Was in a garden centre today, talking to a couple of Reindeer - as you do - when a man walked passed with a most odd looking dog.
Imagine something the size and shape of a Whippet - but - with the droopy ears and fur coat of a Bedlington Terrier. It was a friendly little thing but it just looked odd to me. I asked if I could take a photo but the owner said no.
I do wish breeders wouldn’t mix up the gene pool in this way.
Lots of odd dogs around now. They cost a fortune to, to me they are mongrels what ever mix the breeds are.
You can’t beat mixing up the gene pool, some pedigree breeds are completely ruined by using too small a pool and some breeders have a lot to answer for…
I quite agree. That said our dog, Max, was from a rescue centre. We can’t be certain of his breeding.
I’ve only ever had rescue doggies, a brown one and two black uns. Never though about a breed, just looked at their paws to get some idea how big they might be when fully growed.
My dog came from .a rescue he is a border collie .
I foresee there will be lots of dogs coming into rescues when people get tired of their pandemic pets .
I digress and apologise. The rescue centre said that Max was part Lurcher. I don’t see it but he is a big tall fellow compared to some other collies.
Like our Brandy. She came from a rescue centre & acted like a Collie, looked like one, but like your Max but very long in the leg.
Brandy, where she wasn’t allowed 
& as a pup.
Mungo is quite tall too but there are border collies bigger than him I always thought they were short little dogs but not all it’s seems .I think it’s because many have the collie crouch which they use to eyeball sheep so you tend to think they are smaller.
Muddy, I dont know about nowadays, but years ago the KC wouldnt ‘recognise’ Border Collies so they had no breed standard, and that is why they came in all shapes and sizes.
You could register them on the working dogs register only, but not on the breed register.
I am out of touch these days, but i have a feeljng they are now ‘recognised’ by the KC. Do you know if this is so?
In a way, i think some breeds of dog might have been better off not having a breed standard to follow, at least they would not all be like clones then!
Tabs, it was quite likely a Beddie/Whippet cross. It is a common cross and can be really nice.
I believe the gipsies like to cross Beddies with their Whipets and Greyhounds. Two working breeds rolled into one make fast and light footed coursing dogs.
He’s a handsome dog!!!
Well, thank you kindly Mink. Yes, I do think that he is a handsome fellow. Other people comment on that. But Lurcher I don’t see in him. Nor other weird looking dogs.
I agree, Besoeker. Max looks all Collie to me, too.
Max is very handsome - and very special!
I do so agree, look how the KC insisting on breed standards have ruined so many dogs shapes, not to mention breathing & other health problems.
Yes Tiff, because some breeders - along with nutty show judges - take these breed standards to extremes, then get rewarded for it.
I mostly blame the show judges for rewarding these unhealthy specimens with silver cups and red rosettes!
Health and temperament will always been far more important to me than whether the tail is an inch too long/short, or not!
Even recently, well, fairly, in the 60’s, when my friend showed her Groenendael’s & her dog was beautiful, they chose a dog that wasn’t a good representative of the breed. They hadn’t been in this country long then, the judge had no idea.
If you have a very old copy 1940’s of the Observers Book Of Dogs, you can see how much a lot of the breeds in there have changed over the years.
I am afraid I just don’t believe in these so called standards .
After seeing the winner of crufts represented by a nervous ,hump backed to the point of deformity German shepherd bitch a few years ago I was disgusted by the whole set up …
I agree @Muddy I was shocked when that GSD won at Crufts, what a terrible endorsement of unhealthy breeding practices by the Kennel Club, who should be in the business of promoting the breeding of healthy animals, rather than pandering to nothing more than cosmetic appearance at the expense of the health of the animal. But having said that, how on earth did they find that terribly deformed GSD attractive? The mind boggles… 
