I wanna talk shepherds with you, if you have a moment! The first dogs I ever fell in love with were border collies (my uncle's showline dogs), my friend's GSD mix, and both a heeler mix and a couple wonderful GSDs from when I worked in boarding. It's been suggested to me that I would find a R/S collie a wonderful fit for me but I have only met one (he was perfect BTW) so I'm wondering your thoughts on the breed and if you have any comparisons to GSDs or BCs specifically?

big ol' asterisk first that i have not spent extended amounts of time with GSDs or BCs, so my answer is probably going to be very vague, as most of my impressions from those breeds are from short interactions, or what i've observed of them in a vet hospital (which i know is not a great showcase of character).

i would not say that collies and GSDs are very similar to live with, but that's also going to really depend on the type of GSD you're used to - there's such a variety of personalities between police K9s, working/sporting lines, BYB messes, generic pet-bred dogs, and showlines. in my experience GSDs tend to be much more blunt in their communication - i feel like you always know what they're asking for, or what they're unhappy about. and there's also the fact that GSDs are (generally) going to default to Bitey Time and standing their ground if they feel pushed, and that is very opposite of a collie. i am not at all a GSD person, but my favorite one i've ever spent time with was a showline dog - he was enormous, and mellow, and stunningly beautiful, and i'm sure true-blue working GSD people would have hated him, but i thought he was a great dog (draw what conclusions you want from that). i don't vibe with dogs that come off really strong, which is why i like sighthounds and collies a lot - they're both more subtle in their behavior. i would not call a GSD subtle lol.

the collie/BC comparison is a bit closer, with the main difference being 'sharpness', i think. IME a collie is going to be much more tolerant - of handling, of other animals, of their environment, of training. they are sensitive dogs and can shut down if the wrong buttons are pushed, but it's generally easy to see that happening and they can also recover well with patience. collies are very polite dogs at heart, and avoid conflict. not to say they don't have their snarky or feisty sides (@ stellina) but when shit gets serious, they will almost always back away from conflict. some people want a dog with a little more fire - those people i'd probably steer away from collies. but some people (like me) like having a dog that's a pacifist at heart, because it makes them very safe and easy dogs to live with. i have zero tolerance for aggression (human or animal), so a dog that's socially fluid is super important to me.

(keep in mind that none of this excludes confidence - some collie lines have issues with fear and anxiety. a well-bred collie should be a pacifist, but confident and polite. if they startle, they recover. their curiosity and intelligence helps them stay adaptable, so while issues like reactivity and fearfulness can still be an issue, they really shouldn't be.)

i think what really sets a collie apart from other herders is that inherent politeness - it really softens a lot about them and, unlike most other herding breeds, it's what allows them to be such good candidates for service and therapy work. IMO a collie is kind of a best of both worlds for herding dogs - they are smart and silly and up for trying on new challenges and adventures, but they're also easy and flexible and not demanding. they let you know what they're feeling, but aren't in-your-face. if you particularly like a dog with a lot of sharpness and resilience, a collie's probably not the best fit. if you want an active companion and don't mind the flexibility that's required for raising a "soft" dog, i think a collie works great! definitely try to spend some time with them if you can, i really fell in love with the breed once i started meeting them.

tl;dr i wouldn't say collies are super similar to GSDs or BCs, but if you like the core herding dog personality just wrapped up in a squishy sensitive layer, then you'll like a collie.

My friend’s Border Collie, Puzzle, is a goof. 

She is actually one of the sweetest dogs I know

Tbf that border collie is the wrong shape, this is clearly a showline purebred BC:

Overcome with my annual yearning for a whippet mix or silken windhound. Every so often for 5 yrs or so this has happened. I'm just so certain I'd click with them!!!!!

What kicked it off this time was:

showline border collie x showline whippet oops litter when I can't house a puppy (hmu if you want to co-own one tho 👀)

and then today a bunch of rescue silkens becoming available. I emailed and the only ones that still need placement are over 10 yrs and the farm and dogs here would be too much for them..... :'(

Dogblr Inktober Day 2 - “A dogblr of a breed you really want to own”

Today’s picture is of @the-cosmic-ray !

While I already know my next dog is going to be another Chinese Crested or another German Shepherd, I wanted to draw something a little different than those comfort zone dogs. I’m also really interested in a Border Collie! Moreso a sporty version rather than am. showline. Cosmo is a handsome boy I recommend following!

(Side note, my editing to try to color match my photos reallly shows off imperfections lol. It looks better irl)

Skvetta is so adorable! She looks like a sweet little princess! Honestly, I'm considering a border collie because of her! (I didn't realize they had a more mellow showline variant, haha). I just really love Skvetta and I admire you a whole lot

❤❤❤

I love showline borders.

