mum24dog Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 None of that breed nonsense in the Arena until the evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Whatever the dog is that is running right now is really cute! Some little merle thing with huge ears. Kind of looks BC but I don't think it is. do they have many mini aussies there? Now it's a sheltie running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Awesome. Thanks for the link. I just finished watching the last 3 teams (4 dog teams) of the large agility class. I noticed that the announcers noted when one of the border collies was a 'working sheepdog' - and there were at least 4 or 5 'working sheepdogs' within the last 3 teams (12 dogs). I am curious as to what kind of 'working sheepdog' they are - i.e. I would guess they are not out on the fells (not sure of the correct term) 365 days a year and are just pulled off to do a bit of agility? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I don't recall seeing anything merle that wasn't a BC today and I've seen all the agility.. No, there aren't any mini Aussies here (aren't they called mini Americans or something now) or the regular size here The few you see in agility tend to be heavier and noisier than BCs so not an advantage really. As an aside, I was looking at CPE to see what it was about and noted that Veterans are from 6 years! WTH (polite version). Prime of life. Some of the dogs competing at Crufts are nearly twice that age. I love Hank. I've seen someone here with a couple virtually identical but don't know her as she isn't from this area. If I see her again I'll ask her what hers are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 A working sheepdog is a border collie without papers. Just a technicality. There was a wide variety of type of collie in the teams - trial winner, show dog, sport bred, rescue, ex police sniffer dog (failed), farm bred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Maybe it was just a strange looking BC. It was very small and proportions seemed weird and it barked the whole time but clearly wasn't a sheltie either. I've certainly seen tiny BCs before. And loud ones. Yeah I wish I knew what Hank is! I registered him as an All American. I really meant to get a BC and I think I probably will when I go searching for the next dog (planning starting next year and spending a good amount of time looking- Hank was kind of a time crunch since I had to retire my agility dog at the same time... I don't want to be completely without agility) but he was fun and seemed like a good boy and at an age I could start training NOW so he came home with me. I like watching the 16"/medium dogs. Just see what's out there. There's a couple dogs around the US I'm aware of that I classify as 'Hanks'. Some sort of small, spotted things. Ime veterans depends on what venue. I think it is 7 in USDAA? Some venues have double digit veterans too. I didn't even run my 10 year old in veterans in USDAA. I just put her in preferred. At AKC agility nationals when I went to watch there were quite a few 10-14 year old dogs especially in smaller dogs. My pap's uncle is still pretty competitive at 12 years and my friend just finished her agility championship title in USDAA on her 11 year old BC. ETA: Do they usually call the chute a soft tunnel there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 There is no specific Veteran age here in KC agility but I don't know what the smaller organisations do. The KC lets the host show decide - more often than not it's 10, occasionally 9, or 10 for collies and 8 for non collies. Vet classes are just special classes. Our own dogs don't do veteran classes either. They compete as normal until they don't want to and then retire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I am still confused by the ABC classes. I saw that ABC agility is tomorrow. 845 Agility – Crufts Team – Medium Semi Finals (Agility) 930 Agility – Crufts Singles Heat – S/M/L (Jumping) 1025 Agility – Crufts Large Novice and Medium ABC Final (Agility) 1105 Rescue Dog Agility The stuff that was on today was mostly BCs/working sheepdogs in the large class but the medium had variety and even the larger dogs I saw a beardie. malinois, and a mix (they said collie cross but the dog was scruffy and kind of terrierish). Medium had spaniels, and terriers and shelties, etc. So... can you explain to me? Is the 'C' in ABC only BCs or would beardies and shelties (kelpies, whatever else) fall into 'collie'? What's the difference between the agility today and the agility tomorrow? So confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 OH!! Freestyle!! And a Border Collie! SCORE!!!! And a cool performance!! Must get back to Bandit's Freestyle training. I have neglected it lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 As an aside, I was looking at CPE to see what it was about and noted that Veterans are from 6 years! WTH (polite version). Prime of life. Some of the dogs competing at Crufts are nearly twice that age. They are taking all breeds into account on that. For dogs with a typical lifespan of 10 years, 6 years can absolutely be veterans. It is handler's choice to switch to vets or not. Tessa is "about six" and we have no thoughts of switching to vets anytime soon. For others, it is a good move at