#collie coat types

[purplesaline]

Lance may look like he's a sable collie but he's actually a sable merle! It was much harder to see his merle pattern when he was younger but as his colour fades toward grey the brown areas affected by the merle gene (it blocks some of the coloring from coming through for example black will look silver.) have very little colour left to them so the unaffected areas stand out a lot more than they used to.

It was always more noticeable on his ears but you used to have to look closely to see it. Now it's quite easy!

I've always loved his colouring. I'm a big fan of the redder sable and he's got a perfect unbroken rough. The little white forehead line used to end just where the white for his rough began too (can't really see it now with all the grey). Very symmetrical, it pleased my OCD lol.

[bas-rouge]

Admittedly I am not super well versed on some breeds, but after a lot of shows I find myself reading breed standards and illustrated breed standards put forth by the breed club and I find myself even more confused by the judges' decisions. Obviously I don't claim to know more than a judge, but... I really don't see what they do in some of these dogs.

[kangals]

I love when diehard Border Collie People with superiority complexes (yes this is a type yes they exist in large numbers) write about rough/smooth collies because they’re always like “the rough collie has been turned into a WORTHLESS SHOW DOG with an ENORMOUS COAT and MONSTROUSLY LONG HEAD and DISGUSTING BEADY EYES and they are TOO SOFT AND LAZY to work on the farm” bc it’s just like

[barksbog]

What exactly is a snorbino?

It's not a dog breed I've ever heard of so I'm assuming it's something silly you came up with for your silly doggy?

Please give doggy a hug for me :D

he's a smooth collie! it's the same breed as rough collies just a different coat type. they make you realize how weirdly shaped collies actually are under all the fluff. including the fat neck, long face and weirdly long torso (buying harnesses for him is hard)

-

snorbino is just his nickname

sniff-> snorf-> snorb-> snorbino

named after his ability to sniff and snorf with his silly long nose

[x-birdsong-x]

overly specific house dog au headcanons? spill some?

I can try and fit in one post everyone I've settled completely on so far, and also be obnoxious about dog breeds. fun

I've also bothered @greghatecrimes with a lot of these so very big thanks to them for helping me settle on breeds for everyone <3

It's when I've settled on a "base breed" with dogs that sometimes things just go crazy and go from there

Start with the most overly unnecessarily detailed one here you go:

Adams is the oddest most fantasy mixed breed of ALL fucking time her parents are one Belgian Tervuren and one Borzoi x Ibizan Hound and she appeared so much Tervuren that it’s just possible to miss that she’s got any sighthound(s) in her.

Editing to go even more in-detail with this one because my girl deserves it: She ends up looking somewhere between these two:

She’s very pointy and very leggy but she is very long-furred and that's where the mistakes come from. She moves mostly with the gaits of her sighthound sides which the others find is an easy way to make her bristle. She’s prancing across the room and Chase says you move like a sighthound and she says no I don’t (yes she does)

Park is a Silken Windsprite:

Probably struggles in snow and sometimes has to jump and jump to get through it when it's really deep but Adams mumbles that it’s cute and that's Fight invitation. Park brings up that Adams gets snowballs stuck on her and that it takes hours to melt out of her fur. ("Fuck you!" - "Do it yourself!") It's probably fair to say she has some little dog syndrome.

Chase is an Australian Shepherd. House probably used to make comments about he and Cameron both being Merle:

Cameron is this specific Border Collie (but with blue eyes, ofc):

Probably does the Collie Crouch sometimes. Absolutely does the Collie Stare, and that would come into House's "you can't actually pierce me with your eyes" moments.

Foreman is a Central Asian Shepherd:

For a slight visual similarity to how I imagine post-Lockdown Angst Cameron might feel meeting Masters, Masters is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever:

Probably has what I call in the groomers "Smart Breed Anxiety" along with her autism swag. Dogs who listen to and seem to understand every word you say and if you're telling someone or another pet off for anything, they assume they're the one you're talking to and give all their guilty looks. Also using my Bluebear as reference with that visual.

Thirteen is this Utonagan!!! No other visual!!! Have such a canine visual of The Dig it's insane.

Wilson of course took Golden Retriever. Definitely one of the larger/silkier ones. Show-type. He'd definitely be a dark gold but this is the best pic I have for how I picture him -color:

House is a Scottish Deerhound, mixed with what? He doesn't know. Wants to know. Very easy to miss that he's a cross:

(Little Rachel rode on his back for a bit once.)

Speaking of, Rachel is a little pupper Sheltie (Natalie) x English Shepherd (Simon) but she barely shows any Shep traits when it comes to looks:

Rachel's a mini-me of her mama, Cuddy took Rough Collie:

Kutner is a Springer Spaniel x Large Münsterländer, leaning more looks-wise toward the latter and leaning energy-level toward the former:

Taub is a Beagle, Chihuahuas are just too small for one of the main characters in my little visual I'm afraid (and I forgot Smooth Fox Terriers existed):

Rachel is a long-haired Dachshund, and Ruby is a show-type English Cocker Spaniel, so Sophie and Sophia are those crosses respectively. Click on the Spaniel to see the full pic.

Amber takes (Red) Siberian Husky:

She's quite thick-coated but she doesn't fall under "Woolly Husky" coat type.

Red (Irish) Setter Stacy:

Plott Hound Mark:

Dominika... So This dog is obviously a Belgian Malinois maybe crossed with something fluffier (unless the listing change from Mali to Terv is accurate, then she's just Small) but she looks exactly like this:

Saluki Lydia:

Belgian Malinois Alvie:

Lucas is just straight-up a Coyote. It just fits him too well. He gets a Coyote-themed name in the WC AU, and gets to be a Coyote when I think about canines:

Beauceron Nolan. Can't see him as something as round and soft as Newfies but also can't see him as a bully-type:

[hashtag-xolo]

Why Airedales? Sorry if I'm out of the loop. I've never seen an Airedale service dog, but I think they would be great for the job! Thanks for letting me be nosy!

