their dogs in USBCHA Novice/Ranch sheep trials and cattle time & points trials. According to these people, I was ruining the breed because innocent spectators at these events might actually fail to realize that “AKC conformation dogs suck.”
A few months later, another forum had an active thread about a puppy mill bust of ABCA-registered dogs taking place in my state. Despite signs that the dogs came from excellent working lines, not a single one of the hardcore ABCA people came forward to help with fostering or adoption. So when the dogs were confiscated, I made a 12-hour round-trip and rescued six of them. I kept one and placed the others.
Who generously paid for the adoption costs and medical fees for these six ABCA-registered rescues? The BCSA: the AKC Border Collie club.
So it turns out that the ABCA people are not only anti-AKC, but also anti-rescue. They recommend rescues for everybody else on these forums, but they themselves will only take dogs from known trial winners. None of them offered to foster or to help with transportation or medical costs.
Anyway, the ABCA snobs really missed out with this guy. He has a bombproof temperament and is amazingly powerful and stylish, with perfect natural pacing. At 12 months of age, he was doing 150 yard outruns and able to drive a herd of >100 cattle in an open field. When he turned two, I was diagnosed with breast cancer (now in remission). During chemo, I placed him with my best friend, a well-known USBCHA judge. The dog is currently having a stellar year in Open/Nursery Cattle and Ranch/Nursery Sheep, sometimes topping even “Davidson’s” scores. But we’re not anti-AKC snobs. We would be proud to compete against “Davidson” some day and lose. 🙂
Well, thanks for your great blog.
S.S.
S.S. –
Thanks for the comment. From what I can tell, the Border Collie Boards are dominated by the catty women and the Kensmuir boards are more the catty men.
I have a post that’s called something like “too many working dogs, too little work”… something like that. Anyway, it’s from a thread on Kensmuir where the sheeples seem to be more candid than you find on the Border Collie Boards.
Since the Border Collie Boards have a lot more jock sniffers as a percent and my take is that Kensmuir has a higher percent of actual working ranchers, the Kensmuir board seems to be a little less guarded and not as PC. It’s more the flavor you’d get from a private board.
Anyway, it’s no different, just a different flavor of arrogant bigotry. The way it’s going, the sheeple are so against anything else but sheep (and doing it like the good old days) that they are bound to end up like those “Olde Tyme” reenactment villages.
A side show where kinder gardeners can go and look at actors pretending to spin wool on hundred year old looms and forge iron with an anvil. They admit that they are becoming an endangered species, but they want the breed to go down with them.
Plus, the BC boards people who actually read the article don’t read too carefully. They say that I’m making the case that ALL barbie collies can herd as well as “coyote” collies. Um, where did I say that? My only argument is to let MERIT win, not bullshit eugenic theory.
Perhaps I should retitle the article “at least one barbie collie can herd” … so maybe they’d get the drift.
Any way, thanks for the comment. It’s always fun to revisit these issues through other people’s eyes.
to anyone interested,
I USED to be against AKC reconigtion many, many years ago and perhaps I still am but it is what it is.
I place blame to no one for what type of border collie they breed. However, I personally will always gravitate towards the working bred border collie over those that are bred primarily for the conformation ring.
The only Hob Nob border collies that do not have ABCA registration or lineage comes from a litter when I bred my working ABC/AKC registered bitch Static (officially DC Hob Nob Freeze Frame UDX 3) to an English import ‘Jake’. While some of Jake’s relatives did show in the breed ring in the UK and earned CH’s, there were a total of 7 Supreme International herding champions in the pedigree! Just because some of Jake’s relatives showed in conformation, does not change the lineage which is that of working dogs from ISDS registry.
Sandy Anderson’s Harley (DC Hob Nob’s Riding High) is from this breeding therefore not able to be ABC registered.
The fact that Sandy had Harley shown in the conformation ring and earned her Ch, does not change her heritage! Does this fact label her a ‘barbie collie’? I think not!