Hi there! I'm looking into dog breeds for a puppy in the nearish future and was wondering if you'd be willing to tell me a bit about your collies? Someone recommended smooths to me and I'm interested in learning more about them.

sure, i love to talk about collies :) let me know if you have any specific questions about the breed! and you can check out smoothexression.tumblr.com/tagged/save for other posts about collies i’ve made over the years. basically they’re a medium/large herding breed with medium energy and drive levels, which can make them a little more accessible than other herding breeds, but they won’t be the high level sport champs that breeds such as border collies, aussies, or gsds can become. however they are very intelligent, trainable, and very in tuned to their handler. so they love some good training bonding, and can enjoy in a large number of sports!. collies have very soft temperaments so while training, i suggest looking up LIMA (least invasive, minimally aversive) training techniques. for particularly sensitive or aloof collies, they can need some very creative training to bring out their inner brainiacs. even tho i say they’re a “medium energy breed” there is a lot of variation in lines, so it’s important to talk about what temperaments are typical of the breeder’s dogs. (think calm lazy fox, vs crazyass dana. two very different breeders, two very different dogs, same breed!) young collies are famously easy to potty train, and while i mostly hear about showline puppies being easy and calm in the house, i know lots of people w/ farm collie type puppies that have been very demanding and destructive when under stimulated. collies are known to be aloof with strangers and vocal, considered to be good guard dogs w/o aggression (they’ll let you know someone’s on the property, but they won’t do anything about it but bark, basically) they generally have low prey drive, and are generally good with other dogs and same sex aggression isn’t considered to be a huge issue w/ the breed. their herding style is loose-eyed driving, so they do have a herding drive, but they’re not as likely to stalk (like a border collie) or nip (like a corgi or cattle dog) at any children in your life. they are generally considered to be good w/ children, but they are big dog, and accident can happen, and i don’t think you need me to tell you that even the most mellow collie will have it’s breaking point.i’m sure you’ve heard about early socialization w/ puppies, and with collies it couldn’t be more crucial. while of course you  should take care to select a reputable breeder who has pups with lovely temperaments, it’s important to put in the extra work to really build on the cornerstone your breeder set for you. being so sensitive, collies can easily tend towards fearfulness, and that can devolve into fear reactivity. they can experience bad separation anxiety, nervous barking, sound sensitivity, fear of change/new things/strangers/literally anything. breeding, socialization, and positive, compassionate training is so crucial. i hope this is a good summary! lmk if you’d like to know something more specific! 

» Border Collie ‘V’-litter (with ’plant’ themed names)«

DOB: 09 March 2019 ♦ Border Collie, rough-haired ♦ 1 male and 1 female

Out of Dragonstone's Styx von den Pixelpfoten and sired by Pixietail's Footloose of Elite (owned by Mionlach Kennel).

About the parents: Styx is a more rarely seen seal-white colored bitch. She was born in our kennel and we’re very proud about having her as dam for this litter. Styx is a bit stubburn like her sire Mephisto. She knows exactly when it’s worth the work and when it isn’t it. She has excellent herding skills. Sometimes she’s a bit too near or too harsh to the sheeps, but with the time she learned to be more restrained. Sadly we hadn’t the time to show her in many trials but we’ll try to be more active after her litter. Styx is reserved to stranges, she’s neutral or friendly to other dogs and she’s very loyal to us. Footy is a very beautiful red-merle-tri dog with stunning blue eyes. As we saw him the first time, we were immediately fascinated about him. He’s a showlined dog with some very popular dogs in his pedigree. Footy can also work hard, he competed in shows and trials and he already won BISS.!

About the puppies: It’s the first litter for Styx. She was earlier friendly to the puppies of our other bitches and she liked to play with their puppies. Styx’ pregnancy was uncomplicated. On the 09 march she gave birth to two proper puppies. The birth was a bit stressfull but in the end all went good. The first born puppy, a female, is seal-white colored like Styx (aka Verbena). And the second puppy is a blue-merle-white boy (aka Viburnum). Both puppies gained in the first days more and more weight and we’re sure, both are healthy and active proper puppies. =)

This litter is special for us because we use our new kennel name ‘Lux Aeterna’ the first time and these puppies are ~ 75 % showline (we usually have mostly working lined pups). So, we’re very excited about their future. And a special thank you to Mionlach Kennel for this handsome sire (and also for creating the pups together!).

» Lux Aeterna Verbena of Mionlach ♀

Seal-white, showing typed, rough-haired

Eyecolor: brown/brown

Size: 52 cm

Genotype Color: Ee Bb Dd Kk Ayat mm sisi cchcch tt sese ATAT

Traits: Loyal, Genious and Friendly

Owner: Mionlach Kennel

We first thought that she’s a black-white girl but after a few days we saw a brownish shade (which we know from her mother Styx). Vera will move to her father Footy as soon as she’s 8 weeks old. In the meanwhile she’s a cheeky puppy and full of joie de vivre! =) Vera is interested in new surroundings and both puppies try to be the first one when it comes to treats, toys and much more. We’re sure she’ll enchaunt all future peoples in her life with her cute expression!

» Lux Aeterna Viburnum of Mionlach ♂

Blue-merle-white, showing typed, rough-haired

Eyecolor: blue/blue

Size: 54 cm

Genotype Color: Ee Bb DD Kk Ayat mm Ssi cchcch tt sese ATAT

Traits: Loyal, Genious and Adventurous

Owner: stays

Numi is the second born pup and he’ll stay with us. After around two weeks we saw the first time his beautiful blue eyes and we hope that these will stay (and they stayed...). x) He’s like his sister full of ‘nice’ ideas and both test out everything - nothing is safe from them! We’ve the feeling that we see in him also some similarities to Mephisto, his grand father (dam’s line), so his growing up will be thrilling for us. We’re also excited if he’ll get maybe some protection skills.

