Lets talk about construction
Having listened, watched and answered many questions on this subject, i have begun to realise very few people appreciate correct construction.
Therefore i shall try to create within these pages a better understanding of basic construction in the Collie Breed, hopefully this will help new comers to follow the Breed Standard.
I shall begin by including the opening words of the UK Breed Standard.
General appearance:
Appears as a dog of great beauty, standing with impassive dignity, with no part out of proportion to the whole.
Characteristics:
Physical structure on lines of strength and activity, free from cloddiness and with no trace of courseness. Expression most important.
In considering relative values it is obtained by perfect balance and combination of skull and foreface, size, shape, colour and placement of eyes, correct position and carriage of ears.
The standard describes a majestic dog filled with nobility (standing with impassive dignity), a dog excelling in balance (no part out of proportion to the whole) , a refined elegant dog (free from cloddiness and with no trace of coarseness) an active looking dog still capable of fulfilling its original purpose. (built on lines of strength and activity) we are not here to discuss head properties but i will stress at this point, the head should also befit this description, general appearance and breed characteristics cover the entire dog, therefore the head must of necessity be balanced, refined and dignified. It must be perfectly balanced in size with the body. A heavy head on a refined body would be out of proportion to the whole, likewise an overly fine head. The head must be refined, dignified and balanced both within itself and against the body.
Many people say our Breed has lost the correct length to height ratio and i often hear ringsider's comment on this aspect of the standard, i feel therefor it is important to begin here. Let us begin with the quote from the breed standard:
Body:
Slightly long compared to height, back firm with a slight rise over the loins, ribs well sprung, chest deep, fairly broad behind the shoulders.
I have often heard the comment...'too short in back' and i would like to ask a question, can anyone show me where the standard asks for a long back? the breed standard asks for a BODY slightly long compared to height, this is totally different to a long back!
it also asks for the body to be slightly long. Below is the line drawing used by the KC during the judges training seminar, it gives detailed instruction to the would be judge on how to measure length and height.
please note, body is measured from the point of fore-chest to the point of buttock!
and height is measured from the highest part of the withers, not from the height of the back!
If a dog has an incorrect shoulder, it may not have true withers, however a dog with a correct front will have withers which rise above the line of back, this is the true point of measurement. Length of body as already said is from point of fore chest, and a collie must be slightly long in THIS measurement when compared to its height at the WITHERS. If one measures the dog from point of shoulder (withers) to buttock, and if one is looking for length here, it is INCORRECT. The Collie is a trotter and should be a slightly rectangular dog, this is why a judge should watch our breed moving in profile to study side gait. If a dog is too short in body he will not be able to stride out, he will take shorter steps and consequently he will take a much greater number of steps which is tiring, the collie should cover the ground effortlessly. The dog short in body may crab too, and his hind foot will fall in front of the striking point of the front foot. The over-long dog will also tire easily. The impression of length can be an optical illusion. If we place two collies side by side, both of equal length. One has a long well arched neck and good forequarters, the second dog has less angulation and consequently a shorter neck, the Collie with shorter neck and incorrect front angulation will look longer, this is because the length of body begins further back, lack of angulation creates a loss of forechest, so the measurement with regard to body length will begin too far back making the body appear longer, this is an optical illusion. Therefore, when the collie has a wonderful long arched neck and yet appears shorter in body, make certain you check his forechest, if he has plenty this will confirm his shortness is illusory. Watch him move, does he have good front extension, does he cover the ground with no effort at all, does he look as if he could move all day!
The Collie must be perfectly and harmoniously BALANCED both standing and on the move. Another good thing to remember, a young dog may sometimes appear short but when fully mature the dog will drop in angulation, this will alter the balance of the animal and he will appear longer, also a long neck set correctly can make a dog appear shorter. On the other hand, an upright shoulder can give an appearance of a longer BACK..this is why it is so very important to measure the dog from the point of chest, and to watch his side gait. Often a dog that looks small due to his exceptional angulation when measured correctly is every bit as tall as the dog standing next to him with less angulation. However he may appear smaller, because we are judging THE LINE OF THE BACK...when we should be judging the HEIGHT AT THE WITHERS...!!!!
Here is a video example. We measured Kaos, he is 9 months old on this clip, and he measures 23 inches at the withers. His body length from point of fore-chest to point of buttock is 25 inches. I feel he is a very balanced young male, remembering a male is slightly shorter in body than a female, he also has a good length of neck which could make him appear shorter in body. Take a look at his lovely length of stride and effortless action reflecting again his balanced proportions.
Therefore i shall try to create within these pages a better understanding of basic construction in the Collie Breed, hopefully this will help new comers to follow the Breed Standard.
I shall begin by including the opening words of the UK Breed Standard.
General appearance:
Appears as a dog of great beauty, standing with impassive dignity, with no part out of proportion to the whole.
