Rough Collies Not Very Popular These Days...? Discussions

Best dog ever. But i am biased. Grooming isn't that bad, a brush over once a day and a more thorough one fortnightly.

I shared my life with a Rough Collie for 13 years. She was one of the best dogs I've ever owned. She matured extremely fast. She would watch me train the other dogs & never had to be actually formally trained (though I always took her on lead & did basics with her to proof her). She had her own rules that were far more strict than my own. She didn't allow anyone to fight on the farm (this included cattle, chickens, horses or humans). We humans didn't give her much trouble, the livestock did.

My collie was notorious for tattling on visiting kids who did things they were told not to (like trying to climb barbed wire fences). She could play with our tiny dogs in a way that was safe for the tiny dogs yet she was strong enough to put predators on the run when they threatened these tiny dogs or her chickens. And if there was a serious threat she's been known to pinch my leg to make me understand the urgency of a situation (never in aggression).

I've actually been tentatively looking for a breeder to use in the future for another but far too many have puppies assigned to a deposit based on color preference. I'm a working dog handler. Color picking, in my opinion has gotten a lot of folks in trouble. I'd rather have a sable who will be gentle with my 3 pound Chihuahua than the fancy Blue Merle who isn't. Of course if I could get a gentle blue merle who was all that a Collie should be, that's fine. But I need a breeder who provides me by temperament suitability first. It's been really disappointing

So if anyone has suggestions for breeders who are placing puppy selection importance on temperament suitability as a priority, PLEASE send me the info.

They had a fairly decent entry at Crufts today, there were two judges for this breed.

Hi Azz. I wouldn't be opposed to importing provided I can afford it. I don't know what importing cost these days. I'll look into it. I've been really stunned to discover how hard it is to find a breeder this time.

Hello - new to this forum - but I thought I'd add some info to the discussion about the changing breed. I actually went out (i.e. stayed in and went online) and found some old postcards of Rough Collies. All images are from the UK, and all dated to around 1900-1920ish. There was an official breed standard by 1911, though I imagine these images are mostly of pets rather than show dogs. There may well have been some BC mixing in some of them. These dogs were described by Edwardians/Victorians as Rough Collies, even so.


On the left: With children and terrier for scale, though its head doesn't look v rough-collie-esque



I call this one 'Crazy Eyes', and on the right is an RC doing some actual herding in Arran.



Not sure if this one on the left is getting its ears blown up by a breeze or if they were never actually tipped. The one on the right is my favourite!



On the left is a 1930s, British RC with a child for scale, and on the right is the very American Pal (Lassie, 1940s).

But none of these are quite as foofy as the ones you see in the ring atm. If anyone has a small child to use as a measuring guide, we should be able to work out if modern rough collies have indeed shrunk!

Thank you for the photos. My Collie's ears didn't tip & she wasn't a show dog. She was however very much a working Collie. She had quite a lot of herding instinct yet unlike many Border Collies she knew when to turn on her herding instincts & when not to use them. I've worked with Border Collies who would nip at heels or get into trouble by going to herd the neighbor's livestock. My Collie taught herself an invisible border that she would not cross. She had a tremendous work ethic.

I wish I had pictures of my mother's Collies. She & my Grandparents kept a War Dog for a soldier on leave. His car broke down & the bus driver wouldn't allow the dog on board So they kept Jack. Amazing dogs. Her Collie Prince was much like my dog. My girl was pretty good size. She was about 80 pounds. I have no children with her in pics but I'll see if I can find better ones to share.

I'd love to some day have a Blue Merle & a rich Mahogany Sable. But really the color of the Collie is the last thing on the list.

