MaryP Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Last weekend, I took in a blue merle bc with ABCA registration papers, so I know that he is pb. He looks very different, IMO, from most of the BCs that I've seen. He has a real blocky head with a short muzzle and seems to have shorter, thicker legs than most BCs. I'm well aware that there is a lot of diversity in what BCs look like, but if I didn't know he was pb, I would almost be tempted to call him a BC/Aussie mix. I thought I read somewhere once that there is a theory that Aussies may have been used to get those merle colors in BCs. This may be just total coincidence, but I'm wondering if this dog's Aussie-like features may be the result of having Aussie somewhere in his background. Or, am I just totally off-base here? I'm just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jackieandryan Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Just teasing, but I'm sure pictures would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 It's not necessary to theorize Aussie crossbreeding to explain merles in Border Collies. There were merles in the Border Collie breed, and the proto breed, long before Aussies were around. Some of the more aussie looking headed dogs date back to older lines. Some of them are simply different lines from the UK. I had the craziest looking dog in rescue once, also with papers - her dam was imported from an isolated part of England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted February 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Here are two pictures that I have of him, but they're not the best for showing the features that I'm talking about. I have better ones on my home computer, but I don't have access to them here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted February 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Some of the more aussie looking headed dogs date back to older lines. Some of them are simply different lines from the UK. I had the craziest looking dog in rescue once, also with papers - her dam was imported from an isolated part of England. Well, he doesn't exactly come from good lines. His sire is from a breeder who was expelled from the ABCA. But, that happened a few years after he was born. I was just curious because he looked so different from what I'm used to seeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BClover92 Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 BC's all look very different. i knew a short stockier one and also a tall skinny one. they are all very different. He looks very pretty and alot like the ones I have seen just not tall and thin working like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurae Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Skittles... ...uh, sorry, nothing relevant to add...just couldn't help myself... though I will say that merle dog does look like an aussie to me <shrug> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jackieandryan Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 What a striking dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theshine Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 He's very pretty. I see what you mean about his head and being stockier. His head looks aloy like my boys head, but mine is tall and leggy. From what very little I know though, merle in border collies was around before aussies were around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Scroll down the page, and see an Aussie that looks like a BC, named Mumble. This is one beautiful dog! http://wickedworkingdogs.com/wickeddogs.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 He's very handsome. He doesn't look that much more robust than Solo. I don't see any Aussie in him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted February 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Scroll down the page, and see an Aussie that looks like a BC, named Mumble. Yeah, that dog does look more bc than Aussie to me. Oh well. Like I said, I was just curious. Doesn't really matter one way or another. He's a sweet dog and will make someone very happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Wow, you really gotta wonder if that Mumble is actually all Aussie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Mumble looks so much like Ido. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack & Co. Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Skittles... I second that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepandakom Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 A woman that used to be on my flyball team has a merle that looks very similar to the boy you posted. He was mostly from show lines but I believe she did some AKC herding with him, too. He's listed on her website, but I'm not sure if it's OK to post it here. If you want, I will PM you with the site. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 There are some stockdog folks who prefer dogs with broader heads. There's a reason Tom Forrestor calls Lark "needle nose" and it's not because he's impressed with her narrow physique (in fact he says I should slam a door on her to shorten her nose)! That's to say that broad blocky heads do occur in working border collies--and there are experienced folks who will choose the broad-headed dog over one less broad--and broad heads/proportionally short muzzles don't necessarily mean something was mixed in. Additionally, at least one of the expelled people touted imported working lines, so Becca's theory regarding dogs from across the pond could also hold. FWIW, I don't look at the photos and think "not a border collie." J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 My brother calls those skinny headed dogs "missile heads" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbear Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Yay for blocky heads! I don't think that dog looks like an aussie, btw. If you picture him as a black and white, he would seem to be pretty much a border collie, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted February 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Here's a couple more pictures that might show him better. I wonder if part of the reason that he looks "thicker" is because he's 5.5 years old and has not been neutered. So, maybe he has just developed more masculine features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Yeah, he just looks masculine to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 You know, what may be confusing you is the "roundness" of his forehead. If you look at conformation-bred border collies, many of them have that same head shape, which is of course something they have in common with conformation-bred Aussies. On seeing him, I would think conformation-bred before I'd think Aussie. Others may disagree. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 If the breeder is who I think it is, he's pretty typical of some of her older merle lines, which I believe come from Sagdyl in England. Her lines also go back to John Thomas' Craig, who was a very blocky dog, and Wilson's Spot (who also went back to Craig). And of course the wonderfully big coated, big headed, and prodigally bred ##Wisp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaBluez Tess Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Take the merle coloring away and what do you see? An Aussie or a built Border Collie? diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquilis Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 He looks an awful lot like a blue merle boy we've got at the rescue - Tru Blue is a big guy, too, and with a heavier head than some of the others. We've got a smooth tri-girl whom looks like a shark on legs, as counter-point. If I didn't know they were both pure, I'd have a hard time placing both in the same breed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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