ABOUT THE BREED / INTERESTING LINKS

   SOME FACTS ABOUT ROUGH COLLIE

   Collie, Rough or Smooth- it's got it all - poise, confidence, intelligence, and beauty.  No other breed is more recognized than this one. As it stands erect, ears cocked, and its deep chocolate eyes shining in anticipation, nothing screams 'magnificence' more than this gorgeous dog.
( from http://www.colliedogowners.com/)

The Collie is so intelligent that it has been trained for many purposes - as a rescue dog, guide for the blind, war hero, movie star.  It can also be good as a watchdog, but man has found out that its extremely difficult to train a collie to attack viciously. The breed gained its popularity by the Lassie novel, movies, and television shows in 1900's.

   APPEARANCE

          Three coat colors are recognized for Rough Collies:

  II sable and white, where the "sable" ranges from pale tan to a golden mahogany

        

  golden mahagony: CH Marked by Moonlight of the Windy Lands

 

                                                                       dark sable:   CH Golden Oriental Sun of the Windy Lands   

                                                                                                               

   

                                                                                                      golden sable: CH Nyitramenti Yanichar Sultan                              

  II tricolour, which is primarily black edged in tan

       

   jCH Black Swan of the Windy Lands

                                                       

  II blue merle, which is a mottled gray

      

                                                                      CH Beyond Limits of the Windy Lands                                                       

  In America, also  white collies are recognized

       

                      Van M Titanium Deal                                       Van M Glacier                               Glasgowhills Boom Chika Boom  

The Smooth variety is without the coarse outer coat, but they are just as  elegant, intelligent, friendly, loyal, loving and sensitive as rough collies. Also they come in sable, tricolour and blue merle colour (and white in USA).

  

       

 

Rough Collies have smaller Sheltie 'cousins, than come in 5 colour varians'.

 

Upper Carniola Shelties

 

The downy undercoat is covered by a long, dense, coarse outer coat with a notable ruff around the neck, feathers about the legs, a petticoat on the abdomen, and a frill on the hindquarters.

The desired size and weight varies among breed standards; male collies can stand 56 to 61 cm at the shoulder; the female from 51 to 57 cm. The male can weigh 20 to 34 kg and the female from 17 to 25 kg. US collies are bigger that the European ones.

One of the characteristic features of the Rough Collie is its head. This is light in relation to the rest of the body, and resembles a blunted wedge tapering smoothly from ears to black nose. The muzzle is well rounded, and never square. There is considerable variation in the colour of the head, however. The eyes are medium sized and attentive. The ears are generally bent, the bottom part vertical and the tips sloped forwards, although the dog can lay them back, or hold them vertical when alert.

Flash n Thundershine of the Windy Lands

   TEMPERAMENT

   Rough Collie is an intelligent, friendly and active dog. The double layered coat needs to be brushed frequently and thoroughly to keep it in a show condition, but it does not require extensive care. Rough collies should show no nervousness or aggressiveness, and are good with children and other animals. They are mid-sized dogs, suiting them to live in small houses and apartments. The herding instinct is very much apparent in some dogs, but other dogs do not show this as much. Rough Collies are very loyal and protective to their owners. They are a good family dog. They are eager to learn and to please and respond best to a gentle hand. They require human company and should never be kept outside as they will become bored and inclined to bark. By nature gentle and domesticated, they are fearless in danger and will rush to defend their owners.

 

CH A Blue Pearl of the Holy Mountain

 

   HISTORY

The word "collie" is thought to come from the word for "black" or "coal" in Old English.

Rough Collie is a descended from a localized variety of herding dog originating in Scotland and Wales. The Scottish variety was a large, strong, aggressive dog, bred to chase highland sheep. The Welsh variety was small and nimble, domesticated and friendly, and also herded goat.

Highland collies

Some sources claim that the Collie's original ancestors were brought to the British Isles by Roman conquerors in the middle of the first century.

The true popularity of the breed came about during the 1860's when Queen Victoria visited the Scottish Highlands. They captivated her, and she enthusiastically began to sponsor them. From that point on Collies became very fashionable.

Queen Victoria era Collies

In 1867, Old Cockie was born. It is believed that he introduced the genes for the gorgeous sable colors present in the collie.

Old Cookie

The show Collie as we know it today, was developed by a handful of dedicated English breeders during the late 1880's in the district of Birmingham.

 Continued breeding for show purposes drastically changed the appearance of the dogs; in the 1860s, it was a much taller dog than it is today. Earlier dogs were also more sturdy in build and capable of covering up to 100 miles in one day. In the UK the Rough Collie is no longer used for herding, having been replaced by the workaholic Border Collie. Though in the United States and a number of European countries, there has been a resurgence in the use of the Collie as a working and performance dog. 

More about collie history: https://www.oldtimefarmshepherd.org/historic-collie-articles/collie-history/