Jump to content
BC Boards

What Is Your First Thought When You See These Ears?


Guest Aria The Border Collie
 Share

Recommended Posts

Keeper's mom had radar dishes at 8 weeks, dad had airplane ears. As far as I know, none of his littermates (litter of 9) have prick ears. In fact, Keeper's are more erect than most. He tried on the prick ear look, particularly the one up one down look. It made him look so regal and serious, which didn't fit his personality at all. Airplanes were/are my least favorite, but they look perfect on him. And it doesn't matter anyway, it's what's between them that counts! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 80
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Just for the record, I don't believe the AKC standard lists a particular ear set either, but show judges tend to put up tipped eared dogs and because breeders can't seem to set that trait genetically, you see lots of ridiculous gluing of ears to force them into a tipped ear. Those ears never look natural. This is part of the reason some are so rabid about not "requiring" a particular ear set. I love prick ears but can't imagine taping, bracing, gluing, tying with yarn, etc., just to get a look that is irrelevant to anything but my personal preference. I think that's what people are trying to say about the KC mindset....

 

J.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^^ Beautiful photo. What a handsome boy!

 

I love the phrase "ear du jour". Nattie has the silliest ears, they never can decide what they want to do from day to day. I love prick ears and will just have to be happy that my GSD has them, little Miss Nat's ears have a mind of their own!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys! The variety of "looks" BC's can have is one of the things I find intguing about the breed, although of course that has nothing to do with their working ability which is what I find most amazing and fascinating!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not surprised. A little disappointed that a conversation can't just be about her comical ear set and the possibility for them to go up or down. AKC came up, I actually dismissed it since it's not relevant to how she was bred as the Australian standard is different and has no requirement of ears (which were the original topic of conversation).

I tried. It failed. Probably won't try again since I believe in 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me'.

 

 

So, I guess it's wrong to suspect that you posted this because you're looking to better reiterate your annoyance from the first time? It's reading a bit that way from my end. Maybe I'm wrong...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Aria The Border Collie

 

So, I guess it's wrong to suspect that you posted this because you're looking to better reiterate your annoyance from the first time? It's reading a bit that way from my end. Maybe I'm wrong...

I tried to have a conversation about something totally unrelated to working ability or the AKC in an attempt to see if it was possible to be part of this group and not get the same speech all the time but it seems not. I thought this forum would be a great resource for BC owners of all walks but I can't handle the anti-AKC shit on all posts (not that I even care about the AKC anyway, but it's too many of a constant presence to not be annoying). The tag line of "but it doesn't change working capability" seems to be a pet peeve of mine as I'm sure most people wouldn't even notice it. So this will be my last post as the knowledge of this many lovers of the breed is not worth the rise in blood pressure I get with most posts.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Nor do we tend to engage in discussions about the genetics involved in producing meaningless qualities that are preferred in any show rings, anywhere.

 

That is not true at all; there have been many non critical threads about coat colour genetics which I find ironic. How come that is OK but not speculation about ear set?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the cat lady a poster? I'm gonna go look, because I bred Persians for a while years ago and lord, those people would eat you alive without batting an eye. Lol

I do sympathize with aria the border collie's post though, this board is extremely unified in its position and unconcerned with repetition to an extreme. Not saying that's bad, just stating a fact. I actually respect that and all the time it takes people like GentleLake to explain, explain, explain, - without being insulting. In a world where standards are constantly being torn down or dumbed down in favour of common opinion it's a huge relief to hear defenders say "no, uh uh, wrong, it's NOT this way, it's that way, no budging".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried to have a conversation about something totally unrelated to working ability or the AKC in an attempt to see if it was possible to be part of this group and not get the same speech all the time but it seems not. I thought this forum would be a great resource for BC owners of all walks but I can't handle the anti-AKC shit on all posts (not that I even care about the AKC anyway, but it's too many of a constant presence to not be annoying). The tag line of "but it doesn't change working capability" seems to be a pet peeve of mine as I'm sure most people wouldn't even notice it. So this will be my last post as the knowledge of this many lovers of the breed is not worth the rise in blood pressure I get with most posts.

 

It's knee jerk reaction from some. I haven't seen anything objectionable to the ethos of this board in your musings about ear set. Your mention of show ring standards was factual and didn't imply any approval or otherwise to me.

 

I had hoped my pup would have pricked ears like his dam. His sire has pricked ears most of the time. I fear I am not going to get my wish - at 6 months they are still tipped, only up when he leans back to look up at me. Oh well, never mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One reason, I believe, that people often reiterate the "anti-AKC" or "anti-show" mantra is not necessarily to repudiate the OP of a topic (like this one) but rather keeping in mind that there are also lurkers and new (or potential new) members, to avoid giving the wrong impression by seeming to endorse something contrary to the board philosophy.

