"First and foremost, the Australian Shepherd is a true working stockdog, and anything that detracts from his usefulness as such is undesirable. " This is the very first line of the ASCA Australian Shepherd breed standard. Read it again. "ANYTHING that detracts from his USEFULNESS....is undesirable".
Are overly angulated rears useful in a herder? Not according to Hartnagle who literally wrote the book on australian shepherd and MAS judging standards. Overly angulated rears are seen in trotting breeds (like Dalmatians). They have no place in a sprinting dog that should be able to turn and stop on a dime.
Overly angled rears make a dog slower, less agile, and less capable of quick turns. So why is this being rewarded in the conformation ring?
What about blocky, overly defined heads/stops? There is a reason the stop is supposed to be moderate. It is for the deflection of flying hooves.
Is excessive coat useful? Eh, maybe in cold climates, I'd give that a pass. As a Texan, I say it's detrimental both for reasons of over-heating as well as attracting stickers and debris. I don't have time to be brushing out a coat while we're trying to bring the goats in.
How about obesity? Nope. Not useful in any form or fashion.
Heavy bone structure? I guess it's good for fighting predators but not good for herding/agility.
Yet this is what is often rewarded, especially in the AKC show ring. In fact, it's rewarded so often and so strongly that those of us with CORRECT dogs are often accused of having dogs with poor structure or that lack breed type. This is so laughable that I don't even know where to start. Are we even reading the same standard?
In MAS, we also have the issue of breeding cute, short-strided dogs that are equally unsuitable for herding. If you look at a dog and your first thought is "I wish I could brush her and paint her toenails" rather than "I bet she could go get that rank heifer out of the back 40", well.....is that a dog the judges should be putting up?
The next time someone starts to lecture you on breed type in a herding breed, ask how much herding they actually do. If their dog can't do what it was bred for, who really lacks breed type here? The same people who will claim a rose eared dog lacks breed type(rose ears are 100% correct to the standard by the way) will gladly breed a conformation champion that's never seen livestock a day in their life.
Just because a judge gives it a title and some ribbons doesn't mean the dog is correct. We need to do what's best for the breed and what is correct for the breed, regardless of what certain judges think about it. Ask yourself: does this benefit the dogs ability to HERD?
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