She is a working dog who does a fair amount of winning and placing in USBCHA sanctioned herding trials. Running in AKC herding trials was a learning place for this team to get their feet wet and gain experience.
Good grief, herding is herding and let people play whatever game they want to venture into with their border collies regardless of their lineage!
I personally do not care to show my HN border collies in the breed ring…I don’t like that game and quite frankly, it is of little value to me although I will acknowledge with applause any of my HN dogs that compete and earn the CH moreso for the owners accomplishment. Besides, there are very few Hob Nob border collies who compete in the breed ring mainly because I sell my HN dogs on limited registration and spay/neuter contracts.
Yes, my HN dogs are beautiful but mainly they are talented and do I daresay, ‘VERSATILE’.
Slider (Hob Nob Triple Play)http://www.jandemellobordercollie.com/HobNobSlider.htm exemplifies versatility by becoming the first QUAD champion in the herding group.
Slider’s dam Chisel (HC Hob Nob Etched In Stone MX, MXJ, UD)http://www.jandemellobordercollie.com/HobNobChisel.htm was also trialed quite succesfully in USBCHA sanctioned trials in Pro Novice.
Many people have tried over the years to get me to show my handsome red and white border collie Bezel http://www.jandemellobordercollie.com/HobNobSetInStone.htm in the breed ring. I succumbed 3 times at the wishes of my roommate who showed him. Not only is Bezel gorgeous, moves like a dream and does a great job working stock, I just don’t see the value (for me or my HN dogs) to be shown in the breed ring…just not for me. Besides, Bezel is worth much more to me than any title could possibly label him.
I admire today, as I have always done so, the border collie breeders that adhere to breeding for working ability but this alone does not make them the sole guardian of the breed or holier then thou. I ‘most’ admire when those breeders also do health checks, take better care in screening homes for their pups, have contracts that would make statements to taking any puppy back, etc.
I have learned to ‘let it be’ when it comes to the border collie and the opinins brought forth. There will always be working border collies bred to do what they have done for centuries. And yes, there will always be border collies bred for show.
Somewhere in the mix, there will always be the border collies in the middle…those bred from working lines who compete in other dog sports outside of the herding venue. I place myself ‘somewhere in the middle’
With respect
Jan DeMello
Hob Nob border collies
http://www.jandemellobordercollie.com
I have an 11 year old border collie who has never even seen a sheep. We adore her and would like her to spend a short time with some sheep if that is possible anywhere in upstate NY.
She has led a happy busy life but we can’t help but think she should see what she was bred to do.
We have heard there are people who allow that but don’t know how to find them.
Help?
Cutie –
Here are some names to start your search:
Little Hats is a website with advice for beginners and has a "Find an Instructor" link:
http://www.littlehats.net/instructor.html
NEW YORK
Name: Barbara Armata
Location: Esperance, NY
Phone: 518-875-6471
Email: Taffaway@aol.com
Comments: Lessons for beginners on up. Starting pen/small fields/ large
field[400yd outrun]/also setup for blind outruns and double lifts
Name: Joyce Geier
Location: Mendon, NY (near Rochester)
Phone: 585-624-8220
Email: Joyce@sandcreekfarm.com
Web site: http://www.sandcreekfarm.com
You can contact the directors at the USBCHA and e-mail anyone in District 7 for suggestions:
http://www.usbcha.com/Officers_&_Directors.htm
Mick Warren
Director USBCHA
518-861-5854
mickwa@logical.net
750 Meadowdale Rd
Altamont, NY 12009
This website lists 5 trainers in NY:
http://www.willowacres.com/HerdingTrainers.htm
Good luck, it's a lot of fun. Don't expect too much from an older dog, it's quite possible that all that herding drive has been channeled into the tennis ball or the frisbee or the back yard squirrels.
I've taken a 13 year old Border Collie to see sheep for the first time and it was fun for both of us but the intensity and the drive just weren't there.
Have fun.
This one is pretty good.
The same people defend the same cliques and fiefdoms.
