Since Collies are widely loved for their beauty, intelligence, and excellent companionship, they have been featured in numerous movies and shows. The most famous Collie in popular culture is ‘Lassie,’ a female Rough Collie based on Eric Knight’s novel that has been featured in movies. After her family sells her due to a financial crisis, Lassie escapes and sets out on her journey home.
Collie
For their beautiful looks and fantastic personality, Collies are loved everywhere. They’re highly intelligent, dedicated, loyal, and adept watchdog.
Country of Origin
United States of America
Breed Group
Herding dogs
Height
Male 22-24 In
Female 24-26 In
Weight
Male 50-65 Ib
Female 60-75 Ib
Life Span
12-14 years
In a Nutshell
Known to be highly sensitive and rather vocal, collies are loved and considered the standard of measurement for purebreds. They are devoted, and many develop human-like personalities. Thanks to these innate qualities, Collies make good companions as they will be in tune with you as the owner.
Life With a Collie
Low (1)
High (5)
Energy level
Trainability Level
Amount of Shedding
Tendency of Barking
Exercise Needs
Kid Friendly
Pet Friendly
Looks & Personality
Bred to be herders, they are well-proportionate with a lean, muscular, and athletic physique. With medium-sized oval eyes and large ears that fold on the top frontward, Collies have a proud appeal and noble stance. Collies have multiple colors, often a combination of sable being dominant and black, tan, merle, or mahogany with white chests and random patterns.
They tend to be very intelligent and display fierce devotion but have excellent temperaments and highly developed personalities. A collie will consider you their shepherd and create a deep, loyal relationship with you, but they tend to get bored when left alone and bark incessantly.
Rough collies boast a more laid-back persona, whereas Smooth collies are more energetic and outgoing, although both varieties display high-strung tendencies. This dog is not aggressive and, as such, makes a great family member and a natural people pleaser, as well as being very kid-friendly.
Collies make for good therapy dogs and guide dogs for blind people as they are innately intelligent. Due to their protective nature, collies are good pet-sitters and are instinctively curious.
A tip from a vet
Your Border Collie should be brushed every one or two days, removing debris and dead fur. On top of this, clean out their ears every few weeks with an ear cleaner. While Border Collies aren’t prone to ear infections, their pendulous ears can become filled with wax.
A tip from a trainer
Training a collie is a life-long event that should begin with early socialization and positive obedience training. As a people pleaser, your Collie is always eager to learn new tricks. However, collies get bored quickly and resort to excessive barking and digging. As a result of their versatility and athleticism, Collies enjoy agility training as a sport.
What about your Collie?
Did You Know
Collies are among the most intelligent dogs; some have broken world records such as dog skateboarding and balancing
Their name comes from their home region in Scotland and loosely translates to “sheepdog” for their prowess as champion herders.
Queen Victoria just loved Collies! in the early 1860s she even became an active Border Collie enthusiast.
In The News
Famous Collie Owners
Queen Victoria, Robert Burns, Bon Jovi, Ethan Hawke, James Franco, Tiger Woods
The History Behind the Breed
Although it is not well established, it is believed that the existence of Collies in the United Kingdom extends way back to the reign of the Romans. Roman dogs were interbred with local herding dogs to manage their livestock. English breeders crossed the large and aggressive Scottish sheepdogs with the small, fast, and friendlier Welsh sheepdogs to get different types of the Collie.
Collie popularity grew as a result of Queen Victoria’s fascination with them as she fell in love with them as a fashionable pet. In 1878 she entered some collies in the Westminster Dog Show after bringing them to England from her Balmoral Castle. Collie popularity in America is attributed to Albert Payson Terhune, who bred and wrote books about his dogs.
The American Kennel Club recognized the collie breed in 1885. Today, Collies are a popular working dog worldwide and are even used in search and rescue operations.
If a Collie Could Talk…
A Quick Anatomy Lesson
While it is considered a healthy breed overall, Collies are prone to some health issues like eye problems or increased sensitivity to different medicines.
Common Health Problems
What about your Collie?