Being new to shelties we are always trying to learn what ever we can about the breed and everything around sheltie activities. My 17 year old son (nick named Mr. Google) is always looking up information online regarding sheltie standards, genetics, care, showing etc. etc. He is hoping to purchase or co-own a show prospect puppy in a couple of years so we have been going to shows and he continues his quest for sheltie knowledge. This brings me to my question regarding the kennel clubs. Our 2 are CKC registered and while Mikos is over height and can't be shown, Brie was shown and is a CKC Champion. We have both read the standards for the CKC and AKC which I believe are almost the same but today my son was reading the UKC standards and was surprised to discover that Brie (a sable) would be disqualified under their standards. She has a half white face and their standards do not allow a dog to have a large amount of white on their face or an eye surrounded by white. We had not heard of the UKC until recently and we are curious as to why their standards would be so different from the CKC and AKC. One of those, 'Wow, I wonder why?' questions that would be interesting to know the answer to.
CKC, AKC, UKC Question
- Thread starter nbrard
- Start date
Justicemom
Forums Celebrity
I believe it is because dogs with white around an ear can be deaf in that ear and there can be vision problems(starburst and china eyes) with white around an eye, Not always but some times. Also it is common in double merles, which can also have deafness and blindness issues. It is to discourage the breeding of such dogs.
UKCs vision is the total dog. function, structure and temperment. Anything that may affect the ability of the dog to be a functional working dog is heavily considered and penalized. By the same token UKC allows color headed whites to show bacuse there is no health issues linked with that color pattern as long as the head color is intact.
UKCs vision is the total dog. function, structure and temperment. Anything that may affect the ability of the dog to be a functional working dog is heavily considered and penalized. By the same token UKC allows color headed whites to show bacuse there is no health issues linked with that color pattern as long as the head color is intact.
ClantyreSheltie
Forums Sage
Long answer- look at the difference between collies and shelties. Collie people, for many years, have selected against white on the face. Thier color headed whites even don't have white on the head. They also don't throw piebald as frequently as shelties do. They realized long ago that white on the head can be a recipe for hearing/sight issues. Since ASSA excluded color headed whites, few know how to properly breed for them, what we get is colored dogs with big white body spots. I suspect these dogs carry and express piebald, not true white factoring. Add that to Irish spotting, merle and other white/dilution genes, and we have trouble. Think about it, Dalmatians are extreme piebald, and a good percentage of them are deaf.
I like the UKC standard better, in that it also says structure comes before color.
I like the UKC standard better, in that it also says structure comes before color.
This is really interesting and does add to our intrigue and curiosity about her markings. While half her face is white, the ear on that side is coloured and the eye has pigment around it while both eyes are brown.
http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb446/nbrard/8b8aef36.jpg
When you look her up on Pedigree Lines (Starmist Fairfax Revenir), her name used to be Blanche, she has some pretty significant dogs in her line and the possibility of any double merle occurrence seems pretty unlikely.
I fully understand the desire to keep the breed strong and sound in all aspects, that is very important but it is surprising that the three clubs are not unanimous in their standards. Poor Breezy, luckily in her retirement she is very happy to receive copious amounts of love, fun and snuggles from her family who wouldn't change her for the world!!
http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb446/nbrard/8b8aef36.jpg
When you look her up on Pedigree Lines (Starmist Fairfax Revenir), her name used to be Blanche, she has some pretty significant dogs in her line and the possibility of any double merle occurrence seems pretty unlikely.
I fully understand the desire to keep the breed strong and sound in all aspects, that is very important but it is surprising that the three clubs are not unanimous in their standards. Poor Breezy, luckily in her retirement she is very happy to receive copious amounts of love, fun and snuggles from her family who wouldn't change her for the world!!
ClantyreSheltie
Forums Sage
It shouldn't be surprising about the clubs. UKC is not a political being, where the other two clubs are. They are less inclined to allow standard changes based on whim, where AKC just does what the parent clubs say, whether it is rational or not.
We had a blue Merle bitch with a half white face (out of a double Merle dam) go winners at our specialty a few years ago. That was quite the uproar.
We had a blue Merle bitch with a half white face (out of a double Merle dam) go winners at our specialty a few years ago. That was quite the uproar.
I guess politics gets into everything and as always you get the good and the bad! It's funny with those half white faces because one breeder I met said she remembered Brie from a few years ago and thought she had created a stir as well! I like her looks and at this point in her life that's all that matters!