Characteristics:
Physical structure on lines of strength and activity, free from cloddiness and with no trace of courseness. Expression most important.
In considering relative values it is obtained by perfect balance and combination of skull and foreface, size, shape, colour and placement of eyes, correct position and carriage of ears.
The standard describes a majestic dog filled with nobility (standing with impassive dignity), a dog excelling in balance (no part out of proportion to the whole) , a refined elegant dog (free from cloddiness and with no trace of coarseness) an active looking dog still capable of fulfilling its original purpose. (built on lines of strength and activity) we are not here to discuss head properties but i will stress at this point, the head should also befit this description, general appearance and breed characteristics cover the entire dog, therefore the head must of necessity be balanced, refined and dignified. It must be perfectly balanced in size with the body. A heavy head on a refined body would be out of proportion to the whole, likewise an overly fine head. The head must be refined, dignified and balanced both within itself and against the body.
Many people say our Breed has lost the correct length to height ratio and i often hear ringsider's comment on this aspect of the standard, i feel therefor it is important to begin here. Let us begin with the quote from the breed standard:
Body:
Slightly long compared to height, back firm with a slight rise over the loins, ribs well sprung, chest deep, fairly broad behind the shoulders.
I have often heard the comment...'too short in back' and i would like to ask a question, can anyone show me where the standard asks for a long back? the breed standard asks for a BODY slightly long compared to height, this is totally different to a long back!
it also asks for the body to be slightly long. Below is the line drawing used by the KC during the judges training seminar, it gives detailed instruction to the would be judge on how to measure length and height.
please note, body is measured from the point of fore-chest to the point of buttock!
and height is measured from the highest part of the withers, not from the height of the back!
If a dog has an incorrect shoulder, it may not have true withers, however a dog with a correct front will have withers which rise above the line of back, this is the true point of measurement. Length of body as already said is from point of fore chest, and a collie must be slightly long in THIS measurement when compared to its height at the WITHERS. If one measures the dog from point of shoulder (withers) to buttock, and if one is looking for length here, it is INCORRECT. The Collie is a trotter and should be a slightly rectangular dog, this is why a judge should watch our breed moving in profile to study side gait. If a dog is too short in body he will not be able to stride out, he will take shorter steps and consequently he will take a much greater number of steps which is tiring, the collie should cover the ground effortlessly. The dog short in body may crab too, and his hind foot will fall in front of the striking point of the front foot. The over-long dog will also tire easily. The impression of length can be an optical illusion. If we place two collies side by side, both of equal length. One has a long well arched neck and good forequarters, the second dog has less angulation and consequently a shorter neck, the Collie with shorter neck and incorrect front angulation will look longer, this is because the length of body begins further back, lack of angulation creates a loss of forechest, so the measurement with regard to body length will begin too far back making the body appear longer, this is an optical illusion. Therefore, when the collie has a wonderful long arched neck and yet appears shorter in body, make certain you check his forechest, if he has plenty this will confirm his shortness is illusory. Watch him move, does he have good front extension, does he cover the ground with no effort at all, does he look as if he could move all day!
The Collie must be perfectly and harmoniously BALANCED both standing and on the move. Another good thing to remember, a young dog may sometimes appear short but when fully mature the dog will drop in angulation, this will alter the balance of the animal and he will appear longer, also a long neck set correctly can make a dog appear shorter. On the other hand, an upright shoulder can give an appearance of a longer BACK..this is why it is so very important to measure the dog from the point of chest, and to watch his side gait. Often a dog that looks small due to his exceptional angulation when measured correctly is every bit as tall as the dog standing next to him with less angulation. However he may appear smaller, because we are judging THE LINE OF THE BACK...when we should be judging the HEIGHT AT THE WITHERS...!!!!
Here is a video example. We measured Kaos, he is 9 months old on this clip, and he measures 23 inches at the withers. His body length from point of fore-chest to point of buttock is 25 inches. I feel he is a very balanced young male, remembering a male is slightly shorter in body than a female, he also has a good length of neck which could make him appear shorter in body. Take a look at his lovely length of stride and effortless action reflecting again his balanced proportions.
the Neck and Forequarters
Time to discuss the neck and front assembly of the Collie. The Breed standard states:
NECK: Muscular, powerful, of fair length, well arched.
We need to remember again the original function of the Collie as herder and drover. The collie would need to use his 'eye power' to control his sheep, and to enable him to work long hours moving his head up and down, from side to side he would need a strong powerful neck. We must also remember the general appearance which denotes breed type and permeates everything...the collie must have IMPASSIVE DIGNITY. Here we see this dignity in his ARCH OF NECK. Not only must the collies neck be of fair length, it must also be well arched. A short neck cannot really be well arched, and it is the arch of neck that helps to give our breed a look of dignity. Also, a dog driving sheep and cattle would need to keep his vital organs well out of reach of flying hooves, Highland Sheep and Cattle are not docile creatures. This too would indicate the dog driving such beasts would need a neck of good length...so please, our breed should have a lovely arch of neck and his neck must be long....of fair length and well arched.
