Collie

Collie refers to various breeds of herding dog originating primarily in Scotland. The exact origin of the name is uncertain, although it probably originates in Early Scots (coal), meaning black. Another explanation sometimes put forward is that collie was a regional word in Anglo-Saxon for "something useful." The fictional Lassie, star of movies, books, and television shows, was a rough collie, which helped to popularize Collies in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as in many other countries. Lad of Sunnybank also deserves credit for making the collie popular and was a real dog written about by Albert Payson Terhune. The Collie Club of America is one of the oldest breed-specific clubs in existence in the United States (founded in 1886). However, there are three different dog breeds with "Collie" in their name:

Collie (including both Rough Collie and Smooth Collie varieties)

Border Collie

Bearded Collie

The farm collie was a generic term for a wide range of herding dogs common in North America until the middle of the 20th century.

Shetland Sheepdogs (commonly known as "Shelties") are sometimes mistakenly called Miniature Collies, but they are a completely different breed of distinct origin.

Collie Appearance

The highlands of Scotland were the natural home of the collie, where the sheepdogs had been used for centuries by shepherds, but the modern form of the breed was mostly developed in England in the late 1800s. This early form of the breed was usually referred to as the Scotch collie (or Scottish collie) in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Scotch collies were heavier and less fine-boned than today's rough and smooth dogs. The ancestors of the modern Collie were first exhibited as "Scotch Sheep-Dogs" in the 1860 Birmingham (England) dog show.

Collies come in two varieties of the breed based on coat length in America; in the UK these are shown as separate breeds. The rough collie is the collie seen in films and on television (e.g., Lassie). 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 smooth collie likewise has a double coat, but the outer one is short and dense, albeit there is a notable ruff around the neck. Both rough and smooth varieties are available in four distinct colours. Sable collies are generally the most recognizable, the choice of the Lassie television and movie producers. The sable colour on these dogs can range from a light blonde colour to a deep reddish-brown, with any hue in between possible. Tri-colour dogs are mostly black and white with tan markings. Blue Merle collies are best described as tri-colour dogs whose black has been diluted to a mottled gray-blue colour. White collies are usually mostly white on the body with a head coloration of any of the three previous.

A lesser-known variant of blue merle colouring is that of the "phantom merle" - a seemingly tri-colour dog, with only perhaps a slight merling of one or two areas of fur, which actually carries the gene for merling, which is a dominant dilution gene. If bred to another dog with a merle gene, the resulting pups may be "double-dilute", which can result in devastating and lethal neurological conditions. In America, a dog with the phantom merle colouring is described as being "cryptic for merle." The least-seen colour among collies is sable merle, that is sable collies carrying the merle (dominant dilution) gene. These collies have white hairs mixed in among the sable ones along with patches of white in the sable. They may have dark eyes, merles eyes (dark brown irises with patches of blue) or blue eyes (often called China blue colour). In America, blue-eye sable merle collies are disqualified from the conformation show ring, according to AKC rules.

Collie Temperament

As modern-day "Lassies", both rough and smooth collies have become successful assistance, and therapy dogs. At least one guide dog school, Southeastern Guide Dogs in Florida, currently trains smooth coated collies as guide dogs, and a number of collies are currently partnered with disabled individuals around the United States.

Collies are known to be generally sweet and protective. They are generally easy to train due to a high level of intelligence and a willingness to please. Some collies are a bit clingy, but this is often seen as an overdeveloped sense of loyalty. They are excellent herding dogs and benefit from the companionship of a family or other dogs.