Hello and I am happy you're being nosy!

So there's a few reasons why Airedales.

One: coat type is one my family won't have a problem with. The shedding is so minimal as to be a non issue. I want a dog with a coat for service work simply because I felt bad for Tzapo being hairless and sometimes being required to be on cold floors for long stretches of time if I couldn't bring a mat. Comfort is important to me and so while I adore xolos, I want a dog who won't be sad if stuck on a tile floor.

Two: I think poodles are sweet and very smart and great, but I've come to realize their general personalities of what makes them a "poodle" is not something I will want to live with. I really like terrier temperaments and drives. I really like the independence and goofiness that terriers have. I have loved every Airedale I've met. Most people would say just get a poodle but that's not what I want. Also poodles are too sensitive and I will cover that further in a different point.

Three: they're a lot of dog but not in the way a border collie or a malinois is. They can be a great active companion breed and I know several that are such. They're confident and driven dogs who are optimistic and resilient. They can have some issues with guarding and inter dog aggression but in my experience not like the shepherds, huskies, or malamutes I've known. They tend to be more dog social or dog neutral. They tend to like people but also not be extremely sociable like a lab and want to greet everyone. They are a great breed for a large variety of work/sports. They're clowns who don't take things too seriously. They remind me of xolos but with more optimism and confidence as a baseline personality. I'm already very familiar with working with non-biddable dog breeds and if I can train a xolo for service work then I figure an airedale will be similar if not easier as they have a strong history of success at highly regimented obedience i.e. military and police work.

Four: I need a service dog that is independent and not super keyed up into being extremely sensitive to my emotions. I should never have a herding or gundog breed as a service dog due to my particular needs in a service dog. Maybe one day I could but I know that right now, my mental health diagnoses means that I am setting myself and my dog up for success by picking a breed that isn't typically known for hypersensitivity, like a poodle. I also need a dog breed that will be independent, stubborn, and pester me. I need a dog breed that is a bit of an asshole (said affectionately) and that will push back against me when I'm dissociating. (A cattle dog or corgi won't work due to the coat type.)

Five: Airedales are a good solid size that isn't too big or too small. Many terriers are too small for my needs. A giant schnauzer is too big.

Six: not super important but, I love their appearance. They are gorgeous and striking dogs. And I'm down to learn how to hand strip and maintain their coat. It seems meditative to me. I've considered standard schnauzers but I just adore the Airedale look.

[nothernghostbat]

okay so here's what dogs I think love handel are because it's their reunion day

sherman is this type of dog. I don't know its name. I don't know what its made of. but yeah, this is sherman.

danny is a border collie because just like him, they are very vocal and have luscious hair and I love them and

bobbi is a Japanese spitz cause like... that coat is luscious. plus he gives small dog energy

[the-hinky-panda]

The Dog: Part I

Pairing: Mike Duarte x Fem!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Lots of talk of injuries, blood, PTSD, depression, alcoholism, seizures, acquired brain injury, violence, and eventually sexual situations. 

Summary: After BX9′s attack, Mike finds himself having to rebuild his life after an acquired brain injury forces him into early retirement. But how do you rebuild your life when your life was focused on bringing down one man for so long? 

Mike Duarte did not want a dog. 

He didn’t want a lot of things at the moment. He didn’t want early retirement, a plaque for being wounded in the line of duty, an acquired brain injury with a seizure disorder, and he definitely didn’t want the pity he’s currently seeing in Grace Muncy and Olivia Benson’s faces. 

But he really doesn’t want the service dog that is currently sitting politely between the two women. 

It looks like a mutt, some kind of Collie - Golden Retriever type dog with one ear bent over and the other standing straight up. He looks nice enough with his longish orange and white coat, sharp eyes darting around the inside of Mike’s home. Probably looking for something to chew up. He sighs as he steps aside to let the women and the dog inside. 

“This doesn’t mean the dog is staying,” he warns them. 

They stayed for an hour, had a glass of wine while he drank his third tumbler of whiskey that day. When they leave, the dog is not with them. He’s sitting next to the couch, leash still around his neck. Mike locks the door, refills his whiskey glass, and engages in a staring contest with the dog. 

“Well, shit.” 

***

He’s getting ready for bed when he realizes he doesn’t even know the dog’s name. He takes his watch off, setting it on the nightstand, and sits down on the side of the bed. He motions to the dog and he comes over to Mike, sitting down in front of him. There’s a tag, simple, silver and round, hanging from a red nylon collar. 

“Bono?” 

The dog’s ears perk up at the name. So far, the dog’s behavior has been stellar. He hasn’t jumped up on any furniture, scratched or chewed on anything. He’s followed Mike around the house, half a step behind him. He sat in the doorway of the bathroom while Mike took a shower, watching and observing. Against his better judgment, Mike reaches out and rubs his hand over Bono’s head. He hates to admit it but feeling the warmth of a living thing under his palm after so long is  more satisfying than the cold glass of a whiskey tumbler. 

He turns off the light and climbs into bed. He tries to ignore the pleading eyes that catch the dim light from the streetlight outside the bedroom window. But after ten minutes of staring at the ceiling, he caves with a sigh. 

“Come on.” 

Bono jumps up immediately on the bed, circles once, and curls up by Mike’s hip. He reaches down and rubs the soft fur between Bono’s ears briefly before rolling to his side and closing his eyes. 

