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"Working Lines"


Donald McCaig

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We all know that Nick is a purebred Noodlehound, a very rare breed (and therefore more valuable) directly descended from the purebred German Spatzlehund. Pun intended. Let's hope someone other than myself thought it funny!

 

Now, Dan would probably be guessed "a who-knows-what-crossed-with-hound". No one (outside of working Border Collie circles) would ever guess "Border Collie". And the sheep would prefer no one called him a "sheepdog" either. Maybe I'll just refer to him as a Makohound or, on his more "determined" days, a Hammerheadhund.

 

I have drifted so far off topic that I can't remember what the topic was. Sorry.

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We all know that Nick is a purebred Noodlehound, a very rare breed (and therefore more valuable) directly descended from the purebred German Spatzlehund.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Mmmm, Spaetzle....must....grasp...at..topic at hand...from the haze of noodle thougths...

 

This has actually been a really helpful thread, as in the past I've had several confusing conversations with people that now make a lot of sense.

 

B.

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So I've been rolling this around some more. I think that most of the time when we hear the "working lines thing that these people (before they have been educated) do not understand the difference between the phrases "working lines" and "working bred", and probably don't even know that there IS such a thing as working BRED. They know enough to think that the idea of working lines might draw in buyers (even though they have no concept of the work anyway) but again we're back to greed and ignorance. They think that adding in "working lines" will lend some sort of mystical credence to their breeding, and to the many times unwashed masses this sounds impressive.

 

Then there are the ones that just don't "get it", and it's not because they don't want to but because they just don't have the same point of reference that we do. I have friends with dogs of other breeds that they say are "working bred" even. By MY definition of working bred they are not, but compared to most of the breedings they have to choose from they're pretty close to working bred IMO. These people have not truly internalized the whole concept of a breed that has been and is bred with the work as the selection criteria. If the dog's parents worked stock in any capacity (or maybe their grandparents did) then by their definition within that breed the dogs are working bred (even when it might be a case of marginally working, or working badly). By our definition those dogs may not be, but it's the best they have now. I think that many people have THIS sort of understanding of things.

 

We all know that Nick is a purebred Noodlehound, a very rare breed (and therefore more valuable) directly descended from the purebred German Spatzlehund. Pun intended. Let's hope someone other than myself thought it funny!

 

Very funny actually, although it took me a second to get it. Spaetzle. LOL! The Noodle himself would appreciate this. :lol:

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"Spaetzle" - doggone spell-checker that had nothing to offer so I could spell it right. Rats, foiled again!

 

Maybe Dan should be a purebred German Spazzlehund - 'cause he's sometimes a spaz!

 

Back to our regular programming...

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OK, now wait...I have been thinking of names for my new little girl. And following in my "-le" pattern of endings for my girls' names, I had actually been thinking of Spaetzle (since I make homemade spaetzle fairly often and REALLY love them); then she could affectionately be referred to as "my little dumpling." :lol::wub:

A

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OK, now wait...I have been thinking of names for my new little girl. And following in my "-le" pattern of endings for my girls' names, I had actually been thinking of Spaetzle (since I make homemade spaetzle fairly often and REALLY love them); then she could affectionately be referred to as "my little dumpling." :lol::wub:

A

Well, yeah, I know spaetzle is a dumpling but it's noodly enough for Nick the Noodlehound.

 

As for the baby girl, maybe this proves that "Spaetzle" was meant to be her name all along.

 

Obviously not yet back to our normal programming...

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I grew up outside of Cleveland...lots of Polish, Hungarian, German, etc. I first had spaetzle as a kid at this wonderful little hole-in-the-wall Hungarian restaurant. As an adult, I learned to make a really mean Chicken Paprikash (with spaetzle, of course!)

 

As for the baby girl, maybe this proves that "Spaetzle" was meant to be her name all along.

That's what I've been thinking...

 

Now, for a trivia question: Can you name the film with the line in it, "There is too much pepper in my paprikash"? B)

 

A

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Now, for a trivia question: Can you name the film with the line in it, "There is too much pepper in my paprikash"? B)

 

When Harry Met Sally!

 

And she does look like a cute little dumpling ... for now! I imagine her becoming a bit more shark-like Raskle-like as she grows!

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As an adult, I learned to make a really mean Chicken Paprikash (with spaetzle, of course!)

