The Standard is the Standard

Mike Tomlin, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is known for his particular manner of speaking.  There is a Twitter account called Obviously Tomlin (@Tomlin_Sense) that does a good job of capturing it with a dry sense of humor that I enjoy even in these dark sports days in Pittsburgh (any day we're not challenging for a championship is a dark in Pittsburgh sports - we're a bit spoiled).  But he has a particular Tomlin-ism that is memorialized on the wall immediately outside the Steelers locker room:

The Standard is the Standard.

What does that mean?  Well, it means you go out on the field as Pittsburgh Steeler, you go out on the field to play like a champion always, because that's the standard here.

So, what made me think of that in relation to collies?  Well, because I've been involved in a few social media discussion threads that have gotten at times heated and there's always a few people who will hold that hard line: there is a breed standard, and if your dog does not meet that, then he or she is somewhat lesser.  Others, like me, I sense, are a horror to them.  I don't call out collie owners per se, I think any breed has personality types like this: the camp who are trying to maintain a standard and those of us who just love the breed and want a family dog (or three).  Now, before you go nuts, I do get it: there have to be standard bearers or the breed will disappear.  I watch dog shows and oooh and awww over those champions to exemplify the best of the best a breed has to offer with the best of them.  My dogs watch them intently too.  But I didn't realize until I got involved in collie groups on social media how much of a divide there can be between certain camps: the professional dog owner and the companion dog owner.

This may end up being the most controversial post I'll write here in my little dog blog that's supposed to be just a cute, fluffy dog story once a week.  But, this is what I think about all of that just about my own dogs.  Let the flared nostrils commence.

I have two rough collies and one mix, as many of you know.  So we'll take Geddy out of the conversation immediately since, while he is a beautiful dog with many of the collie traits and habits, he's got something else swimming around in his DNA.  Sirius is what's known as a Scottish Collie.  As much as I am constantly bemused by people who don't even know what breed he is, I am more shocked when people actually nail that.  I had someone stop us when we were out on a trail over the summer and knew enough to know in general what family of collie he hailed from.  My mouth literally dropped open.  Point being here, not all collies are alike in appearance, even within the collie standard.  Scottish Collies are bred to be working dogs - that sounds odd, I'm sure since all collies are herders by original intent.  But, Scottish Collies are thicker and a little more robust than what most people think of when they think of a collie (Lassie).  They have less of the long needle nose that collies personify, and that - for this type of collie - is indeed the standard.  Sirius is the city dog of his litter mates.  Most of the rest of his brothers and sisters are actually working at their intended jobs, so there is a legitimate reason of course to keep up the standard.  It's important that the herding mentality and the stamina to perform it continue to prevail.  I'm not discounting that.  Sirius is actually a great example of his breed standard, and he is a registered Scottish Collie.  So I am perhaps talking out of both sides of my mouth.

But...my dear rescue dog Rooney doesn't meet anyone's ideal standard.  She's purebred sable with a splash of merle in her coat, which makes her coat a hot mess actually.  The different "color" coats all, I've learned, have different tendencies (tricolors are easiest if you want my opinion), and the merle is more wiry, so she's got an odd mix of the sable and merle coat textures.  It doesn't show up in photos I've noticed, but if you ever meet her, you'll see it  - she always looks just slightly disheveled.  And he coat isn't that thick Farrah Fawcett poof that you see in the dogs below.  She's also slightly under-sized.  But, by God, her ears are tipped!

http://www.petpaw.com.au/breeds/collie-rough/

I've differed with others in some of the discussion threads about some of the things people do with their companion animals to maintain an expected standard.  Specifically that tipping of the ears.  I'll just put it out there: I do not tip my dogs ears.  Meaning, I don't do anything to make them keep that natural flop they have as puppies.  I made that decision when Ripley was a puppy, and for all the many years I hope to own the breed, unless someone gives me a really compelling reason to do it, I don't plan to.  And, I did do my due diligence and research to see if there was some reason that standard existed.  For example, do collie owners tip their dogs' ears to help keep them clean.  I couldn't find anything to support that.  Collie breeders will tell you that you have to do it because it's the collie standard.  People who work with me will tell you I like to the know the why of things.  Why is it the standard?  I'm not sure anyone really knows.  It's accepted that it is, so if you own this dog, it's what you're supposed to do.  Well, I didn't.  Rooney's ears stayed tipped naturally, but Ripley's ears stood straight up, as do Sirius'. 

I love collies, so I owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women over the years who have maintained the collie breed, but you know what, at the end of the day my Rooney is a precious to me as any collie is to anyone.  She's not perfect in some people's eyes, but to me she is an angel that I am fortunate enough to have in my life.

So...here's what my standard for my dogs is, and I will maintain it ferociously: I maintain my dogs to be healthy and happy companions for me and my family.  As long as they meet that standard, I feel like a champion every day.