Ode to the Collie

Natsu chan

Beware Auntie Nattie is watching :P
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So as promised... a Collie thread. Not Border Collies, not Beardies, not Koolies but Collies, Rough Collies, Smooth Collies. The Lassie dogs I wonder who's old enough to remember Lassie! Funny how many blank looks you get when you tell people you have lassie dogs these days! If you want real fun and games you get a smooth! In Australia especially no one has any idea what they are.

Some of you who've been in residence around here awhile know I have Collies. I've always had Collies, as I grew up with them. Also trial in multiple sports and show and breed them. At the moment I have two, Miko who is a rough and her son Taisa (we lovingly call him the idiot child because he's a bit of a dorky sod) who's a smooth. This is Miko front and centre with Taisa on the left and some of her children and two of her brothers on the far right. A couple of years ago at one of our puppy catch ups.
sunshardpups1.jpg


So what about the rest of you? And yes... I'll be nice all the Collie breeds are welcome.. I'm just baised. We spend a lot of time getting chuckled at by the border bridgade out there in trialling land. :lolpony:
 
Aw they’re all so pretty :ponylove: and a puppy catch up sounds so cute. I know that lassie is a dog in some show who rescued a little boy, but that’s about it. I guess I’m too young to have seen it, but my parents have referenced it occasionally
 
So as promised... a Collie thread. Not Border Collies, not Beardies, not Koolies but Collies, Rough Collies, Smooth Collies. The Lassie dogs I wonder who's old enough to remember Lassie! Funny how many blank looks you get when you tell people you have lassie dogs these days! If you want real fun and games you get a smooth! In Australia especially no one has any idea what they are.

Some of you who've been in residence around here awhile know I have Collies. I've always had Collies, as I grew up with them. Also trial in multiple sports and show and breed them. At the moment I have two, Miko who is a rough and her son Taisa (we lovingly call him the idiot child because he's a bit of a dorky sod) who's a smooth. This is Miko front and centre with Taisa on the left and some of her children and two of her brothers on the far right. A couple of years ago at one of our puppy catch ups. View attachment 33269

So what about the rest of you? And yes... I'll be nice all the Collie breeds are welcome.. I'm just baised. We spend a lot of time getting chuckled at by the border bridgade out there in trialling land. :lolpony:
I was waiting for you to pickup on this. :lolpony:
 
They are so gorgeous! I just wanna hug them. How do you think a rough collie pup would handle a little big bro. Ok have a schipperke who is my current service dog. He will need to be retired within 4 years at the most. The vet gave him more like 2 years, but possibility of four. He likes other dogs, but he also likes to be top dog. A pup raised with him there should ok, right? My Wesley is 14 lbs of stubborn, loyal, pack oriented, black fur.

I'm going to make my daughter watch lassie. How can people non know lassie? Also, why, when I say collie, go people immediately think border collie? I don't think a border collie would be big enough or make a good psychiatric service dog.
 
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Fun fact: One of Nattie's future litter pups is going to be named Her Royal Highness Queen Jewel Sparklepants ;)
That is a perfectly reasonable kennel name for a young pup. ;)

I love when we get the rare (actual) Collie into work. They’re always super sweet and well trained and mannered. Unfortunately we don’t see many of them anymore, now it’s usually Shelties or BC’s OR a doodle of some sort. :rolleyespony:
 
Fun fact: One of Nattie's future litter pups is going to be named Her Royal Highness Queen Jewel Sparklepants ;)
Fun fact Jewel's been on that one for about 6 years now! :lolpony: With my prefix girl it's too many letters!

Tak it's the idividual dog, that is important. Miko was bred for service work but came to me as she was promised to me before she was born. I wanted a particular bloodline and I needed a certain temperament so by that point I'd been waiting for about 5 years. If you want one for service work you need a particular temperament and most Collies in Australia working as service dogs are females. Miko is 9 now and has 3 sisters working as service dogs two as autism dogs one in the US as the first dementia dog. They're all approaching retirement now. Temperament and early socialisation count for a lot.
When I got Miko I had Koori (the blue empress of wicked) she was top dog like your boy so I went for a pup who was middle of the pack, because there was never any need to worry about a challenge for status then. Bossy chasmatic puppies grow up to be bossy dogs, you don't ever need two of those as it is a complete PITA!

