rushdoggie Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 Compare the photos of my female, Rocket, to the "english" lab. Rocket has a pedigree full of field trial champions. Her grandmother was a dual American and Canadian field trial champion. Her grandfather was a nationals finalist. And yet my girl is confused for a mutt. Does it look like that dog could half of what she can do? Laughable! Rocket is stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 "English" type lab? Who decided on that insult? Overfed show type or working, that's all. Far more working where I live and I even know some show bred dogs that look more like working bred than anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvmycash Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 A lot of folks ask me about the different "types" of labradors. When we say American, British, or Irish, it's in reference to their bloodlines. English just describes the look that we describe as big boned and block headed. Where your British labs can look like Americans and vice versa, it really is just a reference to their bloodlines. Most of your "English type" labs are indeed Americans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 To me the lab is a British working breed from Canadian ancestry according to the history of the breed. It's good to see that you have some real labs over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 A conversation I had with some sheep breeders--very nice people, wonderful sheep--who had a seriously overweight lab. Me: "Wow, he's a big boy." (Couldn't feel his ribs of you tried) Them: "Oh, he's not fat, he's an English type. They're supposed to be big and blocky," I just changed the subject. On the subject of border collies, I was at a Tommy Wilson clinic once and someone was there with a border collie that was a good 10-15 pounds overweight. I made a polite comment about the dog being big and the owner responded with the "fact" that the dog was all muscle. Um, yeah. I could claim the same thing about my overweight self, but no one would believe me, lol! Calling the lab a British breed would be like us calling the border collie and American or Australian breed, wouldn't it? As far as I'm concerned the lab is a Canadian breed. Other countries may have developed their own "lines" but that doesn't change the fact that the breed originated in Canada. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smalahundur Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 i would just tell my stepdad, talk is cheap, let's find us some livestock, and see... I just wanted to say seeing all of these weird dogs makes me so greatful that I live in and area that offers me the working versions of Labs and BCs.However my stepdad continues to argue with me that my working bred cow dog border collie Lily will not be able to herd better on instinct and catch on faster than his overweight ACK GSDs. His reasoning is that I've trained her for agility so she lost all instincts to herd when I chose to do a sport over herding, which just watching her is obviously not true... The GSDs couldn't herd anything if their life depended on it. >.< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 Dear Doggers, The Rothschild Natural History Museum at Tring has a collection of taxidemied dogs from the late 19th-early-20th century including a Scotch Collie which could be a yellow Border Collie or the Witloff (sp?)Collie once found in Ireland. Donald McCaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simba Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 How 'blocky' does a dog have to be that you can't feel their ribs? And since when does any normal dog or human put on a layer of solid muscle OVER their ribs, such that you can't feel them? People who say things like that just irritate me. "Your smooth-coated terrier is so underweight! Look, she's panting after a hard run and I can see her last few ribs!" Cass C- ask your stepdad how many GSDs are winning in the big sheepdog trials these days... Donald McCaig- tell me more? All I've heard about as a traditional collie breed in Ireland is the Wicklow collie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 Dear Doggers, Thanks ms.mr Siba for the Wicklow correction. I've only seen pictures, never one in the flesh. Donald McCaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simba Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 I have no idea if that is the same one, there could be both a Witloff and a Wicklow collie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 Nope. Correction correct. Don't know if there's any Wicklows left. Donald McCaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simba Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 It's certainly still being used as a sales term, which is where I've seen it, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 Sales term? Donald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 Old Pop hunted with black dogs that I presumed were Labs. They were pretty tough old dogs. They had interesting fur, almost like an otters. They were unreg. Where I live there are unreg working cow dogs, look like big border collies and work like them. I wonder where and when they came here? I have seen malamutes that folks were breeding for fun, but they had really weird fluffy fur. Kinda flyaway and long. Having had village dogs and other assorted sled dogs when we ran our team, I know that fur would collect snow. Not a good thing. To me, I would love any sound, sane dog that can do my work. And work all day in all weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 Tea, the cowdogs may be McNabs. Came to California during the gold rush. Donald McCaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 hum, ok...I'm in WA But I bet the dogs I saw working cattle in the mountains of Calif when I was a child were McNabs. Did the McNabs make it up here ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 Been a while since I saw much about them - I think a few and Border ColliexMcNab have been sold at Red Bluff. Donald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 Sheepdogging Geezer, these folks haven't been hardly to Spokane. These are old families been here a while and don't really move around alot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 Dear Thea, Never been to Spokane myself. Always did want to see the Big City. I think the McNabs were wide spread up and down the left coast in the late 19th, early 20th century. I've seen 19th century pictures of collie dogs on Montana sheep ranches in the 1890's. There were probably as many 19th century collie varieties as British shires and I expect many imported shepherds to the Intermountain west imported their collies with them. A Montanan bragged about one local breed, "the little blue dog" Donald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 ok, thanks makes sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 There are a lot of dogs here sold as cow dogs that are a combination of border collie/kelpie/heeler/mcnab and/or hangin tree. Disclaimer I know nothing about them or how good they are. I just seem them advertised quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simba Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 'Wicklow collie' is being used to sell pups, but sometimes they seem to be registered border collie pups, I am not sure how far it is a marketing term. I can't comment one way or the other, though I would always be suspicious of adverts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted October 7, 2015 Report Share Posted October 7, 2015 Dear Ms/Mr Simba, Ireland? Donald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simba Posted October 8, 2015 Report Share Posted October 8, 2015 Yup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfreda Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 Is Wicklow a breed or is it the county in Ireland in which BC puppies are for sale? 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.