The Collie Rough

Appearance

A dog of great beauty and elegance, perhaps the most beautiful of all breeds.
There are FIVE colours recognised in the USA but some other countries including Australia only acknowledges three of these.

Sable and White, Tricoloured, Blue Merle, Sable Merle and the White collie. (The white collie is predominantly white with either a sable, tri or blue head.)

History

The collie was used extensively as a herding dog, largely from the Highlands of Scotland & Northern England. Made popular in the 1860’s when Queen Victoria fell in love with the breed. The collie has been immnortalised in novel and film with Albert Payson Terhune’s “Lad of Sunnybank” and Eric Knight’s “Lassie Come Home”

Temperament

Intelligent, loyal, trustworthy, loving, gentle and sensitive. Good workability.

A real family dog who is very easy to train. Used widely in USA as service dogs for people with disabilities.
They are notorious people dogs and should never be forced to live permanently alone outside as they will not be happy. They make great couch potatoes.

A great companion for young and old they love to go for walks or play ball.

A collie with TRUE collie temperament should NEVER be fearful, nervous or shy. Unfortunately many factors have combined to make this trait all too common in the collies today. The wise buyer will seek out the collie with a good temperament.

Care / Grooming

The Collie does not require frequent bathing and grooming contrary to popular belief. Grooming will depend on the type of coat your dog has during the course of the year.

Males and sterilised females drop their coat once a year and entire females according to their heat cycle. Generally combing out behind the ears the feathering on the legs, under the front and back legs once a week is sufficient and a complete groom through is only suggested every month. Obviously and dog who is out of coat will require less grooming and Smooth coat Collies similarly require less grooming.

Collies do not seem to harbour the doggie odour that many breeds give off. Checking regularly between the toes and in the coat for prickles if that is a problem in your area is a must.

Health

The Collie like all breeds has certain health issues. As a rule they are a healthy hardy breed.

Collie Eye Anomaly would be the most commonly heard of genetic disorder but today we have th tools through Genetic Testing to be able to begin to selectively breed away from this problem. NEVER buy a puppy unless the breeder can supply a copy of the puppies Eye Certificate from a registered Ophthalmologist carried out on the puppy from 5 to 10 weeks of age.

Other issues that can now be genetically tested for are Grey Collie Syndrome (Similar to Leukaemia) . Some other problems that occasionally arise that are inherited are Collie Nose (Solar Keratitis) Progressive Retinal Atrophy (Degenerative eye problem), Epilepsy, Demodex Mange (Compromised immune system), Patent Ductus Arteriosis (Hole in the Heart).

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