I know that lassie is a dog in some show who rescued a little boy, but that’s about it. I guess I’m too young to have seen it, but my parents have referenced it occasionally

Can't have that now can we:


Eric Knight's Lassie was a tricolour like mine are not a sable, sables were very rare in the breed until the early 1900s.
 
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So cool
 
Eee, collies! Best thread ever, end of story.

So happy to (finally) read about your dogs, Natsu! I've wondered about them for years, due to your signature, but was too shy to ask about them - felt like I was being nosy, lol. They're beautiful! Is the rough gene dominant over smooth, or vice versa?

Nearly all of my experience is with borders, but I have seen standards on rare occasions. I personally own a (9 year-old?) smooth red / white border named Kat. She's very special - in a good way though, haha! As a child I had several bad dog-related incidents that resulted in me hating them. Kat was the first one that made me realize not all dogs are blood-thirsty monsters.

She's a herding dog - specializes in small animals and calves, can herd full-sized cattle if she needs to... though at the moment, she's currently taking a break. :sadpony: We were training goats this morning and I made an (incredibly stupid) decision that resulted in her getting hoofed right in the teeth. She's otherwise fine (and in a bizarrely good mood!) but I'm expecting her to lose two, if not more. Wish I'd been the one kicked instead.

Will be coming back to this thread ( and hopefully with some pictures in tow.) Keep the collie love comin'! :ponylove:
 
Tak it's the idividual dog, that is important. Miko was bred for service work but came to me as she was promised to me before she was born. I wanted a particular bloodline and I needed a certain temperament so by that point I'd been waiting for about 5 years. If you want one for service work you need a particular temperament and most Collies in Australia working as service dogs are females. Miko is 9 now and has 3 sisters working as service dogs two as autism dogs one in the US as the first dementia dog. They're all approaching retirement now. Temperament and early socialisation count for a lot.
When I got Miko I had Koori (the blue empress of wicked) she was top dog like your boy so I went for a pup who was middle of the pack, because there was never any need to worry about a challenge for status then. Bossy chasmatic puppies grow up to be bossy dogs, you don't ever need two of those as it is a complete PITA!
Thank you so much for the information! I used to be a groomer, but I only ever had only collie as a regular. She was always so well behaved and such a love.
 
My girl Misty is a border collie mix does she count?
:lolpony:
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LOL Collies are Collies. There's not many Rough or Smooth Collies around anymore. Lot's of borders though and beardies are even more illusive.

So happy to (finally) read about your dogs, Natsu! I've wondered about them for years, due to your signature, but was too shy to ask about them - felt like I was being nosy, lol. They're beautiful! Is the rough gene dominant over smooth, or vice versa?
LOL I love to talk about my Collies.... problem is shutting me up. Just don't start me on dog sports I'm even worse.

Rough is recessive. Two rough Collies bred together can only produce roughs. Which is why the smooths nearly died out after the second world war. Miko is smooth bred, both her parents are smooths the closest rough in her pedigree is her paternal grandmother (that's her father's mother). Her family are all smooths, yet in those dogs the rough gene hides. In Australia and the US we are allowed to interbreed roughs and smooth in NZ, the UK, and most of Europe it is not allowed. Outside the US they are deemed seperate but deeply related breeds. However even though interbreeding stopped in Europe and the UK about 30 years ago the rough gene still makes an appearance.
 
@Natsu chan you can talk all you want about your collies! Please do! <3
 
Rally is a cross between obedience and agility. The judge lays out a course in the ring, of 15 to 24 signs (depending on the level) the signs each have an instruction on them, there's 76 different signs in the rule book some are only allowed in certain levels. Say a sit, or a drop or a change of direction, or a jump. You follow the course completing all the signs and you get points deducted for any errors or untidiness. It's fun!

This is a video the AKC have on Rally.


It is more or less the same in most countries.
 
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Rally is a cross between obedience and agility. The judge lays out a course in the ring, of 15 to 24 signs (depending on the level) the signs each have an instruction on them, there's 76 different signs in the rule book some are only allowed in certain levels. Say a sit, or a drop or a change of direction, or a jump. You follow the course completing all the signs and you get points deducted for any errors or untidiness. It's fun!
That does sound fun :smile: Thanks for explaining it! The only dog competitions I’ve seen are those dog shows that are sometimes on tv where they just walk in a circle and are judged on appearance or something which does not seem nearly as fun as what you’re doing
 
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