We’re sure that both puppies will have a lot of talent for herding and obedience because of their very versatile parents.

FB discussion on Belgian size

I’ve heard of discussions of “the large, straight-backed German shepherds of my youth”, but in the Belgian grooming FB page there was a discussion about whether the Belgians have gotten smaller over the years.

The general consensus of the breeders who answered is that their dogs now are about the same size as their dogs were in the 80s and 90s.

A few people did mention that they’d noticed that dogs are getting smaller. These all tended to say that their dogs have “more bone”. Some lamented the current “loss of bone”. One had females in the 60 pound range, and another had 80-90 pound males.

One person said that they are “smaller, more refined, more square”, and “heads became more important”. This is something that I’ve really noticed when looking at showline Belgians versus working Belgians (since I am a member of both working and show FB groups). The working dogs tend to be a bit longer in the body, and they have more shepherd-like heads, while I would consider the showline dogs to have more collie-like heads. I’ve also noticed that the workingline dogs tend to have ears that are a bit larger and farther apart than showlines. It’s really interesting to compare the differences.

I want to be clear that I think that showline Belgians are beautiful. I’m getting into the workinglines myself, but damn I like a nice showline Belgian. I think their heads are very pretty.

One person brought up that the smaller dogs might have difficulties performing police work. I’m in no way qualified to comment on this, but they also mentioned that the dogs may have difficulty herding, but I find this hard to believe since border collies can be pretty freaking small, and there are of course working corgis, and they are able to perform their duties with no issues. The breeder I’m getting from specifically breeds her dogs on the small side of standard so that they last longer in agility. A smaller size means less impact on the joints from all the landings.

And then one of the last commentors said, “Among a group of dogs that’s arguably barely breeding enough litters to provide a population large enough to maintain genetic diversity and the health of the breed, cutting off dogs based on an inch or so from the ideal size seems sort of like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Of all the attributes to focus on eliminating , height differences are extraordinarily low on my list of priorities.“

The entire thread can be read here, for those interested.

*sees yet another post about working lines vs show lines*

Well I guess it’s time for dogblr to partake in one of their favourite hobbies: insulting other people’s dogs!

This girl and her littermates were the result of the collie from the farm down the road escaping into my friend's garden. Neuter your dogs ppl. That's not to say that Lady isn't amazing. But her owners suddenly had to find homes for 7 out of the 8 puppies that were completely unexpected.

how about a borber cobbly

Hate | Not my type | ok | Good | Great! | One of my Favorites! | I LOVE THEM!!

Good one!! They are the smartest and yet the DUMBEST dogs I’ve ever met. Some of the first dogs I encountered in life were Border Collies, and I’ve since known several, and they’ve kinda been all over the place imo.

As examples, the Borber Cobbly my nearest uncle had when I grew up, a big sturdy boy named Mass, was the sweetest and kindest dog in the world. He loved everyone and never held any ill will towards anything, not that I knew of. My other uncle’s Barber Corners, Teddy and Max, alternating, were more prone to spending visits at Grandma’s crouching under the kitchen table, growling at children walking past. They were all working Bauble Carols - I come from a long long (long long) line of farmers.

I think, if I wasn’t where I am, I might be looking into a showline Banjo Cover - not so much because of their looks but because I’m not a trainer and not planning to become one, and I have no livestock to work. Beehive Clusters, despite having been among the most popular breeds for many many decades and having been registered and bred for even longer, weren’t accepted in Norwegian show rings until 2014, and so there hasn’t been time to establish showline or non-working lines yet.

Thing is, though, if that certain kind of Blue Carkey were to fall into my lap, that hefty and slightly mellower kind, I probably wouldn’t be any happier with any other dog.

what breed are you looking at for studs? are you still going the farm collie route?? i’m so excited to see who kestrel will be paired with and their babies!!!!

I talked more in depth with the owner of the farmcollie mix. Turns out he wouldn't bring out the best in Kestrel specifically. I still hope to use him for another girl! He isn't amazing with other dogs, and she's a resource guarder with other dogs. Neither of them have actually fought but I don't want to double up on it. I'd rather use a stud for her who is super tolerant

Which! The 2 I'm considering are! One is a showline papillon, and one is a pet line border collie. The pap would be a one-off, not bred back into my spitz farmcollie program, but the border could be.

Like I said, they're both working service dogs. Natural and trained alerts, psych tasks, and several others. I think that says a lot about their base temperaments. No matter how much training you put into some dogs, they'll never be stable and focused enough for service work. Going everywhere their owners do and performing well. But these boys are. Neither were bought specifically for service work, they just impressed their disabled handlers so much they decided to go for it!

If you've followed me for a while you know how exceptional the border collie has to be for me to consider him 😅

Both studs are pending different things (artificial insemination logistics for the papillon, and finishing up health testing for the BC)