Border collie people are almost as fun as the AKC extremists who tell you that bulldogs have the wrinkles so that the blood from the bull will drain away from their noses.
retrieverman recently posted..Robert Wayne Lecture
Yes, this post caused quite the kerfuffle. I use it as a test of reading skills of the sheeple jock sniffers. For some reason, many of them can see hidden text that says “breeding pretty dogs will make them better able to work sheep and cattle.”
Nowhere do I make this claim or anything similar.
I contend, simply, that as trial sport becomes more popular, and more mainstream, we are likely to see more diverse dogs being brought to the field and that some of them are even going to do well and win.
Plus, it’s fun to poke holes in Donald McCaig’s absolutisms that simply aren’t true. A barbie collie — and this dog is a barbie collie by their own definition, its offspring would be excluded from the ABCA gene pool, no matter that it has ISDS dogs on the pedigree — did win a USBCHA trial, did well at nationals, etc. etc. Wiston Cap wasn’t clear of all disease, etc. etc.
Breeding ethics and ethos need to be based on reality, not fantasy.
BTW, I love how you covered up “Davidson’s” eyes to protect his privacy.
I am sure by now the sheeple will have denied his existence. He will be erased from their memories.
LOL.
I need to rewrite my post called “Brave New Dog World.”
BTW, I consider cursing to be a fine art. Sometimes, I let ’em fly on my blog.
retrieverman recently posted..Robert Wayne Lecture
Fascinating topic! I have never been a fan of the Barbie Collies..but yet, I am careful to not use that term for ALL AKC Border Collies. My biggest beef with the AKC when it comes to any working dog breed, is that there is no requirement for proof of instinct. I’m not against the breed “looking good,” as long as their drive and talent for working stock is still there. To me, that marks a true “AKC Champion.”
Conversely, the AKC has told me that they will never allow mix breed dogs to compete in herding events because (as they put it), “there is no way to tell if a dog has instinct unless we have a pedigree to examine.” So, my wonderfully drivey, talented, absolutely amazing-on-stock ACD/BC mix can’t compete in an AKC herding event, yet they’ll welcome a dog that comes from purely conformation lines?
The AKC is stupid to require pedigree of any sort at performance events. Isn’t the entire point of a *performance* event that the merits of the dog are objectively judged right there on that day by what they do, how they perform, not what their pedigree says?
Luckily there is no shortage of herding venues that require no papers at all.
The AKC sees the events as showcases for ‘purebred dog excellence’, that’s why.
The closest I’ve seen for tests that actually reflect real conditions are British retriever trials, which are actually driven shoots, i.e., real hunting conditions.
The problem is that there is a lot of luck involved. Your dog might not get called on the day or the retrieve might be easy or it might be hard. Only a few dogs are trialed at any one time, but these are real conditions.
The dogs have be steady when they aren’t being used. They can’t bark or whine.
And they have to track game that runs when wounded.
But it’s not an objective standard that can be run every single time.
Which is why Americans have rejected it.
“My biggest beef with the AKC when it comes to any working dog breed, is that there is no requirement for proof of instinct.”
There are issues with this in regards to what ‘instinct’ you are testing, and how you go about it. I have large sighthounds, dogs that should have a chase instinct. It seems like it would be easy to test for chase instinct, because it’s a very basic dog instinct, yes? Just run a lure in front of the dog and see if it will chase it? No. Salukis are notorious for not chasing the lure, but put something fuzzy with a heartbeat in front of them, and away they go. Some dogs that are hunted on live game regularly show no interest in the lure at all. Then you have dogs that will not ‘follow’, they do not chase the lure around the course, but use their brains and cut across to catch the lure as it turns. I’ve even heard of dogs simply going over to where the lure ends up at the end of the pattern and waiting for it to show up. The requirements of a dog that hunts are different than for a dog that lure courses. It is a fun game for the dogs and a great way to keep them in shape, but it fails as an instinct test.
The new comment form is way nifty, Christopher.
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