Collies: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

[stafinois]

I know that we have some Collie people here. I'm interested, Smoothies in particular. The roughs just have WAY more hair than I want to deal with.

Health? Energy level? Specific concerns? Favorite breeders? Iowa-ish area would be groovy if you have any good ones that you know of

[Saeleofu]

Energy level: HIGH. They say boxers are a high-energy breed. Yah, right lol. Logan can wear Gavroche out and still have a ton of energy left

They're a herding breed (duh) but are very different from a Mal. Logan is actually a LOT like my parents' GSDs. I don't know if that's a breed thing or a Logan thing (maybe he wants to be a GSD when he grows up lol).

My favorite breeder would have to be Moxie Collies

Health wise, the biggest issue that comes to mind is Collie Eye Anomaly. That being said, I don't really have any experience with it. Logan has a very, very mild case that doesn't noticeably affect him at all.

Smoothies do still shed quite a bit. Not as much as a GSD by any means, but still a pretty good amount.

Since I've just got into the breed, that's about all I can really offer at the moment. I adore Logan, he's such an awesome dog! He can definitely be a goofball, but when he knows he's working, he's all business (usually ).

Oh. One last thing. They turn into Thylacines when you're not looking. So be careful

[Romy]

Keep in mind Logan is a pup though, . And he was one of the most active in the litter. Compared to sporting dogs like Charlie the collies are pretty middle of the road for energy. My borzois wear out the collies and I wouldn't call the borzois high energy, just high stamina.

If you're used to malinois energy, a collie would be a piece of cake. In some ways they are almost catlike. They like to keep their feet clean. They should have excellent off switches. They like to curl up on the couch and sleep when they're inside. A collie who has been worked a bit will happy chill out with you and get his stomach rubbed, or face massaged, or whatever. Based on what you've said about your husband, he'd probably find life with a collie tolerable, if not enjoyable.

The prey drive is mostly channeled into herding instinct. They do like to chase squirrels and little birds, but tend to get along really well with cats and small dogs.

Drawbacks:

In my opinion, the biggest is barking. They will bark to alert when something is off, if someone shows up, if they are excited, playing, or they feel like it. It is something you can definitely control with training. For me it's mostly overwhelming when there are 8+ collies doing it at once. And I am used to quiet sight hounds. Someone used to "regular" dogs might not be bothered as much.

My favorite breeder is Moxie Collies, though Shadaglen is an amazing old working kennel (Moxie's foundation male is from them) and Colbrae produces nice dogs as well.

[Saeleofu]

They should have excellent off switches. They like to curl up on the couch and sleep when they're inside. A collie who has been worked a bit will happy chill out with you and get his stomach rubbed, or face massaged, or whatever.

Definitely. Of course he still gets puppy zoomies inside on occasion, but for the most part when he's inside he's just chilling. But once he's outside in the yard, he's crazy dog and all the other dogs like to chase him Gavroche is pretty quick, but he has NO chance of actually catching/keeping up with Logan. And then the wieners are just a lost cause. Right now both Logan and Gavroche are passed out on the floor lol.

The only bad part is when it's too hot to do anything all day. I'll let him out to pee when it's 110 out, but that's about it. We do mind games inside, but it's not the same as a long walk and some running. But a kong goes a log way on days like that, too.

Logan also gets along awesome with every dog we've run into so far. Gavroche is a little dog reactive, but Logan has had absolutely NO issues. I've even taken him to the dog park a couple times and he LOVES it.

He definitely barks, but not really excessively. It's very high-pitched though - you'd never guess it came from a 70 pound dog He can also be a little whiney when he's bored, but again, nothing compared to the GSDs. And again, a kong solves that problem if we can't actually get out and do something.

Prey drive...Logan's is nothing compared to Gavroche. Gavroche has the prey drive from hell. He'll chase ANYTHING. Logan likes to chase/herd geese, but when they hiss he's smart enough to back off. When Gavroche chases geese and hears them hiss, he wants to chase them MORE

[stafinois]

I see that all of those breeders are in the PNW. That would be my second favorite area to choose from, as my parents are in Portland. Perhaps I could talk them into coordinating a visit to their granddaughter with picking up a puppy :P

They certainly sound more like something that my husband would like. When I mentioned Collies he said, "Don't they bark a lot?" I was shocked, as Nathan doesn't know a thing about dogs. I asked where he heard that, and he remembered that Lassie barks a lot on the TV show. I pointed out that it's a TV show, that they do bark when they get excited, but so does Harry and they are much less excitable than Harry. Hopefully our daughter won't be falling into any wells, either.

[Spiritwind]

As far as barking goes. I really think it depends on the dog. I've had some Collies that bark at EVERYTHING.. and I have others that only bark when there is a real reason to bark -- like a person on the property who should not be. Maybe I'm just used to it and it doesn't bother me as much LOL

They are good watch dogs, and can be pretty protective of their family if need be. They are smart and very easily trained.

Over the last couple years I haven't been able to do as much with my dogs as I would like. I used to do herding, obedience, agility and even did a bit of flyball with my dogs, as well as conformation. Though right now, with the exception of a few shows a year I get to go to (crazy work schedule) I mostly send the dogs with handlers right now. Hopefully I will be able to do more with them again in the not so distant future! Agility and herding was my personal favorite.

I have both roughs and smooths, and personally think there isn't a better breed out there, but I do prefer smoothies!


For anyone who wants a smooth Collie puppy fix.... photos below, pictured at 3 wks old. Now almost 4 wks old. 8 Smooth babies!




sable merle boy

[lizzybeth727]

Spiritwind - are the puppies spoken for?

[stafinois]

Is there a good Collie forum that I can join? I'm thinking that a Collie would be the best choice for us, at least to help placate my fuddy duddy of a husband!

I did meet a Smoothie a few years ago that really intrigued me into thinking that at least that dog in particular was the blend of the best traits of both of my dogs. He was intelligent and biddable like my Malinois, but calm and bombproof like my AmStaf. I don't think anything ruffled that dog's feathers. He was a gorgeous blue merle dog that belonged to a former coworker.

[lizzybeth727]

Originally Posted by stafinois

Is there a good Collie forum that I can join?

Not that I know of, and I've been searching. It's difficult finding collie anything, because a search brings up about 80% border collies. But no, I'm pretty sure there's no collie forum.

[Saeleofu]

I haven't been able to find a forum either.