They haven't gotten smaller, well the breed standard is the same so they SHOULDN'T have gotten smaller. Some nowdays are tiny tiny with candy floss coats and hedgehog type faces, but a lot of the issues with "size" is in what is deemed the "modern" dog the fixation with the change to the head and "sweet expression" lead to little thought being placed elsewhere on the dog, thus resulting in a loss of the reach of neck. They were always the same height, but with glorious swan like necks which gave the impression of a much larger dog. Some breeders still have such a neck, my own two do. My blue boy slightly more than the sable.
Don't speak about crufts this year, it was a day for the modern fluffy type collies. I watched in horror as all the correct sized, correct headed collies without the horrible huge stops, and with the fitted jackets were abruptly overlooked (including a beautiful canadian bitch) in favour of the modern collies present. In the opinion of myself and other collie friends I was with, the movement was unacceptable for a herding breed. Some looked nothing like a rough collie.
The breed is contaminated with bad politics unfortunately, classic collies still exist. But even some of these breeders seem to be going win chasing and using more modern studs. Sad.

I am actually looking for a good breeder of the 'older style' rough collie in the South East. Would you be able to recommend anyone?

I know what you mean about the 'sweet face'. Some of them remind me of Pomeranians!

Luke, I completely agree with you. I actually had a woman tell me it was such a shame I had not put my money to use on buying a champion. Now of course mine was not a show dog but I watched this woman's Collie. I can confidently say that her dog was not bred for intelligence. Little skinny face that looked like a lot of things but not a Collie. Awful. Just awful. Of course this woman thought it was a horror that my dog went out in the rain with me, worked with whatever animals we needed to work with. Wasn't I afraid my dog would get hurt? Well safety is always a concern but my Collie never came close to a kick by cow, horse or goat. She could read her livestock as well as she read people.

It's miserable without a Collie.

Hello, i'm new to the site and will be getting my first RC in about 2 weeks. The breeder mentioned they are using Lassie as a standard when breeding and I heard that Lassie was a bit smaller than the standard RC. My little Bella is the daughter of two championship RC's. Her dad looks like Lassie but with a much thicker/fully coat around the face and her mom is a tri-color that doesn't have as thick a coat, but still looks like a rough Collie to me.

I live in an area that is dog friendly and noticing that I never see RC. This has been my childhood dream dog because of Lassie and now that i'm in a position to have a dog I couldn't imagine having anything else.

With that being said i'm sure that the grooming is probably what turns a lot of people off. I'm setting up a grooming station at my house to make sure I start early and get a routine because it is a job. You have to be 100% motivated to ensure they're coats are well-taken care of.

I also used to walk a collie like your one. I want a collie but don't like the modern British bloodlines. Back in the early 1980s when I was young they were much nicer and as you said larger and had nicer coats. A while back I came across a breeder in Wiltshire breeding the type from those days, they refer to them as the old fashioned type from the 80s, maybe do a Google search.

Hi I have owned four collies. The first on was a blue merle girl named Misty Blue, 2nd tri colored boy Rio, third is a blue merle girl C-ATCh Dockside's Hurricane Savannah, fourth is a sable-merle headed white Firefly.

Lovely photos of Lassie type collies - and congrats on your Ag. Ch!
Welcome to the forum Sharon.

Thank you Carole. Love your photo of your gorgeous beagle!!

Can only repeat what Carole said - "lovely photos of Lassie type collies - and congrats on your Ag. Ch!"

And, of course, welcome to Breedia, Sharon from Tikva and from me!

Thank you.

Hi, I just joined. I had two wonderful collies (rough) up until Sunday morning, when I had to have my handsome boy put down due to some sort of neurological catastrophe, that, in the span of 20 hours, left him blind and unable to walk. I lay with him on our den floor all night, holding or at least touching him, so he knew I was there. He seemed so scared, and I was (am) heartbroken. He was a rescue from Collie Rescue of the Carolinas, and we got him and a smaller collie gal at the same time, back in 2013. We gave him and his little "sis" a wonderful home, or tried to, at least. It's a crying shame about the whole man-dog thing, in that in our lifetime, we must bury so many wonderful dogs. I miss him so, my handsome, gentle boy...

I am so sorry for your loss. On here, I think we all know how you must be feeling.
I agree with your comment about the shortness of our companions lives. They are all still there though, living on in our hearts and memories.To know that we have given our dogs the best possible life - and sometimes death - is a great consolation.
Run free handsome man.