 

Just my opinion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But there are ways of putting it that don't drive people away.

 

Not everyone needs a ton of bricks dumped on them for what someone thinks they mean rather than what they have actually said.

Yup. This. It was brought up a couple times in the thread, acknowledged and moved past. Did it need to be brought up again? How can you win over newcomers to your point of view if you overwhelm them with it when they post? If she was talking about taping ears or breeding for earset then I'd understand it. But it just seemed like a fun post about ears to me...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is one of those times I wonder if I haven't simply gone beyond my "best if used by" date, become too insensitive to the sensibilities of others (or, to be blunt, become too strident and rude), and should just throw in the towel as so many others have done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup. This. It was brought up a couple times in the thread, acknowledged and moved past. Did it need to be brought up again? How can you win over newcomers to your point of view if you overwhelm them with it when they post? If she was talking about taping ears or breeding for earset then I'd understand it. But it just seemed like a fun post about ears to me...

 

Me too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is one of those times I wonder if I haven't simply gone beyond my "best if used by" date, become too insensitive to the sensibilities of others (or, to be blunt, become too strident and rude), and should just throw in the towel as so many others have done.

 

It wasn't aimed at you Sue. You are one of nature's pacifiers - or at least that's how you come over to me. For all I know you could scream shout and throw things at the slightest provocation in private, but I've seen no evidence of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I probably have no reason to discuss this, but I will anyway. I fully support the working-bred dog, I think there's no other creature like it. But the vicious anti-AKC comments can be incredibly off-putting. I've said it before, but I think it's worth repeating since the topic is coming up. So many people come to this board with innocent questions or introductions about the dog that they love ever so much, only to be told that their discussions are worthless. "These things wouldn't matter if you had a REAL dog".

 

I wish it were possible to have discussions on physical aspects of the dog without it turning into a "Why do you care about that? None of those things matter in a working dog!" contest. I think it's essentially impossible to mistake this board as an AKC-friendly place. Practically every other post has some negative statements about non-working-bred dogs. I, for one, am fascinated by lots of things that have no effect on a dog's working abilities. I love talking ear set, coat length, color genetics, all of it! Does it have any importance to a dog's working ability? No! Does that mean I don't still really enjoy a conversation about it? Of course not! I took this thread in particular to be an innocent question that was spoiled by a conversation that didn't need to be here. I even love talk of conformation (insert gasp here). No, I don't mean AKC conformation. I mean the relations of angles to a dog's movement, long backs and short backs, long legs and short legs, all of that! If it's a part of a dog, I want to talk about it. I know there are plenty of board members, including very prominent ones, who partake in discussions on facebook pages dedicated to structure. It may be my stupid opinion, but I think there's plenty more to talk about and there's no reason some discussions should be taboo when they're in no way supportive of show/sport breeding.

 

I, too, get frustrated when little anti-AKC jabs are thrown in for no other reason than reiterating someone's already crystal clear stance on such matters. I know I mean nothing to most of the people on this board, but I think this is a big problem. At this point this board gives off a strong "my way or the highway" vibe, which is what many people want. But there are *SO* many people who come on here with non-working-bred dogs who are immediately attacked and thrown away rather than educated. I am absolutely not saying that anyone should change their viewpoints. Heck, I share them! The thought of show/sport bred dogs makes me ill, it's ruining what the breed was developed for. But, if anyone really cares about the breed I would think they would try to educate and encourage people to consider a true working-bred dog instead of chastising them for their choices. They already love their dog, telling them that their dog is sub-par is a quick and easy way to shut off all communication.

 

So in case anyone actually cares about what I say, I'm just asking for people to think twice before spewing anti-AKC stuff in places where it doesn't belong. There's no reason to shut out someone and their tip earred lilac merle AKC bred dog, even if you don't agree with the breeding practices behind that dog. In everyone's eyes they have the most beautiful, perfect dog in the world. If you tell them that whatever went into making their perfect dog was unjust, they're never going to believe you. You have to show them why there are OTHER great dogs with even better backgrounds, rather than putting down their dog or their dog's breeder. There are certainly places where AKC discussions DO belong and everyone should see the "Read This First" portion of the site. But the fastest ways to burn bridges are to make people feel unwelcome. In 10 years that person with the lilac merle could turn out to be the next greatest handler, or the agility person who introduces others to a true working-bred dog.

 

*Edit*: Uh oh, this is a very long post. I'm sure I'll get crucified.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...