“Shit.” 

It looks like he may have a dog. 

***

Flashes of light blind him. They come so fast, like a strobe in a nightclub. 

The flash from the muzzle of his gun. 

The glint of steel from the machete blade.

Then there’s sprays of bright red blood on the bodega floor. The smell of gunpowder and iron fills his nose and he prays for a lucky blow to his neck so he’d bleed out quickly and it would be over. 

It’s not like he has a family he would be leaving behind. 

It’s not like anyone would miss him. 

He wakes up sobbing, arm thrown over his face in a protective position. It’s not the first time he’s woken up like this. He’s fairly certain it won’t be the last either. But this time is different. When he tries to get up, there’s a weight on his chest. He brings his arm down from where it was slung over his face and it lands on Bono. The dog must have known he was having a nightmare and crawled halfway on top of him.  

Part of him wants to shove the dog off him, go downstairs, and drink half a bottle of whiskey. He feels weak and pitied and it makes him angry. But then Bono whimpers slightly, flattens himself even more across Mike’s chest, his tail beating out a slow and steady rhythm against the down comforter. 

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. 

His heart soon slows to match the calm beat of Bono’s tail. His breathing becomes less ragged. His spirit loses some of its rage. The desire to soften the blows of the nightmare with liquor slowly fades. He brings his other hand up, runs his fingers through the soft undercoat of the dog and closes his eyes. When he opens them again, sunlight is peeking through the gaps in his curtains. Kids are outside on the sidewalk waiting for the schoolbus to pick them up. Bono is back to his original position, curled into a perfect orange and white circle against Mike’s hip. The alarm clock on his nightstand says 6:52. 

It’s the first night he’s slept soundly since being released from the hospital. 

***

The attack happened in January. It’s now late April. The weather is just as patchy as the leftover snow in the front yards of the homes in his neighborhood. Some days are warm, spring in the air, and other days still hold winter’s chill. Today is one of the days that winter still has its icy grip on the weather. 

But Bono needs his walk so Mike is forced to pull out his down jacket and gloves. He zips up the jacket with an irritated tug. He never had issues with being cold before that night in Manhattan. He always ran hot, something his father attributed to their Cuban blood. He wonders if he lost all that fire when he lost all that blood on the scuffed floor of a bodega. 

He wonders whose blood now runs through his veins. 

Bono whines quietly, breaking Mike’s focus on the memory of that night. He’s not sure if it’s because the dog is excited for his walk or if somehow he knows when Mike is getting too far inside his head. Benson and Muncy both referred to him as a service dog, provided through an organization that pairs the dog with military and first responders. Benson had some kind of downtown connection, guilt over all her accusations that she had hurled at him, and now he has the dog. A service dog. He snaps the leash on the nylon collar and opens the front door. 

The neighborhood is older, springing up in the 1950’s after World War II. The houses are modest craftsman with postage stamp yards, metal fences, and broken concrete sidewalks. The house had been his parents, the one he and his four siblings had been raised in. His mother died of cancer when he was in the police academy. His father died of a heart attack while Mike was undercover. All his siblings had given up on the neighborhood, on the Bronx, on New York itself. So the house was left to him. 

Most of the neighbors have died or gone into nursing homes, new families now living there. He still remembers the names of the original families, the kids that he played football with in the street, his younger sister’s friends who would come over and giggle and bat their eyelashes at him, the handsome older brother. Of course he was always more interested in what his mother was making for dinner than the awkward flirting of middle schoolers. 

Now, no one plays outside. The kids huddle together waiting for the school bus in the morning like a pack of gazelles gathered at a watering hole on the Serengeti. All eyes watching for BX9 or 19th street recruiters. Then when the bus returns, they scatter in the afternoons directly to the safety of their homes. He had foolishly hoped that with Oscar Papa in jail for the rest of his life that there would be some kind of reprieve. But there isn’t. 

Nothing has changed. 

***

Bono’s a good dog. 

He doesn’t bark, doesn’t chew on anything, doesn't dig in the small backyard, and doesn’t steal food. Bono watches though, and tracks Mike’s movements through the house with an almost laser focus. He sits and waits whenever Mike is in the bathroom or kitchen. Bono lays on his bed (a two am impulse buy with an Amazon gift card from one of his sisters) in the living room while Mike reads or watches television. 

Or drinks. 

Being watched constantly makes his skin crawl. But that was the dog’s job: to watch. 

The first seizure that Mike had was on the operating table.  

The second was in the rehab center during physical therapy. He remembers trying to reach for bar and his vision blurred. He tried multiple times to grasp it but the bar kept moving. He tried to voice this observation but his tongue refused to move. He could hear the therapist asking if he was alright but then his vision completely turned psychedelic: blobs of bright lights and colors. He could hear things happening around him but it sounded like everything was underwater. Maybe he was. Maybe he had fallen into the pool. It seemed to be hours before his vision returned, the masses of light and color consolidating into healthcare workers in colored scrubs. His hearing came back as he broke the surface of consciousness again. Medical bags were open, their contents spilled across the fitness mat. A blood pressure cuff around his arm, the cold circular end of a stethoscope shifted around the bandages on his chest. The quiet murmur of the other patients as their sessions paused while he had to be looked after. 

It was everything he had in him to not cry at the humiliation. 

But then the third one happened at home. His sister had come down from Boston to help with the transition from rehab to his home. She was two years younger than him but had taken over as the matriarch of the family after their mother passed. She fussed over him, changed bandages, reapplied ointment to the stitches on the particularly nasty gashes, particularly the one that ran from his shoulder blade down to his hip. She cooked, cleaned, and tutted at the empty whiskey bottles that kept being added to the recycling bin in the garage. 

