#youll also notice that in europe roughs and smooths are different breeds and smooths look much more similar to american dogs than british

[kangals]

oughhhh rough collie time:

so 1st dog, the tri, was the 2023 best of breed at crufts

2nd dog, sable, was the 2022 best of breed at crufts

3rd dog, dark sable, was the 2022 best of breed at the national dog show (US)

so - i do like the 2023 pick much more than the 2022 pick. 2022 dog had a super extreme/overdone coat, just a ton of bulk. some of that can be attributed to the fact that he's a male while the 2023 collie is female, but a lot of it is just what they bred for. as the 22 dog was doing his lap the commentators stating how the coat should be weatherproof and shouldn't obscure the outline of the dog at all, which was like... are you purposefully saying this for the dissonance or are you implying that this is true. ick.

i put the 3rd dog in there as an example of the difference between american and british types. part of it is grooming - american dogs will be very thoroughly bathed and brushed out, while british dogs are supposed to look more natural (which also leads to breeding for loads and loads of coat to achieve volume, whereas american dogs just get backbrushed for the same effect). just look at the difference in the mass of the hair on the rear legs! but i think you can also very clearly see the difference in the faces as well, especially between the two sable dogs! british dogs have a shorter muzzle, more pronounced stop, higher forehead, and much more slanted, fox-like eyes. american dogs have a longer and more wedge-shaped head with small, almond-shaped eyes. they also tend to be a bit larger.

anyway, i liked this years crufts girl, not anything super unique though. i mostly just hope the OES doesnt win bc i hate wet shaggy dog faces.

#'country of origin decides the breed standard' is i think a very good rule and important to adhere to #except for collies i am taking collies away from the british leave them alone #fun fact: both countries dogs used to be very similar in appearance to modern AKC dogs up until the 70s/early 80s #but then the KC people decided to go in a different direction and now a KC and an AKC dog look very distinct imo #youll also notice that in europe roughs and smooths are different breeds and smooths look much more similar to american dogs than british #and thats bc the smoothie people didnt follow the same new breeding trend that the roughs were #*also not to say AKC collies cannot be overly-coated for example look at any wyndlair dog BUT its generally a less extreme level