“Collie” is such an ancient word that we no longer know what it originally meant. But somehow it got attached to dogs that excelled in working with sheep. There was a now-extinct sheep breed in Scotland called a colley, so writers of dog breed books guess that somehow the name of the sheep got transferred to the dogs that tended the sheep. But now collie means sheepdog. There are many varieties of sheepdogs.
UK Breeds
The main core of collie breeds is from the United Kingdom. These include the smooth collie, the bearded collie, the Welsh Sheepdog, the Shetland sheepdog, the Old English sheepdog and the ubiquitous Border collie. They also include the most famous collie breed of all, the Scotch collie or rough collie or “Lassie dog” because that was the breed of the fictional superdog Lassie of book, television and movie fame.
UK collie breeds are highly intelligent, highly energetic, easily bored and love people. This makes them highly trainable. They need regular exercise and plenty of interaction with people or other dogs in order to keep from getting destructive. The Border collie is considered to be the most intelligent dog breed in the world. UK collie breeds tend to have thick coats in order to keep well protected from the weather.
American Collies
America developed their own collies, but they usually do not have the name “collie” in them. However, Americans seem to prefer the UK collie breeds for pets, working on the ranch and for dog sports. One very rare breed is the McNab shepherd (also called McNab collie or just McNab) which is supposed to be descended from the smooth coated variety of the Scotch collie.
But the most popular American collie breed has the rather bizarre name of Australian shepherd. It resembles a smaller, shorter-nosed version of a rough collie and sometimes is born without a tail. But usually in America the tail is cut off when the puppy is about three days old. It is not to be confused with the American Collie, which is a cross between an Australian shepherd and a border collie. Only in America!
Other Collies
Sheepdogs can be found throughout the world. They differ in size, coat thickness, ear shape and color but they do all share one thing in common – incredible intelligence. A dumb collie is often smarter than the average university graduate. It is unknown what surviving collie breed is the oldest.
But one does stand out – the Akbash of Turkey. This dog was bred to be all-white in order to better blend in with the flock. Many quibble that this is not a true collie because it doesn’t round the flock up like other breeds. However, the Akbash lives with the flock and sometimes are even raised as puppies with lambs in order to better see the flock as their pack. They mingle in with the flock to protect them from all kinds of predators – including people. Since they average 100 pounds, they can be quite formidable. Perhaps the Akbash is a glimpse into the past at the origins of today’s collies.
Additional References
- ASPCA Complete Guide to Dogs.” Sheldon L. Gerstenfeld, VMD. Chronicle Books; 1999.
- “Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds.” D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D. Barron’s; 2005.
- “The Howell Book of Dogs.” Liz Palika. Howell Book House; 2007.
- DogBreedInfo.com
