The Collie

The Collie is a dog that came to be in Scotland and was originally bred to be able to herd and drive livestock, it was a favorite of Queen Victoria’s in the 1800’s, and it was registered with the AKC almost a hundred years later, in 1885.

The professional breeding industry took over the Collie and turned it into something that had little resemblance with the original dog; they bred it up to the Borzoi to get a more elegant head, and over the years the appearance of the Collie changed a lot when compared to what it was a while ago. The original Collie was taller had less hair and was a hardier breed then the one that we know today. But it does not mean that the Collie we have today is all that bad. In fact, the Collie we know and love today is an intelligent well balanced and well tempered dog.

He is an excellent pet for the whole family, with that true Lassie personality and lots of love to give to entire family. This is a breed that has the tendency to like and love everybody, which means pets, strangers and most importantly children. They are sensitive dogs that give a lot of affection but they also need to receive lots of affection from their owners, they love to get involved in the family activities; this is a very loyal breed that will stand by his owner when needed.

The Collie is a dog that you can depend upon to respond to you and to listen, he is very intelligent which makes training a breeze (given you use the proper methods) usually a reward based training works best. These are dogs that do just as well with people that have never had a dog in their life as they do with the most experienced of dog owners. One thing to remember is to give lots of socialization at an early age so that the pup will not grow up to be timid, which can result because of the dog’s sensitive nature; you could say that they need some confidence building. This is a good watch dog and he will bark to announce the coming of a visitor. This dog does best in a quiet environment because tension and a lot of noise will bother it - another result of his sensitive nature.

The Collie is a dog that everybody knows about because of the television program named Lassie, now Lassie was built the way a true Collie should be built. Lassie was a beautiful dog that had a strong build and an intelligent sharp expression on its face. This is a dog that weighs right around 50 to 70 pounds; the weight also depends on whether the dog is a male or female.

The Collie has a nice long coat that is very dense. The color of the coat can be white, sable and white and different forms of tricolor. For some kinds of people, the Collie is all that is good in a dog, a dog that is graceful and has a royal dignified appearance and one that will never let you down.

Because of the type of coat that he has, the Collie needs to be brushed once or twice weekly, and even more so when he is shedding, which comes about every two out of four seasons. Because it sheds so heavily during the year, this is not a dog that is recommended for people that suffer from allergies. There can be two different types of Collie coats, the rough coated Collie (with the long hair) and the smooth coated Collie (with the short hair), grooming can vary depending of the breed that you have.

There are various health problems that are associated with this breed; that is why it is recommended that you take the time to look up a good breeder when hunting for a puppy, a good breeder will be able to give you health certificates and guarantees on both of the parents and the puppy that you are interested in. Try to avoid puppy mills because if not properly taken care of, the dogs that come from such places can be unhealthy and unstable in temperament.