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Collie

The rough collie is a Scottish herding dog that became a household name through Lassie, but the working original was a hardy hill dog for sheep.

Queen Victoria's enthusiasm in the 1860s is what turned it into a fashionable show breed and set the elegant modern type.

It is a medium-large dog with a long wedge-shaped head, a profuse double coat and a full mane and frill. The smooth collie is the same breed with a short coat. Temperament is the strong suit: collies are gentle, sensitive and famously good with children, and they are talkers — a vocal breed that will tell you about things.

Origin
Scotland
Size
20–34 kg, 51–66 cm at the shoulder
Lifespan
12–14 years
Coat
Long harsh outer coat over a dense undercoat
Temperament
Gentle, sensitive, vocal, devoted to family
Exercise
An hour daily plus training

Related: Bearded collie · Border collie

3 collie photos, newest first

Collie feed
  • Angus, a collie

    Angus

    Angus stands on the hill at sunset because he knows exactly how it looks.

    FrostyOtter · 6 days ago

  • Linnet, a collie

    Linnet

    Linnet was promoted to overwhelmed airport baggage manager; unfortunately, a stack of empty bowls wobbles dangerously.

    FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

  • Linnet, a collie

    Linnet

    This is Linnet pretending not to have been on the sofa.

    GentleFinch · 2 weeks ago

Living with a collie

The coat looks harder work than it is — it is harsh rather than silky and sheds dirt — but it needs a thorough line brushing weekly and daily attention during the twice-yearly moult, which is prodigious.

They are sensitive dogs that do poorly with harsh handling and better with reward-based training.

Two genetic points matter. Collie eye anomaly is widespread in the breed and every puppy should be eye-tested at six to seven weeks. The MDR1 drug-sensitivity variant is also common and has a cheap DNA test — an affected collie can be killed by ordinary doses of some common veterinary drugs.

Blue merle is a classic colour here, and it carries the rule that goes with merle everywhere: never merle to merle. A puppy inheriting two copies is usually largely white and frequently deaf, blind or both. Ask the colour of both parents before anything else about the litter.

General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual dogs vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.

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