I've got a friend of a friend who's not getting much help from his ringcraft re handling & stacking his Border Collie. I think what he wants to know is what the rules & normal practice are as regards treats and baiting, and supporting the puppy to get a square stack. I know this differs from breed to breed ie some breeds are fine with waving treats, others frown on it, others still throw the food all over the ring! I have no idea what the Border Collie people usually do though, wondered if anyone on here can give a few pointers. Sounds like his ringcraft doesn't know much about the finer points of handling practice in this particular breed. :-)

One reason I will never show a BC in the ring, is the current fashion for stringing the dogs on the move to keep the head up & even worse placing the dog into a stand & then holding the dog's ears into the total"incorrect" tipped position, the dogs all look most uncomfortable & appear to be being help up by the ears

The correct way(IMHO)is to teach the dog to free stand four square looking at it's handler rather like a Labrador one of the few breeds not being shown in what I call the "Yankee"style

Border collies can be both free stood or stacked in the ring there are no actual rules as such. Treats can be used but it is not encouraged to throw them about, just to treat your own dog and get their attention focused on you. I am showing girls that I free stand at the moment but have stacked in the past although have never thought holding the ears up achieves much as once the dog is out of the stack the natural ear carriage is obvious.

Sorry just to add I agree with Dyane they should not be strung up on the move as there should be the characteristic low head carriage.

>The correct way(IMHO)is to teach the dog to free stand four square looking at it's handler rather like a Labrador one of the few breeds not being shown in what I call the "Yankee"style

Thankfully our breed in the UK is always shown this way, but sadly both in USA and Australia they are stacked, hate it, it turns a dog that is meant to be alert, standard says bold and energetic.  A held dog just doesn't give this at all.

When I first started showing I had German shepherds mine where taught to be placed in stance and when there, one was baited on a loose lead hands free one required a Hand on her check chain and I stood level with her head and baited with the other hand no throwing of food and no other person needed to double handle, one old judge said to me after Bob that was the way he showed them in the 50s the thing is it takes a lot of work time and patience to achieve this most people do not want t put the time and effort in to it as they do not stand four square they have t be rock solid in stance as correcting them is not done easily or quickly

Ideally any dog should be able to free-stand as it shows off good structure. I tend to work with my show dogs on a lot of foot awareness stuff by moving them around, walking them into a freestack and then rewarding when the feet are in the right place. It can be turned into a little game as well to keep the dog happy in the ring. It's also important to learn how to hand stack a dog properly and know where the feet go though, because sometimes you may be faced with a situation where you have no choice but to hand stack. I tend to bait puppies during the exam once teeth have been checked and often kneel next to the puppy so that I can easily stop them from sitting down or turning around too much.

As with most pastoral breeds, the Border Collie should be shown as naturally as possible, so definitely moved on a looser lead (obviously some tension may be necessary to keep control with a puppy but not strung up). Have seen plenty of people ruin a beautifully moving dog by stringing it up on a tight lead.

Throwing food is considered to be bad etiquette in most breeds. Treats are fine though, and if the dog responds well to them, are good for making the show ring a positive experience.

Thanks to all, I'll pass it on. :-)

Spot on advice from Satincollie. Could maybe the breeder offer some help and advice too. Where abouts is your friend located, as maybe some fellow collie owners could offer help :)

Well the friend who asked me is in Norfolk, no idea where his friend with the collie is though! I've passed the suggestions on though. :-)

Border collie showing . hi can anyone help me with drying/ shining coats