Posted: 29.01.09 12:44. Title: When I look at pictures of many smooths...

It's hard to se if it's a male OR bitch

It looks like more and more to ELEGANT dogs are prefered, LONG swannecks, with a to straight shoulder and with to high hocks and with that no width in thighs, just something skinny and elegant there...

Many times these dogs are prefered in the showring, because they look elegant, but for me it's not a smooth collie...

 Posted: 02.02.09 09:36. Title: How right you are! S..

How right you are!
Seems like judges prefer a type smooth veeery elegant and leggy....
What about the passus in the standard where they should show working capability?

I am not so good at these things (writing in a forum), hope I will learn

 Posted: 04.02.09 17:35. Title: I have my first smoo..

I have my first smooth and I don't have so big experiences in dog-shows and judges prefers. But I truly hope that it isn't like that how Oneways said. There are so many judges in the world and all of them couldn't prefer the same type of dogs. What would be the meaning of the shows then if it would be so predictable all the time who wins and what type of dogs would be preferd.

But I think that more important is that your smoothie is healthy and happy, not how thin or leggy he or she looks. On the contrary smoothie shouldn't be too lazy or fat either. I agree with Jack Mack, that a smoothie should show a working capability. That is one thing I try to follow teaching and growing up my smoothie as well. That he could work (herd sheeps) and use his mind - what keeps him fit in mentally and fysically and also healthy i think.

Just out of curiosity how many smoothies here herd, have herd sheeps or other animals? What are the results and experiences ;)?

 Posted: 04.02.09 18:00. Title: "Just out of cur..

"Just out of curiosity how many smoothies here herd, have herd sheeps or other animals? What are the results and experiences ;)? "

In Finland some of our local collie clubs have arranged herding days and there are quite a few collies (smooths & roughs) that have attended in those.
I have tried herding with both of my adult smooth collies and I think it was very interesting.

 Posted: 04.02.09 19:53. Title: It seems that I unde..

It seems that I understand what OneWay's have in mind. There are the tendence in show breeding in every breed to have extremal characteristics.
For example in rough collies there was tendency to have so shot and filled face as possible, so small eyes as possible, so many coat as possible, to have only sweet face and so on... But other side is short body, short neck, bad quality of coat and as result: change of type.
I think that sometimes in smooth collie`s judges have "back to front tendence": such long neck as possible, so much angulations as possible, so short coat as possible, only light movements important... So... we can have dogs like
OneWay's wrote:

quote:

more and more to ELEGANT dogs..., LONG swannecks, with a to straight shoulder and with to high hocks and with that no width in thighs, just something skinny and elegant there...

I think that breeders must to think about right type always and discuss about it with judges, who have licence for the breed.

 Posted: 25.02.09 07:45. Title: I agree with Jeanett..

I agree with Jeanette also. I am starting to see Smooths with long necks straight from the shoulders. Straight angulation front and rear. But when the handlers move the dogs they run so quickly to try and disguise the fault. When I am judging I ask them to move slowly and then you see how bad and untypical the movement is.
In contrast the Roughs have gone to the other extream by being over angulated and short all over and as a result have to shuffle along the floor.

Nick

 Posted: 08.04.09 15:34. Title: Well i don't kno..

Well i don't know what the judges prefere, but Skip is very elegant, very tall and skinny AND he herds!
So being an elegant dog with long bones does not mean that the collie is not able to work!
For me it's just the other way round, a dog that has 50 cm but 35 kilos, as some seem to have, might not be very active or healthy, because a lot of weight causes a lot of problems.
Skip is 62 cm tall and weights only 25 kilos. i think thats not enough, but better skinny than to much weight ;-)