collie dog

History of origin

About two thousand years ago, the free lands of the Britons were colonized by the Roman Empire. The conquerors, intending to settle here for a long time, brought with them not only soldiers, but also workers, household items and even their shepherd dogs – after all, so many uncultivated lands fell under the Roman hand, where it was possible to grow bread for the needs of the Empire. Of course, Roman Shepherds very quickly created families with local dogs, giving rise to a new breed – the Scottish Shepherd or Collie.

I must say that in ancient times people did not attach much importance to the appearance of their dogs, only their working qualities were of interest, so in those days the breeds were formed by natural selection. So, the ancestors of modern collies were four-legged shepherds, the most adapted to the local mountainous and cool climate: long-haired, active, hardy and smart.

The very name of the breed today causes a lot of controversy, since its origin has been lost for centuries. Either the Saxon word “count” – “black” formed the basis, or it is still simpler, and shepherd dogs were originally called collie-dogs, that is, dogs herding sheep of the collie breed.

Of course, breeders subsequently worked hard on the modern look of the collie. The blood of setters rushed to them, to which they owe different types of color, and greyhounds, who gave modern collies a refined body structure and an elongated muzzle. But, one way or another, the result was an elegant dog of an elegant color with an absolutely amazing coat (the pride of the breed!) And a golden character.

And when the migration of the English and Scots to the New World and Australia began, they, of course, took herding dogs with them. So there were such offspring of collies as the Australian Shepherd, Border Collie, Australian Kelpie and many others.

In our country, collies reached their peak of popularity in the 70s of the XNUMXth century after the Lassie series of American films was released.

Breed description

The Scottish Sheepdog should give the impression of elegant dignity and at the same time energy. Although of medium height and weight, the collie nevertheless looks like a large dog due to its rich fur (in the long-haired variety). The ears are semi-erect or erect, the head is dry, wedge-shaped, the muzzle is elongated, like a greyhound. The eyes are slanted, small, the nose is black. The back is level, the tail is lowered or slightly curved, but under no circumstances should it be thrown over the back. Colors: red with white, sable with white, tricolor (black and white with an admixture of red spots), marble with white. Characterized by a white collar or white chest.

Height for males is 55 – 60 cm with a weight of 20 – 30 kg, for females – 50 – 55 cm with a weight of 18 – 25 kg.

There are two varieties of the breed: long-haired and short-haired. In the first case, the fur is long, lush and is a real decoration. In the second – medium length, dense, tight-fitting, rather hard.

Also worth mentioning is the Sheltie breed, or Scottish Sheepdog, which can be called a miniature variety of Collie. It differs from its “full-size” counterparts only in height, which is 35 – 37 cm.

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Character

Collies have long and firmly established themselves as ideal nannies for young children. This is a very friendly dog, but you will not see such an all-consuming and even somewhat obsessive love in her, as, for example, in a golden retriever. Collies will always carry themselves with calm dignity. Perhaps the shepherd instincts of these dogs, which have long ceased to work in their specialty, have resulted in a desire to patronize and protect children.

Collies are completely human-oriented and have proven themselves well as service dogs – they are easy to train and willingly follow commands. They make good guides. Shetland Sheepdogs are incredibly smart, and Border Collies rank first in the ranking of the smartest dog breeds.

Collies are completely human-oriented and have proven themselves well as service dogs – they are easy to train and willingly follow commands. They make good guides. Shetland Sheepdogs are incredibly smart, and Border Collies rank first in the ranking of the smartest dog breeds.

Health and disease

In general, collies cannot be called a sickly breed, but sometimes these dogs have mutations that make them poorly tolerate infectious diseases and are sensitive to a number of drugs (the full list will be prompted by your veterinarian). Actually, such dogs are usually excluded from breeding, but it’s still better to play it safe and not forget to vaccinate your four-legged friend on time.

As for the rest, all the same diseases are typical for collies as for other breeds, and with proper care, long walks and proper nutrition, you will have a healthy and cheerful dog.

Word to the breeder

She told us in detail about Scottish Shepherds breeder Zhanna Androsenko (collie and sheltie kennel “Aleander”, Novosibirsk): “The collie is one of the most famous breeds and perhaps the best family dog. Soft, intelligent, understanding the owner on an intuitive level, reading his mood, always nearby and considering her owner the center of her universe. As a representative of the group of shepherd breeds, he considers it his duty to look after the owner, readily “shepherds” both himself and his children on walks. From this follows another very convenient quality of this breed – the collie is not inclined to go for walks far from the owner. After all, left without his careful supervision, the dog can get into trouble.

Due to the natural intelligence and the above qualities, in order to live comfortably and comfortably with a dog, what I call “domestic training”, that is, those requirements and commands that are formed in the process of everyday communication, is usually enough for a collie. Nevertheless, it is always useful to resemble even simplified training courses, even for collies, it greatly increases mutual understanding, develops natural intelligence and controllability, as they say, from a half-look. On training grounds, collies, as a rule, quickly overtake all their “classmates”, and trainers do not get tired of praising them – more often in surprise.

Many inhabitants are frightened by the presence of a rich fur coat, which is always associated in the imagination with some special and time-consuming care. In fact, everything is much simpler. The coat of the Collie is double in structure, consisting of a long and harsh main hair and a shorter, very abundant, very soft and extremely warm down. It is not unreasonably believed that collie down is warmer and softer than angora. So, thanks to such a double structure, the collie coat, although rich, is nevertheless quite comfortable and easy to care for. It is enough to comb the collie once a week, wash it as needed, but with shampoo, preferably no more than once every 2 months, so as not to unnecessarily degrease the hair. Well, if you get a waterproof overall for the muddy season for your collie, you won’t have to worry at all. In winter, collies walk perfectly with the owner in any frost as much as the owner wants. By the way, here is another feature of the collie – it is very plastic in temperament and easily adapts to the lifestyle of its owners. That is, it can accompany him on walks of any duration and complexity, including rafting on mountain rivers or hiking in the mountains (there are such people among the owners of my graduates), but they can be content with a lifestyle of increased comfort, requiring only a reasonable amount of exercise for themselves. At the forefront for collies is being close to their beloved owner.

Well, and, finally, it is impossible not to dwell on the fact that collies look great. They can be admired endlessly.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about collie keeping with zoo engineer, veterinarian, collie owner Anastasia Kalinina.