that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 ABC is Anything But a Collie and Collie means a BC / Working Sheepdog or a first cross. There was a dog that looked like a Beardie in one of the teams which I'm pretty sure is a Beardie x BC so it wouldn't be eligible for an ABC class but a full Beardie would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 The woman who is up now with an Old English Sheepdog is a Facebook friend of mine. I have no idea how we ended up connected, but she is super nice. Cool to see her performing in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 ABC is Anything But a Collie and Collie means a BC / Working Sheepdog or a first cross. There was a dog that looked like a Beardie in one of the teams which I'm pretty sure is a Beardie x BC so it wouldn't be eligible for an ABC class but a full Beardie would. If you have a non-BC can you pick to compete against the BCs? I'm assuming if you have a slower BC you're just SOL. EDIT: What about a case where you don't know the breed of your dog? Could be part BC or could be part some other similar breed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I'll answer in a bit. Got to watch a friend in the Junior final. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I'm assuming if you have a slower BC you're just SOL. EDIT: What about a case where you don't know the breed of your dog? Could be part BC or could be part some other similar breed? Those have consistently been two of my objections to the "Anything but a Border Collie" concept (but not my only ones) I am always a little extra proud of Tessa when she places above a Border Collie, but there are times when dogs of other breeds place above us, and there are times when Tessa Q's and none of the Border Collies in our class do. Just because it says "Border Collie" by her name doesn't mean we belong in some segregated Border Collie class. We don't. And yet, I WANT to run against the Border Collies with her!! I always had a blast when I ran her and Dean in the same class and I tried to beat my other dog with both of them!! Dean usually won, but, although never faster, sometimes Tessa was cleaner and she beat him. And yes - what do you do with the Border Collie mixes? Some are very Border Collie-ish and maybe should be in a segregated class with the Border Collies (if that's the way classes are divided), but some favor the other breed and should not be. Who gets to make that call? There really is no good way to do it. Or what about rescues of unknown origin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Or kelpies or koolies (which ime run pretty well identical to BCs). Some of the Belgians are really fast too as are some of the working aussies and the lighter ACDs. And in medium the sport bred shelties... And a lot of individuals of other breeds that are very fast. Field Goldens seem pretty popular here and seem to win quite often. I was just thinking about a dog in my class. Looks kind of Hank-like if Hank was part BC. Her DNA test (which I know isn't accurate always) came back terrier x 1/4th BC. She's a rescue with no known lineage. Acts very BC to me but is not that fast in agility (not slow but not super speedy). Built like a BC but only 20 lbs. Sooo.... where would she go? I'm loving watching the juniors, btw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 If you have a non-BC can you pick to compete against the BCs? I'm assuming if you have a slower BC you're just SOL. EDIT: What about a case where you don't know the breed of your dog? Could be part BC or could be part some other similar breed? Once in a blue moon there will be an ABC class, usually a Crufts or Olympia qualifier, otherwise all breeds compete against each other. Just a judgement call if you don't know for sure. If your dog looks like a BC or cross and works like a BC there are going to be objections and the class isn't intended for you. I can see the point of showcasing other breeds but the concept does seem rather patronising to me. And we get a lot of people whingeing about Kelpies, although there aren't as many around as there were a few years ago. Probably people have found that they aren't just point and shoot dogs. When I started there were quite a few successful Tervs and Groenendaels but you don't see them very often now. A few Malinois but not many really. ABCs inhabit a very fickle world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I'll answer in a bit. Got to watch a friend in the Junior final. First pole down and the fastest time! How frustrating. She'll take it in her stride though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Sorry, posted by mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 The police dog demo is really neat too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted March 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 I have trouble posting links on here so if you want today google Crufts 2015 You Tube Day 2 and similar for Days 3 and 4. The Crufts 2015 web site has the Arena programme so you can see what's on when our time. The other 5 huge halls have the rest of the activities, trade stands and breed showing. I'm not pushing our KC as a shining example of a ruling body but given the wrong headed premise on which it was formed it doesn't do too badly in non breed areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.