She came home from running to the grocery store and found him on the kitchen floor, dazed, with a black eye, bloody nose, and missing an hour of time. It had been ten in the morning and the new whiskey bottle hadn’t been cracked open yet which meant alcohol wasn’t to blame for the blackout. She managed to get him on the couch before cleaning up the bloodbath on the kitchen floor. When she came back to the living room with red stained hands and tears in her eyes, he wished he had died on the operating table. 

“Hermano, you need help.”

He had waved her off. Who was going to help him? Her, with her husband, three kids, and architectural career in Boston? Or his two other younger sisters? One was a teacher in Maryland and the other had a few successful Bed and Breakfasts in Maine. They all had worked hard to become successful women and get out of the Bronx. He never blamed them for that, in fact he encouraged it, especially once BX9 started becoming more prevalent. But that was all she had said about getting him help and he thought the subject had been dropped when he hugged her and sent her on her way two days later. 

But then Muncy had shown up, back in the neighborhood to spend time with her brother, and stopped by to check on him. As her eyes took in the healing black eye and collection of whiskey bottles, he wondered how in the world his sister had gotten a hold of Muncy’s number. 

A week later, he had Bono. 

Knowing that there’s a living being that could go get help for him brings some comfort. Humiliation  but also comfort. Bono watches him, ever present but never in the way. He never trips over the dog, never is pulled along when they go for a walk, and Bono stays on his side of the bed. Unless, of course, Mike has a nightmare and then he wakes up to Bono’s head on his chest. 

He hates to admit it, and would certainly never admit to Benson or Muncy, but Bono is a good dog. 

***

It’s on one of their walks through the neighborhood when Bono sticks a curious nose under a boxwood bush and meets the neighborhood alley cat, a large tabby the kids dubbed Diablo. The cat takes a few swipes at Bono’s nose, Mike feels a pang of sympathy for the dog. He doesn’t know exactly how to treat the bloody slashes and a quick google search of diseases feral cats can carry is enough for him to load Bono into an Uber and head over to the animal clinic up by Little Italy. He fills out the paperwork, shows the receptionist the service dog ID card on the sly. Her eyes land on the long scar across the palm of his hand and wrist and gives him a tight nod. 

“There’s no payment required for emergency visits for service dogs.” 

“That’s not necessary.” 

Her eyebrow raises. “Cat scratch on the nose? You really want to pay about $350 for the visit and shots?” 

$350? How does anyone afford a pet? 

The receptionist laughs as his surprise. “ That’s what I thought. We only have one vet in today so it may be a little bit before she sees you.” 

He mumbles a “thanks” and takes a seat in the corner. Bono sits dutifully by his knee but his ears are down, his eyes worried, and blood drying on his dark nose. Mike tugs the sleeve of his jacket down and wipes most of the blood off but there’s one scratch that’s pretty deep and still oozing. Bono gives him such a sad look, like he’s failed at his job. Mike scratches him behind the ears. 

“At least we’ll have some matching scars now, huh, bud?” 

***

You’re beautiful. 

Your scrubs are smeared in muddy paw prints (he’s choosing to believe it’s mud), your hair is a disheveled mess piled on top of your head, your eyes are tired, and your face is strained with overwork. 

You’re beautiful and he momentarily forgets how to speak. 

“Mr. Duarte?” 

There should be a Captain in there. That’s what he wants to say but he can’t get his tongue to work right so he just nods. You glance down at the file in your hand. 

“And it looks like poor Bono here has officially met Diablo.” 

That surprises him and loosens his tongue. “You know about Diablo?” 

 You stand up and pull out a bottle of antiseptic and a cotton ball. “I’ve patched up quite a few victims of El Diablo.” 

He shoves his hands in his jacket and grumbles. “The cat’s a menace.” 

You laugh, a short but sweet sound, as you gently hold Bono’s muzzle in your hand and swipe the cotton ball over the cuts. Bono whines but stays still and you coo soothing words to him during the process. You’re efficient in your work, purposeful, but still maintain that softness of compassion. You keep up a lilting conversation with the dog, who is looking up at you like you’re the most amazing person he’s seen. Mike wonders if this is how you speak to animals, how would you speak to a significant other? He has to block out your voice when you say “good boy” as his mind jumps to a completely unprofessional place and tries to focus on the poster about heartworms to bring the blood back up to his brain. Wait, heartworms? Is that something else he needs to worry about with Bono?  

“Can I give him a treat?” 

Once again it takes him a moment to process what you’ve asked him. You pull something out of your scrub pocket, a small bone shaped treat, and Bono immediately perks up. Both  you and the dog are looking  at him with such hopeful eyes and he immediately nods his head. God, he’s gotten so weak since the attack. He would have eaten it if you had given it to him. Bono chews loudly on the treat and Mike realizes he’s never given the dog a bone or treat in the last month that he’s owned him. He has to be the worst dog owner on the east coast. You’re looking over the chart and start to say something when he interrupts you. 

“I’ve never owned a dog before.” 

Despite the exhausted rings under your eyes and the many other patients waiting to see you, you smile kindly at him and close the file. “I see that he’s a service dog so that’s not uncommon at all. What questions do you have?” 

There’s so many and they come all at once and he can’t triage them at all. There’s a knock at the door and a tech peeks her head inside the exam room. 

“Sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to let you know that Dr. Ramirez made it in to help out.” 

“Oh, thank God!”

Your eyes roll back in relief and Mike focuses on the heartworm poster again. 

“She said she would cover you so you can finally grab lunch.” 

