Collie

Collies are from 24 to 26 inches at the shoulder and weigh from 60 to 75 pounds, fairly lightly built with a pointed snout and erect or partly erect ears, giving a foxy impression. Cattle-herding types tend to be rather more stocky. Collies are always alert and are active and agile. The fur may be short, flat, or long, and the tail may be smooth, feathered, or bushy. Some types were traditionally docked, and some types are naturally bob-tailed or tail-less. Types vary in colouration, with the usual base colors being black, black-and-tan, red, red-and-tan, or sable. Many types have white along with the main color, usually under the belly and chest, over the shoulders, and on parts of the face and legs, but sometimes leaving only the head colored – or white may be absent or limited to the chest and toes (as in the Australian Kelpie). Merle coloration may also be present over any of the other color combinations, even in landrace types. The most widespread patterns in many types are black-and-white or tricolor (black-and-tan and white).

Working collies are extremely energetic and agile dogs with great stamina, well able to run all day without tiring, even over very rough or steep ground. They are intelligent, and are instinctively highly motivated to work. These characteristics generally make working strains unsuitable as pets, as few owners are able to give them the mental and physical challenges they need and, if not well fulfilled, they may become unhappy and badly behaved. However, in addition to herding work they are well suited to active sports such as sheepdog trials, flyball, disc dog and dog agility. Working strains have strong herding instincts, and some individuals can be single-minded to the point of obsessiveness. They are often intensely loyal.

Certain types of collie (for example Rough Collies, Smooth Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs and some strains of Border Collie and other breeds) have been bred for many generations as pets and for the sport of conformation showing, not as herding dogs. These types have proved to be highly trainable, gentle, loyal, and well suited as pets. Their gentleness and devotion also make them quite compatible with children. They are often more suitable as companions than as watch dogs, though the individual personalities of these dogs vary. The temperament of these breeds has featured in literature, film and popular television programs. The novels of Albert Payson Terhune celebrated the temperament and companionship of collies and were very popular in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. More famously, the temperament and intelligence of the Rough Collie was exaggerated to mythic proportions in the character Lassie which has been the subject of many films, books and television shows from 1938 to the present.

Dogs of collie type or ancestry include:

• Australian Cattle Dog. Dog used in Australia for herding cattle. Dogs of this type are also known as Queensland Heeler, Blue Heeler and Red Heeler.
• Australian Collie. Not actually a breed, but a popular cross between two other collie types, Australian Shepherd and Border Collie.
• Australian Kelpie. Developed in Australia from collies originally brought from Scotland and northern England.
• Australian Shepherd. Developed in the US, probably from dogs of British origin (of Farm Collie type), but now found in other parts of the world (including Australia).
• Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog. Dog with stumpy tail used in Australia for herding cattle.
• Bearded Collie. Now largely a pet and show breed, but still of collie type, and some are used as working dogs.
• Border Collie. The most well-known breed for herding sheep throughout the world. Originally developed in Scotland and Northern England. Not always suitable for herding cattle.
• Cumberland Sheepdog. An extinct breed similar to the Border Collie and possibly absorbed into that breed. An ancestor of the Australian Shepherd.
• English Shepherd. Developed in the US from stock of Farm Collie type originally from Britain. Not to be confused with the very different Old English Sheepdog.
• Farm Collie. Landrace herding dog found on many livestock farms in Britain, in the US (derived from British dogs), and perhaps elsewhere. In Britain, often simply called "farm dog".
• German Coolie, Koolie or Collie. Developed in Australia, probably from British collies.
• Huntaway. Developed in New Zealand from a mixture of breeds, probably including some collie – but it is not of collie type.
• Lurcher. Not a breed, but a cross of collie (or other herding dog or terrier) with Greyhound or other sight hound. Traditionally bred for poaching, with the speed of a sight hound but more obedient and less conspicuous.
• McNab Shepherd. Developed in the US partly from dogs of collie type.
• Old English Sheepdog. Derived from "Shags", hairy herding dogs. Not to be confused with the English Shepherd.
• Rough Collie and Smooth Collie (sometimes considered varieties of one breed, originally called Scotch Collie). Now show and pet dogs, these were created by crossing working collies with other dogs (especially Borzois) and are of rather different type to other collies.
• Shetland Sheepdog. A small show and pet breed developed in England partly from herding dogs originating in Shetland. The Shetland dogs were originally working herding dogs, not collies but of Spitz type (similar to the Icelandic Sheepdog). However in the development of the modern breed these Spitz-type dogs were heavily mixed with collies and toy breeds, and are now similar in appearance to a miniature Rough Collie.
• Welsh Sheepdog. Landrace herding dog from Wales.