I do show my dogs in the breed ring, my purpose is to keep working bred dogs in the ring so that the judges don’t forget that Border Collies are not Aussies with tails…
Ember, Haily, Katie and Elijah are AKC Conformation Champions. Bree and Matilda are UKC Show Champions, Lucy has her UCI National Championship. Kitty, Matilda and Bindi have AKC points, Kiss was almost done with her AKC Conformation Championship before her early departure to the Rainbow Bridge, proof that a working dog can be structurally correct too.
My real interest in conformation is to have a structurally sound dog that doesn’t break down over time due to poor structure that hinders the dog. I’ve noticed that border collies that are put together nicely seem to run cleaner and many times faster (not always) in Agility. I don’t mean pretty dogs, just dogs that are clean movers. I do like pretty dogs; but that is my last concern. Good structure is important to preserve the breed and to have the ultimate Border Collie. I also have a few young Australian line girls that are very nicely put together that I chose to match with my Irish herding dogs. Review the AKC’s new Border Collie Standard online for details.