The tech ducks back out of the room and your shoulders drop slightly. “Since I can finally grab something to eat, do you want to join me and we can go over some of those questions?” 

His tongue is heavy again and won’t work despite him desperately wanting to answer that yes, he does want to join you for whatever time, space, action you wish to engage with him. But he can’t get the words out. Bono starts to whine, pushing his wet nose, the sting of the antiseptic hitting the new skin on his hand and wrist. It startles him but not enough to stop the progression of being pulled under the water of a seizure. His hearing starts to muffle and his vision starts to blur. He’s dimly aware of you tugging his jacket off and pushing him down onto the bench against the wall. He feels the wadded up suede of his coat under his head, protecting his skull from the hard walls. Right before he completely goes under, he catches sight of your eyes. 

You’re so beautiful. 

[wyrddogs]

Hey, since you’re the dachshund lady, you would probably know the answer to my question. Can dachshunds with different coat types interbreed like collies and a litter can have multiple coat types?

I'm not as up on the politics of dachshund coat types as I am Belgians, but you would want to be picky about what coats you are crossing.

You can bring a smooth in to a wire breeding program to tighten up the coat. I do know of a breeder who has done that, and she has nice tight wires, and has also produced the occasional smooth in a litter of wires.

If you cross a wire with a long, you get a "silky wire", which seems to be moderately popular among pet people but is hugely undesirable in the show ring or the hunting crowd. It's basically a soft, fluffy wire coat. Incorrect per breed standard and would pick up every burr and stick in the county if you took it into the field.

I'm not sure if anyone would have a reason to cross smooths and longs. It wouldn't really bring anything to the table for either coat, unless you wanted to decrease the amount of coat on the long for some reason. Or if there was something about either temperament you wanted to introduce to your breeding program.

I know I have several dachshund-loving followers-- anything to add? My experience is in the US; I don't know what the breeding policy is like in other countries.

[ritzy-reminiscence]

─♣️─ Lackadaisy : Lacka-Lacy² !

⸝⸝ tl;dr : a continuation of this post, and more headcanons for Lacy Hardt ! I always felt like the last post wasn't enough, so here I am with more ! :D

⸝⸝ note : it's a repost, actually ! i decided to change some things up a bit and make it cleaner overall, as the old one was me on like, two cups of coffee and a gummy candy T-T

Dog person Lacy? Dog person Lacy.

Lacy, despite what many thinks, is actually very energetic. Well, energetic when it comes to tennis, anyways. I feel like she'd love for a dog that matches her energy; preferably a big one too, like a border collie or a dalmatian.

I just know Lacy would love to play fetch with dogs. And if possible, she'd train them to play all sorts of sports (coughcoughtenniscoughcough) with her as well !

But alas, she couldn't get one, because of both her work schedule and the lack of space in her shared apartment, so she compromises by feeding and petting the nice stray dogs that hang out near the apartment building.

Oh, and speaking of apartment ! Lacy, while she earns a pretty good salary, preferred to live with someone else so that she can save money by splitting the rent.

Actually, a lot of things Lacy do are to save money !

Going to the supermarket to pick up groceries? She's either walking or riding a bike.

Buying groceries? Coupons, coupons, coupons. Remember to pick out the ones at the back, sure they're two days away from the expiration date, but you can finish that in less in a day, anyways- Ask for discounts. Ask for discounts.

Eating out? LMAOOO what's that ?? Lacy's never heard of it. Nothing beats homecooked food plus it's cheaper so ...

And Lacy doesn't do this because she's a penny-pincher; she does spend some good money from time to time, but it's mainly for quality shoes or coats, or hair styling products (Lacy didn't get her perfect curls by using bad products on them, after all). When you're Sedgewick Sable's personal secretary, appearances matter a lot.

And speaking of appearances, Lacy doesn't really wear much makeup. The most she wears is the tiniest bit of peach eyeshadow, the softest hint of a blush, and the most subtle touch of lipstick. All drugstore bought, of course! The heat in her workspace can be oppressive, and there's no use going the whole nine yards for makeup if it's all going to melt off halfway through the work shift-

I feel like Lacy does journaling .. ?? Like, she feels like the type of person that would keep a journal.

It's nothing too fancy -- just a notebook that she probably got as a freebie at some grocery store or other place, and a pen that she'd had for God knows how long. She doesn't write in it everyday, just when she feels like it.

And "when she feels like it" means that either something happened at work, or she got something new, or she experienced something she's never experienced before.

Honestly I feel like most of her entries are just something along the lines of "Wick got shitfaced drunk at work again. And I had to clean up his mess in every sense of the word again."

Without the cursing, of course - Lacy doesn't seem like the type of person that would curse in public nor private. Though she might utter a swear under her breath every now and then -

And don't get me wrong, Lacy likes Wick as a superior and she's aware that she's getting treated better than most people in her position,,, but sometimes she just has to wonder why she still sticks around -

And then she remembers that he pays a hell of a good salary and that she's be committing self-sabotage if she decides to quit 💀

We don't get a lot of information about her home life and her relatives, but to me Lacy always seemed like she would be the breadwinner of her family. I like to imagine that she frequently sends money to them, even after they told her that they're holding up just fine on their own.

To me, Lacy also seems like the oldest out of her siblings. She gives exasperated big sister vibes, especially when it comes to her panels with Wick in them😭

ALSO !! Lacy's family, in my headcanons, aren't that well off. Sure, they didn't get the shortest end of the stick, but they weren't living lavishly either. I imagine that Lacy, being the eldest, saw how difficult their home life is and decided to push her way to the top -- legally, of course. She's a smart girl, after all, and once she has a bee in her bonnet, she's doing anything to make it happen.

