Jump to content
BC Boards

I see it!


Recommended Posts

For me it's in how they move. Very rarely do I ever see another breed of dog that moves like a border collie. Whether it's the intense crouch and eye or relaxed flank of a dog working sheep, the snake-like turning ability and drive of a dog running agility, or just seeing them run with the simple joy of chasing a ball or running in a field with a pack of friends - border collies are like living art. There is also just something to the way they hold themselves when concentrating on a task, and that special look in their eyes when they know they're about to do something, whether working or playing. The focus and connection of working with these dogs is incredible. My preference is rough coated tricolor with a dark face, but I've owned traditional black and white dogs and now own a white faced girl who I think is gorgeous, and also have fallen in love with many smooth coated dogs that I've seen - they are all beautiful. One of my favorite things to see is that moment when they drop from that relaxed but fast flank into an instant stop and mentally 'grab hold' of the sheep in just the perfect spot, switching from movement to still, focused, absolute intensity and communication with another creature - it's just amazing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...It was nothing to do with his coat or conformation, and if I'd seen a photo I would have thought he was nothing special. But when you really saw him, he was gorgeous.

 

So why do they judge the aesthetics of the border collie, without seeing them run or think?

 

Sorry for devoting a topic to such a trivial subject, I just wanted to share the 'lightbulb' moment and didn't see a thread which would suit it.

 

Nice observation, as well as those of others on this thread, and I personally don't see triviality in the above remark. Yes, the eyes, yet for me it's the way Border Collies hold themselves, the way they move. Sometimes I have glanced at my Josie just after she awoke from a long nap, before she has stretched and had a good shake to arrange her coat, hair a mess, sleep still in her eyes, and am surprised at the stark contrast between her look/behavior at that particular unguarded moment, and the electric dog who helped me in the field earlier that day.

 

When a Border Collie works stock, it is as if a transformation comes-over his/her form, figure, the dogs' every fiber. A person can almost see their nerve endings come alive. Changing seemingly effortlessly from, for instance, calm/paced/balanced driving to instantaneous maneuvers that require independent, sudden decision-making in order to cover an errant/uncooperative ewe...it is poetry in real life. Nothing like a Border Collie. -- Kind Regards, TEC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me it's in how they move. Very rarely do I ever see another breed of dog that moves like a border collie. Whether it's the intense crouch and eye or relaxed flank of a dog working sheep,...

This makes me think of a quote I read once from an AKC "herding" judge - that he/she didn't want to see any of that "sneaky, crouching, staring" stuff in any of the dogs being run in the classes for titles. Excuse me? Just what kind of dog do you think you *should* be judging?

 

Border Collies are unique, and thank goodness they are!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This makes me think of a quote I read once from an AKC "herding" judge - that he/she didn't want to see any of that "sneaky, crouching, staring" stuff in any of the dogs being run in the classes for titles.

:blink:

I've heard Border Collies described as "treacherous." Also "sneaky." <_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...