 

We have a great polish restaurant up the street- in Florida of all places- & I love :wub: their chicken paprikash! the potato latkes with a side of sour cream & apple sauce are great too.

 

Is it spaat-zul?... spayt-zul? ...or spet-zul? It sounds cute either way.

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Yaay! Jan, you win the prize--how about a piece of Pecan Pie :P

 

And it's spaat-zul. It's either going to be Spaetzle or Rustle...

A

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Haha! You got it! That's exactly the meaning I was after... :D

A

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Gee, I guess I remember a different scene from that movie :(

 

As far as my dogs are concerned, they don't care what anyone calls them as long as they are called to work stock.

 

 

When Harry Met Sally!

 

And she does look like a cute little dumpling ... for now! I imagine her becoming a bit more shark-like Raskle-like as she grows!

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Gee, I guess I remember a different scene from that movie :(

You mean the, "I'll have what she's having"? ;)

A

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I agree, and I don't think the point was to tout "Bred for Perfection." Although the writer lacked the stockdog background to do her collie section justice, it's still well worth the time.

 

If Donald were saying "Animal Estate" is good reading, which it is, then he would have said that as well.

 

Penny

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Dear Sheepdoggers,

Mr. Mike writes, of this thread (and I gather my friend Penny agrees with him:

 

 

"I would venture a guess that Mr. McCaig is trying very hard to use

this thread, in some way, in an upcoming book.

 

Chapter 4... From Barbies to Noodles

 

No thanks. "The Dog Wars" was -I devoutly hope - my last foray into dog politics.

 

Donald McCaig

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So here’s the story I’ve been telling people when they ask what kind of dog Sugarfoot is…

Once upon a time there was a lovely type of sheepdog created in the Border Country between England and Scotland. They were called Border Collies. They were famed throughout the world as the sheepdog with the most brains, stamina and ability of all the herding dogs. They came in all colors and kinds of coats. Some had ears that hung down, some had ears that stood up, and some had ears that tipped over at the ends. But in one thing they were all the same. They were superb stock dogs, and their owners’ livelihoods literally depended upon them.

Eventually, some of these dogs made their was here to the USA, where they continued to be the fine workers that they had always been, and their great variety in form and coat length made them useful in all sorts of different terrain, with everything from half-wild range cattle to the gentlemen farmer’s roly-poly pedigreed sheep.

This happy state of affairs continued right up to modern times, when one day the AKC noticed these useful animals.

“Well, well!” said the AKC. “Here’s a dog that is smart, fast and agile! It’s probably just the thing for us! Our German Shepherd Dogs are all crippled, and our Shetland Sheepdogs are tiny, neurotic, non-stop barkers. We need a healthy, attractive dog for all those dog owners who insist on doing sports with purebred dogs.”

“But, wait! They continued, “These dogs all look so different! This won’t do! We must RECOGNIZE this breed and make sure that they all look just alike so our judges can tell what they are. They must have lovely, white, symmetrical markings and black bodies. And all these colors! That won’t do!“

“They must have tipped ears so they’ll be SWEET LOOKING. And they must be very, very fluffy so people won’t notice the terrible things that will happen to their bodies after they’ve been SHOW DOGS for 100 generations.”

And so the AKC recognized the Border Collie. And now the average person, not knowing that the AKC stands on a foundation of millions of corpses of feces-covered puppy-mill puppies and their parents, grandparents, and so on, (and the registration fees they collect for them) thinks that the AKC’s version of the Border Collie is the real deal.

Frankly, I feel that the name “Border Collie” has been forever dishonored by this sad sequence of events. I want no part of it. So I made up a new name for the hardy, brave, sagacious and talented working sheepdogs of the breed formerly known as the Border Collie.

I call ‘em Anglo-American Stock Dogs. Nobody else has to – but that’s what they are to me.

I don’t know if my dog’s parents worked sheep or cattle, ducks or geese. She’s a rescue. But looking at her I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet they didn’t spend their lives lumbering around a breed ring like Golden Retrievers in fuzzy penguin suits. So I call her my little Anglo-American Stock Dog. And if doG is good to us, maybe someday she will get her chance to show what she is made of with a good trainer and some sheep. And maybe her real Border Collie ancestors – those long-dead, pre-AKC hill-farm warriors will look down on her with approval, and slowly wag their tails.

post-10533-048353800 1289086651_thumb.jpg

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