And I don't know what it is, but Lacy feels like she's not from St. Louis, like she's from a bigger city and only recently moved to St. Louis for a job.

That being said, Lacy gets homesick a lot. Her hometown is just a train ride from St. Louis, but given the nature of her work as Wick's personal secretary / coffee fairy / babysitter, she couldn't really find the time to squeeze in a visit.

So she compromises by keeping photos of her family near her -- on her workspace is a framed photograph of her, her two younger sisters, and their parents. It was a formal family picture, everyone's dolled up in their Sunday's best, their smiles oddly mechanical like most family photos.

On her bedside table is another framed photograph, but this time it was a lot more .. fun. It was taken when Lacy was in high school, and summer vacation had just started. They were in the beach, happily tanned in their bathing suits. Lacy had one hand holding a rapidly melting ice cream cone, the other clutching the brim of her hat (she never really took well to the sun). All of them were grinning broadly. After all, Dad had worked extra shifts and overtimes at his work to be able to afford this trip, and they were going to make every second count.

And in her wallet, a ton of small photographs of her home -- badly taken shots of the kitchen and living room, barely visible captures of their shared bedroom with it's three beds -- Lacy's the only one neatly made -- and candid shots of her family members.

She misses them an awful lot, so she calls home as often as she can. Sure, the bill gets bigger and bigger after the first two dozen minutes, but Lacy doesn't care how big the phone people charge her, as long as she's able to talk to her family.

In the rare occasion that Lacy visits home, she blows all of her savings on presents for her siblings ("Lacy, honey, your father and I are completely fine without any presents, so don't bother and treat yourself to something you want instead, alright?"). She brings home the sweetest candies and cakes from the sweetshop, the latest toys and dolls that all the kids are playing with, books with the most vividly illustrated pages, and, occasionally, a new dress for Mom and a new pair of leather shoes for Dad. What are they going to do about it, anyways? Lacy's already bought it >:)

She spends her visits at home playing with her siblings, getting as messy as she could before going back to the clean-as-a-whistle getup for work. She loves her family and knows them like the back of her own hand, and although it breaks her heart to wave goodbye from the windows of the train, she still does it anyway, waving wildly and shouting at the top of her lungs until the train rounds the corner and vanishes from sight.

This has nothing to do with my headcanons but I just love their exchange of dialogue here ; like, I can feel the Big Sister Lacy Energy™ from these panels so much

[clouseplayssims]

Heyyyyy TS3 people. Anybody feel like confirming the dog/cat breed names for me because the wiki is uh. Questionable.

I typed out the list already I just need confirmation on how correct it is and if I'm missing anything.

Large Breeds Afghan Hound Airedale Terrier Akita Alaskan Malamute American Eskimo American Foxhound American Staffordshire Terrier Australian Cattle Dog Australian Shepherd Bedlington Terrier Bernese Mountain Dog Black And Tan Coonhound Bloodhound Bluetick Coonhound Border Collie Borzoi Boxer Brittany Bull Mastiff Canaan Chesapeake Bay Retriever Chow Chow Chow Lab Mix Collie (Rough) Curly Coated Retriever Dalmatian Dingo Doberman Pinscher English Foxhound English Setter English Springer Spaniel Field Spaniel German Shepherd German Shorthair Pointer Giant Schnauzer Goolden Doodle Golden Retriever Great Dane Great Pyrenees Greyhound Ibizan Hound Irish Red and White Setter Irish Setter Irish Terrier Irish Wolfhound Keeshond Kerry Blue Terrier Labradinger Labradoodle Mastiff Newfoundland Norsk Elk Shepherd Old English Sheepdog Otterhound Pharaoh Hound Pit Bull Terrier Pointer Polish Lowland Sheepdog Poodle (Standard) Redbone Coonhound Rhodesian Ridgeback Rottweiler Saint Bernard Samoyed Siberian Husky Staffordshire Bull Terrier Tibetan Mastiff Vizsla Weimaraner Welsh Springer Spaniel Wheaten Terrier

Small Breeds Basenji Beagle Bichon Frise Black Russian Terrier Bocker Boston Terrier Bull Dog Bull Terrier Cardigan Welsh Corgi Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Chihuahua (shorthaired) Cocker Spaniel Dachshund English Cocker Spaniel English Toy Spaniel French Bulldog Havanese Carin Terrier Italian Greyhound Jack Russel Terrier Mini Schnauzer Miniature Pinscher Papillon Parson Russell Terrier Pekingese Pembroke Welsh Corgi Pitbull??? (looks like a Bull Terrier) Pomeranian Poodle (Mini?) Pug Puggle Schipperke Schnoodle Scottish Terrier Shetland Sheepdog Shiba Inu Shih Tzu Silky Terrier Smooth Fox Terrier Staffordshire Bull Terrier Standard Schnauzer Toy Fox Terrier West Highland White Terrier Whippet Wire Fox Terrier Yorkshire Terrier

Cats Abyssinian American Bobtail American Longhair American Shorthair American Wirehair Balinese Bengal Birman Black Cat Bombay British Longhair British Shorthair Burmese Calico Chartreux Colorpoint Shorthair Cornish Rex Devon Rex Egyptian Mau German Rex Havana Brown Himalyan Japanese Bobtail Javanese Korat Kurilian Bobtail La Perm Maine Coon Manx Norwegian Forest Ocicat Oriental Oriental Shorthair Persian Ragdoll Russian Blue Savannah Scottish Fold Shorthair Tabby Siamese Siberian Singapura Somali Tonkinese Turkish Angroa Tuxedo

[darkwood-sleddog]

Anyways, to continue the discussion from last night surrounding dog health, longevity and its relation to inbreeding I think the above study from 2021 is a very interesting read for my fellow dog obsessed (since some of you were looking for studies on the matter).

