Bean Posted March 8, 2001 Report Share Posted March 8, 2001 Hi, I would like to start getting my bc involved in showing (the more stuff to do the better!). I would like to know if there are any good books out there with pointers on how to groom and show bc's. Any suggestions? ------------------ If it's not a border collie, it's just a dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholla Posted March 8, 2001 Report Share Posted March 8, 2001 What kind of "showing" are you wanting to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest borderkatahdin Posted March 8, 2001 Report Share Posted March 8, 2001 Bean, Where in Iowa are you located? I am in central Illinois near the river. I don't know of any books on show grooming if that is what you are asking. If you are asking about conformation showing , you might want to look elsewhere, as most of the people on this board are strictly against any AKC events, and rightly so. If you are interested in conformation or obedience go to your local obedience club for help. IF you are interested in herding there is a herding group near Iowa city, that has clinics and trials in the warm months. If you are interested you can e-mail me privately. ------------------ Wendy Carlson Goldenoaks Farm carlson@qcconnect.com Aledo, IL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 8, 2001 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2001 I was thinking of dabbling in a little showing with the AKC, not quite to the confirmation level. Just a little to try it out. But now that you mention it if anybody knows someone that teaches herding around here; that would be by far better. (I am located near Ames in Iowa). I have started my dog on sheep, but the place I go is about 1 and a half hours away, someplace closer would be great. Iowa City I believe is about the same distance, maybe a little closer.(?) I also need someone to help me "polish" my technic, we are not trial worthy. Any help would be wonderful! Jill [This message has been edited by Bean (edited 03-08-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholla Posted March 8, 2001 Report Share Posted March 8, 2001 In conformation there are not "levels"to be in, unless you mean showmanship for young kids. That teaches the kid to show in conformation and is judged on how the kid prepares and presents the dog. The dog is not judged. For conformation you need a dog that conforms to a very specific physical standard before you may think of showing. That can be determined only by somebody that is showing there now. It would be very rare to find a border collie that conforms to that standard unless it was bred for it. The reason people here don't like the AKC is because they use border collies for what they were bred for, herding, and in AKC they breed them for one kind of looks only. When you breed for looks you lose the proper herding instinct. It is good to do as much as you can with your dog. Border collies do best with lots of attention. Of course they are best at herding. Good luck finding things to do with your dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 8, 2001 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2001 Thank you Cholla for clearing that up for me. I guess I knew I a lot less about conformation than I thought; I really doubt that my dog is AKC standard (although she's perfect to me). One of the most important things for me when I was looking for a bc was that it was from working parents; it doesn't make sense to get a bc for looks, kinda defeats the point. The breeder had her ABCA and AKC registered, I guess I was a little niave about the AKC thing, I thought it meant something. Is there a good reason to get your bc AKC registered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholla Posted March 8, 2001 Report Share Posted March 8, 2001 Yes some people are double registering with several registries, even some herding people, since they lost the challenge to the AKC. Sorry to say the AKC was high handed and was dealing with these other registries when it already knew that it was going to accept border collies for conformation. It was suggested that they called them some other name, like American border collies or so. For several years before that border collies were permitted to show in obedience and later when agility started in it too. To show any not AKC registered dog in AKC performance it has to be 6 months old, spayed or neutered and look like the breed you are registering it under. Then if you qualify AKC will give the dog an ILP number to show under.That is how border collies were showing before. Now of course some are registered directly. The trouble is that the breed will lose its herding instinct as bred by AKC breeders. They say they test for instinct but the test are not like working dogs get evaluated, not good enough. It is a sad situation and the USBCC is trying to convince enough people to keep some true, proven working lines clear. Hard to do when others double register and sell to AKC breeders. Only reason can be the extra money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest borderkatahdin Posted March 9, 2001 Report Share Posted March 9, 2001 here is an e-mail address of one of the members of the club near Iowa city. She could give you more information on their club and upcoming clinics. They have a few clinics coming up soon. gkheilenm@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu ------------------ Wendy Carlson Goldenoaks Farm carlson@qcconnect.com Aledo, IL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholla Posted March 9, 2001 Report Share Posted March 9, 2001 On your question on books, get: "The working border collie", by Margory Quarton. It has a tremendous amount of information in it. As far as applying that information to you or your dog, it is better if you work with a trainer, at least to start with. No sense on having to reinvent the wheel. Another book is:"The versatile border collie", by Janet Larson. These books are in all our stores here or you can order them. I am glad to see people wanting to do things with their dogs, it makes for a better dog and happier pair. You will learn things training that will help and satisfy you in ways you did not expect, so other people have said. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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