Without the long well arched neck the Collie loses his dignity, he also loses his ability to be fit for function!
When the neck is short, not only is the dog less capable of keeping his chest free of flying hooves, not only does he lack dignity, but this also means his ribcage and forequarters are incorrectly made. A straight neck is very common, a head that is positioned directly above the front feet is also common, a short neck is common, all three are wrong and indicate the front assembly is wrong. One occasionally sees a lovely long neck, but without an arch. The arch of neck indicates the shoulder is correct and places the head in front of the dogs body, the head should never be placed so that the ears are directly above the line of the front feet, the head should be ahead of the dog..!!!
FOREQUARTERS: Shoulders sloping and well angulated. Forelegs straight and muscular, neither in nor out at elbows, with moderate amount of round bone.
Consider which part of the dog is the heaviest and one arrives at the obvious, the largest area of body (total weight) is the chest, and this mass is supported by the forequarters. This accounts for almost 70% of the total body weight of the Collie. The shoulder blade (scapula) has no skeletal linkage with the back bone, it require flexibility and is held in position by sheets of muscles and a few ligaments. The dog has no collar bone.
It can be difficult to evaluate angulation in a dog whose coat hides the bones and angles. The highest point of the shoulder (withers) should be in line with the rear section of the elbow joint and this line should strike the ground behind the heel pad. I will try to get an illustration of this.
The shoulder blade is not a flat or uniform bone making it difficult to decide how to measure it, but we should measure the shoulder from the highest point (withers) to the point where it meets the humerus (Upper arm) and the upper arm should be of equal length to the shoulder blade. Measure the angel of these two bones from withers to point of fore chest, and point of fore chest to elbow. The shoulder blade should have an angulation of around 45-50 degrees. The total angle between the shoulder and upper arm should be around 90-100 degrees. The shoulder should also be well laid back.
A well laid back shoulder can only be achieved if the entire front assembly is correct. The sternum (the point where the first pair of ribs meet in front) should be positioned a couple or more centimeters forward than the point where the scapula meets the humerus. A short upper arm (humerus) is very common in the collie creating a short stride, so if in doubt watch the dog move. The ribcage also plays a very important role in front construction and we shall discuss this later.
The front legs should be straight when viewed from the front with a MODERATE amount of round bone. The collie is not a draught dog and should not have too much bone which would give him a cloddy appearance. Bone that is too heavy would give him a heavy look all over, lacking the elegance and dignity required. However, neither should he be too fine, he is a dog that should be the epitome of balance. Remember he is a dog built along lines of strength and activity, and the front legs are required to be muscular. He therefore needs enough bone and substance to give an appearance of strength and activity, but must never appear cloddy or heavy. The front legs must be neither in nor out at the elbow which requires a correctly shaped ribcage.
Common faults in the forequarters are: too straight in shoulder, this will create a shorter neck that lacks arch. The muscles in the fore chest will not develop to their maximum potential in such a dog. Therefore when examining the fore chest construction, remember it is important to check the fore chest protrudes beyond the point of shoulder and the neck should be of fair length and well arched, if these points are lacking, either the angulation and or length of bones, or lay back of shoulder is incorrect. Watch the dog move, if he lacks front extension this another give away.
A dog that fails in forequarters can never develop enough muscle to work effectively in his job of shepherding. The correct angulation, length and lay of shoulder make it possible for the dog to achieve maximum reach of the forelegs. This is essential to a dog having to crawl and move with his body low to the ground, as is the case with a dog herding sheep here in the UK. He will not be able to get low enough to work the sheep on hilly terrain by the use of his 'eye'. He would need to work with the head held in a higher position which would be very tiring for a hill worker, and he would need to use his body to move sheep rather than by 'eye', far more dangerous and exhausting for him.
Legs that bow out at the elbows are usually caused by the dog being too round in the rib cage, whilst feet turning out quite often indicate the chest is too narrow. The pastern works as suspension for the front and must be flexible, it absorbs the shock as the front foot strikes the ground and prevents damage in other joints higher up. If the pasterns lack flexibility the dog will tire more quickly and will develop age related problems at a younger age. The dog too weak and soft in pastern is also incorrect since he will not be strong enough to carry the dogs weight over large distances and absorb shocks on the move.
NECK: Muscular, powerful, of fair length, well arched.