(Please note that this is just one study and to read everything and come to your own opinion. A single study is not necessarily proof or conclusive of everything but can help us gain a greater understanding of a wide and nuanced issue within dog breeding. This study itself comes to the conclusion that more research is needed).

This study grouped dogs by FCI group and some interesting tidbits I found when reading include:

-Group 5 (Spitz and Primitive) tended to have a lowest average rate of morbidity.

-Brachycephalic breeds had both a higher average morbidity and a higher average rate of inbreeding. They also had the highest rate of veterinary events (the study used date from pet insurance).

-Inbreeding values within dog breeds with closed stud books was on average equivalent to that of sibling matings (25%) while recent breeds that have open studbooks as well as landrace dogs that account for a large amount of founding dogs (such as the Danish-Swedish Farm Dog with 200(!!) founding dogs) did not have these inbreeding values.

-Higher levels of inbreeding can increase morbidity within dogs of the same weight range. (10% increase of veterinary events for a 30 kg dog, 37% increase in veterinary events for a 60 kg dog).

-Some exceptions to the broad conclusions of the study were: The Border terrier, Basenji, Collie, and English setter breeds have high inbreeding but low morbidity. Likewise, the Malinois, Pomeranian and Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka (Russian Toy) have lower inbreeding and high morbidity.

[border-collie]

I‘m not a writer but I would love to learn more about the different types of border collie!

Ok so, BIG PICTURE there are three types: Show line, Working Line, and "all other purposes" (usually called sports line but *I* personally take issue with this as a sports dog owner.)

Show line are pretty easy to identify and separate out, for the most part, these dogs have been completely separated from the rest of the big border collie gene pools since the mid twentieth century. These dogs are bred to the breed standard and type and are what compete in the colloquial dog shows typically. They are pretty dogs, with lots of hair, and anyone can look at them and say "now THAT is a border collie." They also, for the most part, are never expected to work sheep except to show that they have some level of herding instinct.

This becomes a big issue considering the primary registry of the border collies (International Sheep Dog Society or ISDS) says a border collie is any dog that herds sheep in a creep stance and uses their gaze to intimidate stock to move. (FUN FACT! Any dog of ANY breed history can become a fully registered border collie if they can prove they work like this!) ISDS dogs (or if you are in America, which lots of border collies are, American Border Collie Association or ABCA and a few other herding dog registries out there that I won't list them all) are, by and large, are considered Working Line. But working line is a BIG category! Here in the US there are lots of border collies used to work cattle which is rarely done elsewhere I the world, there are dogs bred to do everyday work on farms and ranches, and then there are the dogs bred to be good at herding competitions specifically. All of these dogs do their jobs just a bit differently and at different levels depending on the terrain, the fine details of the job, the dogs breeding and more. But for the most part they herd and are bred to herd with very little thought put into what they look like. Because they are bred first to work and not look like border collies, a lot of them actually DON'T look like most laypeople would describe a border collie. Many have a lot more white or a lot less white than the typical imagined border collie. They come in more colors than just black and white (so do all other varieties, but show lines specifically is dominated by black and white dogs) They also come in more coat lengths. Short haired border collies are VERY common in working lines for example.

Now what happens when these dogs are bred for something else? That's kind of the All Other Purposes Category, which is usually called Sports Lines but I'll explain why I don't agree with that name. Some of these reasons are to be able to perform well at a specific sport, these are what I would consider true Sports Lines. Sports lines are selected specifically for level temperament, physical soundness to prevent injury and high biddability to their handlers. They are often very heavy on working line backgrounds but some have some show lines mixed in especially to improve on structure. They can be any color, but black and white is still very common. All coat types are also common. While they are bred for structure, they often aren't bred for anything else and will stray from that perfect Show Line look. The next category is Color Bred. Border collies come in A LOT of colors, but working, show, and sport breeders don't really care what colors they are producing they all have other major qualities in mind before color. Color breeders primarily care about color first and foremost which means that they often have not great structure, temperament, or working ability. Lots of breeders who claim to be producing Sports Lines (and a few claiming to be working lines) are actually breeding color bred dogs either because they are selecting for color, or they got their dogs from someone who is. The bad structure and temperament in color bred dogs is unfortunately often applied by outsiders of this dichotomy to Sports Lines as well giving sports lines a bad reputation alongside color breeders. But, again, I feel like it's a misnomer situation. The final category is pet lines. These often heavily overlap with color bred lines. These dogs are selected to be "good pets" now the problem with this is, for the most part, border collies really aren't good pets. They require a lot of work and are very sensitive dogs. Often these dogs get rehomed when people realize they got in too deep and can't handle this dog which isn't a Labrador which is not usually a good situation for the dogs.

This is a high level breakdown, but is the gist of the breed as a snapshot. I can go more in depth if anyone has more questions!

