Collie

The Collie is one of the most popular dogs in the world. After all these years, this shepherd dog still manages to keep a great place in the hearts of all.

Height 55 to 67 cm
Weight 22 to 34 kg
Life expectancy 14 to 16 years
Hair Loss High
Excercise Need Medium
Home country United Kingdom (UK)

Quick Overview of the Collie

Temperament

  • Intelligent
  • Protective nature
  • Affectionate, gentle and very patient

Appearance

  • Several colors accepted
  • Dress with very abundant hair
  • Solid and imposing

Health

  • Hip dysplasia
  • Eye abnormality

Temperament of the Collie

The Collie is an intelligent dog. He is extremely attached to his owners and is very protective, especially towards children.

Excellent companion, his protective instinct makes him a very good guard. He tends to be wary of newcomers.

The Collie is affectionate, gentle and very patient but requires a good education.

If he's thrown on a task, he rarely gives up. His tenacity is part of his character.

The Collie is a very active dog who loves to run. He is agile and will be able to execute a lot of exercise without any issue.

He likes to be cuddled and looks charming when he sulks.

The Collie is obedient but needs to have his orders repeated regularly.

He must be trained gently and without insisting. He will become stubborn if he is treated abruptly.

colley personnalité

Breed Appearance

collie

The Collie has a lot of poise. He's very strong and imposing. His origins as a herdsman initially provided him with speed and agility, trends that he still maintains today.

He can change direction almost instantly and his agility is remarkable.

Height

Between 60 and 67 cm (23.62 to 26.38 inches) for the male
Between 55 and 61 cm (21.65 to 24.02 inches) for the female

Weight

Between 27 and 34 kg (59.52 to 74.96 pounds) for the male
Between 22 and 30 kg (48.50 to 66.14 pounds) for the female

Color

Different colours are accepted in the Colley:

- Sand and white = With all shades of brown (yellow, orange and red) (like Lassie)
- Tricolour = Mostly black: white and tan spots
- Blue, blackbird and white = Similar to the tricolour: black replaced by speckled grey going from silver blue to darker grey
- Sand, blackbird and white = Similar to sand and white: sand colour with white spots and grey ear tips
- White = Mostly white: colour on the head and a little on the body

Hair

The Collie has a coat with very abundant hair. The Collie's mane and ruff are very marked. His coat is long, dense and fairly harsh.

Morphology

According to the FCI breeds nomenclature, this breed belongs to group 1, section 1 and is #156

Characteristics of the Collie

Does this dog suit your lifestyle?

Every dog breed has its own characteristics. However, the actual character of a dog can vary from one to another within the same breed.

Find out if the Collie is your ideal dog breed with our quiz.

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Life in an apartment
Good first dog
Tolerates solitude
Tolerates cold weather
Tolerates hot weather
Affectionate
Friendly with children
Friendly with strangers
Friendly with other animals
Hair loss
Drooling level
Easy to care for
Robust health
Easy to train
Intelligent
Tendency to bark
Tendency to nibble
Protective
Instinct to hunt
Adventurous spirit
Energy level
Level of intensity
Need for exercise
Playful

Price and monthly budget

Price you can expect to pay for a Collie puppy: between and
These prices are indicative and may vary from breeder to breeder
Average monthly budget for a Collie:
The monthly budget includes the average expenses for food and hygiene products (grooming, anti-parasite...)

Collie pictures

Tips About this breed

A responsible breeder should be able to socialize his puppies properly, which will results in dogs that are more sociable, confident and friendly to start with.

That said, every Collie will feel vulnerable when he leaves his mother and littermates, which needs be taken into account.

It is preferable not to acquire a Collie if you live in a very hot region, because of his thick coat.

Health of the Collie

Two diseases are common with the Collie.

Hip dysplasia is unfortunately one of them. It is important to detect it at a young age in order to take the necessary measures to delay the process.

With age, osteoarthritis may appear and give him some additional difficulties, but without affecting his mobility too much.

Collie eye anomaly (CEA) is also a common disease in Collies. Usually diagnosed around 6 weeks of age, this defect in choroid development can eventually lead to retinal detachment.

However, many dogs retain almost normal vision even with CEA.

GROOMING

The Collie's coat is dense and long, so brushing should be regular. Hairballs should be avoided and regular brushing will help keep the Collie's coat intact. Moulting, usually twice a year, will contribute to keeping his beautiful coat.

History of this breed

The current breed as we know it today would have seen its popularity established around 1860 by Queen Victoria. During a royal visit to Balmoral Castle in Scotland, the Queen noticed this dog's ability and took some of them back to her royal kennel.

However, long before the Queen's visit to Scotland, this sheepdog was already well known in Great Britain.

He was used to guard and bring back stray sheep and accompany them to the market.

It is said that the Collie inherited his elegance from a Borzoi (Russian Greyhound) and his long, abundant coat from an Irish Setter.

The Collie is known throughout the world. This breed can thank Albert Payson Trehune, the writer who allowed the production of the famous movies and TV shows "Lassie".

Over the years, many Collies were adopted thanks to his popularity generated by these shows. All the kids on TV wanted a Collie.

There are two breeds of Collie: long-haired and short-haired. The long-haired Collie being the most popular, the short-haired one has never managed to achieve the same notoriety, probably because of the famous Lassie. The short-haired Collie looks much more like the Borzoi than his long-haired companion.

The Collie is often associated with the Shetland Sheepdog, which is usually wrongly called a Miniature Collie. Although the Shetland Sheepdog resembles the long-haired Collie in every way, he's only a distant cousin.

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