Who "she?" This she...
The next person that has the following conversation with me at an agility trial WILL be kicked in the shin.
The next person that has the following conversation with me at an agility trial WILL be kicked in the shin.Know-It-All: Whhyyy do you have your dog listed as an All-American?
Me: Because she is
Know-It-All: No she's not, that's a Border Collie.
Me: Well, her mother was...
Know-It-All: [cutting me off and speaking to me with eyebows raised and head tilted slightly to the side like I'm a 5 year old with brain damage] Ohh, and what do we think her father was?
Me: "We" don't "think," "we" know her father was an ACD.
Know-It-All: Well, [obviously not believeing the damaged 5 year olds answer] I still think she's all BC.
Good grief! Every. Single. Trial.
I actually had that conversation three times this past weekend. I think I should have a shirt made....
The front
YES...
I know they come in that color
I know they can be ticked
I know they can have smooth coats
I know they can have goofy ears
I know I could ILP her
The back
I also know her father was an ACD!
That way, when I get asked I could just twirl to get my point across and wouldn't have to get irritated at all. I mean, how irritated can you get if you're twirling in public?
Why do people want so desperately for my little dog to be pure bred? Why do they care enough to argue with me about it? Isn't she perfect just being who she is?
amen. I had some worker at petsmart tell me my dog wasnt a border collie cause she wasnt black & white because (she points to a picture in what must be the end all be all of dog books) "see, this is a border collie!"
ReplyDeleteHello! I didnt even ask you what she was. And yes, the come in other colors!
It made me so mad and it was only once. I cant imagine hearing it over and over!
By the way - any idea what the ILP costs?
oh, and my dog might be a mutt, but thats okay with me - I love her none the less!
ReplyDelete"any idea what the ILP costs?"
ReplyDeleteSnarky-political answer: I have no clue, but whatever check you are writing to the AKC is too much money! Support the working border collie! Plently of non-AKC events to participate in!
Non-snarky answer: The info is here: http://www.akc.org/reg/ilpex.cfm
Looks like 35 bucks!
I also don't get this obsession some people have with knowing the breed of my dog. He's a mutt, pure and simple. He was also a stray brought into the SPCA, so I don't know what his parents were. He's a little brown dog, a fabulous companion, and my soul dog. How would knowing that he was part breed A and part breed B make any difference to that???
ReplyDeleteYes, she is perfect just the way she is!
ReplyDeletethese are the same type of people who name mixed breed dogs (ie. any "poo" or "oodle" dog) when in fact they're just mutts that you paid lots of money for.
ReplyDeletewhatever.
if you asked me, i'd say she was a border collie, but i certainly wouldn't argue if you told me otherwise.
maybe you should start a new breed name like "australian-border-cattle-collie-poo" and people will want you to breed her for 1500 a pup :0
oh and my red border collie was onced called a greyhound / brittney spaniel mix :) classic
ReplyDeleteBefore Buzz grew in a way that suggested he's not mixed with ACD, I was planning a AC/BC shirt, styled to look just like the shirts for the band AC/DC. You should totally put that on your shirt!
ReplyDeleteAs the owner of a pretty-darn-BC lookin' dog, I actually try to turn conversations about Buzz's possible mix into education for the other person, by either (a) bringing out the fact that Buzz is a shelter dog, so I don't really know, but isn't he awesome and aren't shelters great? and (b) pointing out that Buzz came from a shelter in *farm* country, so it is quite possible that he could be as big as he is and still be full BC because working dogs are whatever size WORKS!!! and BCs should not be bred for conformation.
: )
Your mutt is lovely!
I like your t-shirt idea -- I could write my own!
ReplyDeleteI have a tri-color smooth collie. Rarely has someone realized this; most knowingly smile and ask "he's part collie, isn't he?" and are surprised to learn that he's a purebred. My friend was 'informed' by a self-appointed expert that her smoothie was part pit bull. It's difficult to think of a dog that looks less like a pit. Granted this doesn't happen at trials!
"smoothie was part pit bull"
ReplyDeleteI get that with Kate! Dog park people think Kate has pit in her and Bella just *must* have GSP in her. Agility folk swear to me that they are both pure bred.
wattayagunnado?
1) Totally get the shirt made! It would be fabulous and might just shut people up a bit.
ReplyDelete2) I got the opposite problem with my big guy. Yes, he is purebred Sheltie. Yes, he is 19.5" tall. No, that is not within standard. That is what happens when irresponsible people breed ... that, along with the structural defects, hypothyroidism, and epilepsy.
3) Who the heck cares! Your girls are beautiful, and they don't need to have a fancy "Ausbordoodle" names to prove it.
As a Christian that married a Jew, I think it's a bit like when a child's mother is Jewish... the child is Jewish.
ReplyDeleteThat dog's mother is a BC... that-there-dog is a BC ;)
Whatever you say it is though is fine by me :P
I hate people's attitudes like that.
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with mutts anyway?
Are your dogs happy? Are your dogs happy with you? Are you happy with your dogs? Yes. That covers everything dunnit.
ReplyDeleteSo how did the agility part of teh trial go?
ReplyDeleteThey want your dog to be a border collie so they don't feel so bad when you beat them. When they say they lost to a border collie, their friends say "Understandable, that'll happen...". They say they lost to an All-American and their friends shake their heads and tsk. Much easier to deal with getting beat by the BC. WOO HOO --- GO MUTTS!!!! Takin' over the world!!!
ReplyDelete"They want your dog to be a border collie so they don't feel so bad when you beat them."
ReplyDeleteHAHA! They weren't getting beaten by us last weekend, that's for sure! Q's? Yes. Placing? Not so much. Except Snooker. For some weird reason we keep doing well in it. We hate Snooker!
"So how did the agility part of teh trial go?"
ReplyDeleteIt was OK. Not the best, not the worst. You can listen to me whine about it on Sat! :-P
smile.
ReplyDeletesome days I handle the irritation better than others. Today would be one, yesterday would be the other.
A good dog is a good dog.
Yes she is perfect! I have the opposite problem - one 'traditional' Border Collie and one working bred border collie. People like to argue with me that my working bred dog is not a Border Collie.
ReplyDeleteI've never got the pre-occupation with parentage either.
Alternative Non-PC t-shirt (suitable for twirling when suffering from PMT):
Front Mother: BC Father: ACD
Back: Can't you read or are you just stupid?
She is 100% pefect the way she is. All the people that can't see that will be added to the list I am compling of people needing Anal-Cranial extractions a.s.a.p. :)
ReplyDeleteI am constantly being told the following:
ReplyDeletemy blue merle bc with blue eyes is an aussie
my black tri aussie is a bc
and my personal favorite....drumroll please...(for all you horse folks out there...)
that my QH stud is a morgan mare. Really. I have dismounted and pointed to his thingy more times than I can say.
BTW - one of the COOLEST dogs I have ever known is a BC x ACD named Max :-)
Great idea about the t-shirt. Mine would read, "Yes, she's all Border collie. No, she's not a puppy. Yes, she's an adult. No, she's not a miniature. Yes, Border collies can have all-white faces. No, she herds horses, not sheep. Yes, Border collies are good at herding other species besides sheep."
ReplyDeleteLove your blog-- thanks!