[kangals]

aw your blog is lovely, i just got an 11 week old collie mix and my mate sent me your way. any puppy tips or wisdom to impart? 😊

congrats on the new baby!

collie tips: try to think of the barking as communication - it's easy to get annoyed by it, but i promise they're barking for a reason. even if that reason is just "i'm happy!" "i'm bored!" "there's a person on the sidewalk!" "i want this!" etc... you'll have a much better mental state if you treat it as a conversation instead of a nuisance.

not sure what type of coat your puppy has, but brush them at least 2x a week and shower them with treats during it. do nails weekly too! few things are more obnoxious than a grown-ass dog that throws a tantrum about basic grooming. and long-haired dogs need grooming, so they don't get the option to be fussy about it.

puppy tips in general: now that i'm on my second puppy, i think the entire concept of socialization/exposure training can be boiled down into thus:

put that beast in situations

make the situations fun

and that's really it. just take your puppy out and look for Situations to put them in. visiting the hardware store? boom, you've been placed on a wooden pallet. you are now 1 foot off the ground. yes, kind of weird. here's some treats for being on the pallet. yay! ok moving on. walking past an (empty) playground? i am now walking under a bridge, please follow me. yay, treats for going under low object. there is a scary object (e.g. traffic cone tipped on its side) outside? we are investigating the object. yay, here's some treats for sniffing the object. etc etc etc just over and over ad over. even at home you can make Situations like a cardboard box, or loud noises playing from a speaker, or relaxing in different parts of the house, etc. put your fingers in their nose. toss them in a puddle. i've come to realize that your job as a puppy owner is to just mildly inconvenience your puppy so much that they become totally unphased by it. and that's a much easier to swallow concept for me than anything else lol.

also: Situations can be passive too. make sure they learn how to be bored. chill in a room together by quietly ignoring them. let them learn to figure out how to entertain themselves peacefully. leave them alone regularly. etc.

also @purplesaline is a font of wisdom and has given me very good advice about puppy raising. several times i have asked her about a problem i'm having and been reassured that "yes it's fine, X thing will happen soon" and i think "well surely that can't be right" and then every. time. it does happen and she is correct.

[dogwalkwoof]

It's all in the breed...

So, as you probably know there are now hundreds of different dog breeds. However, most dogs can be organised into six main types; hounds, gundogs, terriers, toy dogs, utility dogs and working dogs. Lets take a quick look at these types and what it means for the breeds within the groups.

Hounds

Hounds were developed for hunting. Greyhounds for example, use their excellent sense of sight to hunt, while dogs such as Bloodhounds, use their well tuned sense of smell. Like most types of dogs, hounds come in all shapes and sizes. From the tall and lean Afghan, to the short legged and heavy Basset, each having their own special traits.

Gundogs

These types of dogs were developed to be a hunters helper. Their main duties were to follow, find and retrieve animals that had been shot by the hunter. These types of dogs suit countryside living best. In this type you can find breeds such as Weimaraner and Retrievers. Most Gundogs are active and enjoy playing fetch and swimming.

Terriers

This is my dog Molly's group. These smaller dogs were bred to hunt and chase animals such as rats, rabbits and foxes down runs. They are active and clever. The stocky, powerful but loving Staffordshire Bull Terrier can be found in this group, as well as the smaller, leaner, affectionate Jack Russel Terrier (Molly 😘).

Toy Dogs

These, as the name may suggest, tend to be on the smaller size. They were mainly bred to be companions and are well suited to city living. Dogs such as the fluffy Bichon Frise and the silky, "butterfly eared" Papillon belong to this group. Papillon dogs are actually named after the French word for butterfly because of their unusual ears.

Utility Dogs

These friendly and obedient dogs are often a mixture of companion and working dogs. Dogs such as the athletic Dalmatian, which is said to be one of the oldest breeds of dogs, and the large headed, gentle Bulldog belong in this group. Both known for their loyalty but each with very different physical needs; Dalmatians having a lot of energy to burn while the Bulldog does not like too much exercise.

Working Dogs

The final group includes dogs such as the fast, energetic Border Collie and the unique coated Hungarian Puli. Working dogs are known for their intelligence and obedience, making them the perfect dogs to train for things such as herding animals, guarding and rescuing. Probably the most famous and trainable of the working dogs are the German Shepherds, known for their brave and tireless work with the Police force.

Whichever breed of dog you may have or are thinking of getting make sure you find the right fit for you. Not all dogs follow the rules of the type or breed so do your research and check the background of any dog you may be thinking of getting because remember, a dog is for life not just for Christmas!

Happy dog days from Vicky at Shiner's Walkies in Plymouth 🐾🐕🥰

[fjordfolk]

That post from a few weeks ago about how different American lines look from European made me wonder if you have a favorite line? I also noticed that euro lines tend to have a more snipey(?)look and be a bit smaller, is that correct for the breed? I’m in Europe so I would be getting a euro line but I’m not really a fan of how snipey some shelties look, and tbh would prefer to be a bit on the bigger end of the size spectrum. Finally, what are your favorite examples of the breed(besides your own)/ ideal sheltie look in terms of confo? Thank you :)

Well, US and UK shelties are bred to different standards. The British type asks for a much finer dog overall, while the American looks for quite literally a (modern) collie in miniature. A strong AKC head would be considered faulty in KC and vice versa.

Here's where I answered slightly more in-depth about the standard differences. Here is also a nifty powerpoint on the faults and virtues of the FCI/UK head. Here is also a short one on coat/grooming because it popped up.

You'll hear US line shelties going a little larger on average (the type they're going for is easier to achieve in a larger format) vs British type shelties, but in reality, sheltie sizes are persistently utterly chaotic and you have to look at the growth rate of each individual puppy to have an idea. Sparty has a litter sibling the size of a small house, and that is not uncommon.

I'm partial to a good, moderate, substantial British-type sheltie, but I can also appreciate similarly moderate Americans. If you prefer the AKC type, you'll have no particular problem finding at least a high-percentage line cross in Europe.

There are some pictures of shelties I like here, here, and here - and don't worry - neither of those posts has any of my dogs in them, because I have eyes that I can see with :) I think this dog (huisin's journey to glory) might be missing from those posts though - and he's a 50/50 UK/US dog.