We need to remember again the original function of the Collie as herder and drover. The collie would need to use his 'eye power' to control his sheep, and to enable him to work long hours moving his head up and down, from side to side he would need a strong powerful neck. We must also remember the general appearance which denotes breed type and permeates everything...the collie must have IMPASSIVE DIGNITY. Here we see this dignity in his ARCH OF NECK. Not only must the collies neck be of fair length, it must also be well arched. A short neck cannot really be well arched, and it is the arch of neck that helps to give our breed a look of dignity. Also, a dog driving sheep and cattle would need to keep his vital organs well out of reach of flying hooves, Highland Sheep and Cattle are not docile creatures. This too would indicate the dog driving such beasts would need a neck of good length...so please, our breed should have a lovely arch of neck and his neck must be long....of fair length and well arched.
Without the long well arched neck the Collie loses his dignity, he also loses his ability to be fit for function!
When the neck is short, not only is the dog less capable of keeping his chest free of flying hooves, not only does he lack dignity, but this also means his ribcage and forequarters are incorrectly made. A straight neck is very common, a head that is positioned directly above the front feet is also common, a short neck is common, all three are wrong and indicate the front assembly is wrong. One occasionally sees a lovely long neck, but without an arch. The arch of neck indicates the shoulder is correct and places the head in front of the dogs body, the head should never be placed so that the ears are directly above the line of the front feet, the head should be ahead of the dog..!!!
FOREQUARTERS: Shoulders sloping and well angulated. Forelegs straight and muscular, neither in nor out at elbows, with moderate amount of round bone.
Consider which part of the dog is the heaviest and one arrives at the obvious, the largest area of body (total weight) is the chest, and this mass is supported by the forequarters. This accounts for almost 70% of the total body weight of the Collie. The shoulder blade (scapula) has no skeletal linkage with the back bone, it require flexibility and is held in position by sheets of muscles and a few ligaments. The dog has no collar bone.
It can be difficult to evaluate angulation in a dog whose coat hides the bones and angles. The highest point of the shoulder (withers) should be in line with the rear section of the elbow joint and this line should strike the ground behind the heel pad. I will try to get an illustration of this.
The shoulder blade is not a flat or uniform bone making it difficult to decide how to measure it, but we should measure the shoulder from the highest point (withers) to the point where it meets the humerus (Upper arm) and the upper arm should be of equal length to the shoulder blade. Measure the angel of these two bones from withers to point of fore chest, and point of fore chest to elbow. The shoulder blade should have an angulation of around 45-50 degrees. The total angle between the shoulder and upper arm should be around 90-100 degrees. The shoulder should also be well laid back.
A well laid back shoulder can only be achieved if the entire front assembly is correct. The sternum (the point where the first pair of ribs meet in front) should be positioned a couple or more centimeters forward than the point where the scapula meets the humerus. A short upper arm (humerus) is very common in the collie creating a short stride, so if in doubt watch the dog move. The ribcage also plays a very important role in front construction and we shall discuss this later.
The front legs should be straight when viewed from the front with a MODERATE amount of round bone. The collie is not a draught dog and should not have too much bone which would give him a cloddy appearance. Bone that is too heavy would give him a heavy look all over, lacking the elegance and dignity required. However, neither should he be too fine, he is a dog that should be the epitome of balance. Remember he is a dog built along lines of strength and activity, and the front legs are required to be muscular. He therefore needs enough bone and substance to give an appearance of strength and activity, but must never appear cloddy or heavy. The front legs must be neither in nor out at the elbow which requires a correctly shaped ribcage.
Common faults in the forequarters are: too straight in shoulder, this will create a shorter neck that lacks arch. The muscles in the fore chest will not develop to their maximum potential in such a dog. Therefore when examining the fore chest construction, remember it is important to check the fore chest protrudes beyond the point of shoulder and the neck should be of fair length and well arched, if these points are lacking, either the angulation and or length of bones, or lay back of shoulder is incorrect. Watch the dog move, if he lacks front extension this another give away.
A dog that fails in forequarters can never develop enough muscle to work effectively in his job of shepherding. The correct angulation, length and lay of shoulder make it possible for the dog to achieve maximum reach of the forelegs. This is essential to a dog having to crawl and move with his body low to the ground, as is the case with a dog herding sheep here in the UK. He will not be able to get low enough to work the sheep on hilly terrain by the use of his 'eye'. He would need to work with the head held in a higher position which would be very tiring for a hill worker, and he would need to use his body to move sheep rather than by 'eye', far more dangerous and exhausting for him.
Legs that bow out at the elbows are usually caused by the dog being too round in the rib cage, whilst feet turning out quite often indicate the chest is too narrow. The pastern works as suspension for the front and must be flexible, it absorbs the shock as the front foot strikes the ground and prevents damage in other joints higher up. If the pasterns lack flexibility the dog will tire more quickly and will develop age related problems at a younger age. The dog too weak and soft in pastern is also incorrect since he will not be strong enough to carry the dogs weight over large distances and absorb shocks on the move.
