Collie

The Smooth Collie is a noble, highly intelligent dog. They are sensitive, loyal and easy to train. They are usually good with other pets and friendly with other dogs. Some dogs may display herding behaviour when they are puppies, such as nipping at people's heels and trying to herd them. With regular and constant training, they can be taught not to herd humans.

The Smooth Collie is a loving, active, and agile dog. Their wedge-shaped head gives an impression of lightness. Their ears are 3/4 erect with the tips folding forward. They have almond-shaped dark eyes except in the case of blue merles; their eyes are may be blue or merle. The Smooth Collies’ coat is one-inch long and requires little grooming.

12 – 15 years

These dogs come in shades of sable, tri-colour and blue merle.

With their abundant double coats, Collies need weekly brushing to prevent serious matting. The under coat is soft and furry, sitting close to the skin, while the outer coat is harsh and straight. During moulting, daily brushing is beneficial. Occasional trimming will keep the feathering on the front legs and tail in check.

All Collies’ both Rough and Smooth are prone to eye problems such as Collie Eye Anomaly and Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). Collies’ are also susceptible to Hip Dysplasis and Epilepsy. Dwarfism (Pituitary), Sebaceous adenitis (Skin), Hypothyroidism (Endocrine), Cataracts.

As adults, Collies are an easy breed to feed as they are not fussy eaters.

It is believed this breed is descended from dogs which accompanied the Roman invaders in 50BC and native Scottish dogs. They probably take their name from a type of black sheep, Colleys, bred in the lowlands of Scotland.

In the 1860's Queen Victoria became entranced with these dogs when she visited her Scottish estate at Balmoral and took some back with her to Windsor Castle. Known at that time as the Scottish Sheepdog, the Collie first entered the show-ring at the Birmingham Dog Society Show and was soon highly sought after.

By 1878, America followed suit. In the 1940's, the breed shot to even greater fame when a Collie was chosen to star as 'Lassie'.

The earliest illustrations of Collies are found in The History of Quadrupeds by Thomas Beswick dated around 1800.

Queen Victoria kept Collies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, sparking interest in the breed among the wealthy elite.

The Collie was made famous in the 1950s on the television show “Lassie.”