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I think it's more than that Eileen. I think it's that we don't have anything to stand for. We're a community of people who are "non" AKC people. You don't want to be "non" anything - that's not good PR. I think an awfully good positive starting point for the working community is the stated objectives of the US Border Collie Club: http://www.bordercollie.org/objectiv.html

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Becca, I agree with you that from a PR standpoint it's not good to just appear to be "anti" something -- that makes you look negative, and negativity is bad. I don't agree with you -- and "agree" is probably not the right word here, because I suspect you don't believe this either -- that "we don't have anything to stand for." We stand for the traditional border collie, bred for work.

 

The question is HOW to do this. One way is to identify threats to the traditional border collie, and educate people about them. Two of those threats figure in this evolving thread. One is mass production of border collies by bad breeders. We are and ought to be against that, and do what we can to persuade people not to support such breeders. Another threat is the AKC, and I would argue that it's a worse threat to the breed, because it confers prestige and prominence on badly-bred border collies. Puppy millers may produce dogs with no regard for their working ability, but their products don't define the breed. The AKC, on the other hand, holds such dogs up as the model and epitome of a border collie, and this has much more potential to damage the breed in the long run. Most people would readily accept that the breeder TheStacks describe is a bad breeder. People have much more trouble seeing the prestigious and "responsible" breeder of the BOB border collie at Westminster as a bad breeder, in large part because this person has the endorsement of the AKC. But both are bad for the border collie.

 

Of course it goes without saying that I agree with you that the objectives of the USBCC are admirable, and worth rallying around. Well, I would, wouldn't I?

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