What are the negative aspects of owning a good-quality collie as a family dog?
Topics: Dog Breeds | 7 Comments »By admin | March 6, 2010
AKC and Collie Club of America sources only tell prospective owners how great collies are. I need some more balanced information. I’m not so much interested in individual anecdotes. Please no “my brother’s best friend’s hairdresser had a collie that…” stories. But I would appreciate documented sources on the breed in general, particularly temperament and health issues.
Posted by norag on 03.06.10 3:11 pm
u need lots and lots of running room and a good grooming brush
Posted by TaKe A pIC It WiLL LaSt LONGER!! on 03.06.10 3:48 pm
I never owned a collie so i wouldn’t know. But You should go to “DogBreedInfo.com” its a good site it shows:Description of the dog(physical), temperament,height, weight, health problems,living conditions etc.
Good Luck =)
Posted by Tracey A on 03.06.10 4:24 pm
Do you mean a Border Collie or the Rough/Smooth coated collie?
Border are notoriousfor their extreme high energy. They are dogs meant for very active people, and are very well-suited for fly-ball or agility work. Border collie’s are the TOP of the list for intelligence. You must have a large backyard with quality fencing for this dog…they figure out latches very quickly.
Rough/Smooth Collies (like Lassie) are great family dogs. I personally have never met one that I did not immediately like. The long coat on the rough version shouldn’t put you off, they are easily groomed, and don’t shed as much as you think. Great breed! Good with kids.
Posted by oddball59 on 03.06.10 4:27 pm
I have one collie at the moment and had one before her. They are highly intelligent loyal animals. For some people the intelligence would be a problem. They need a lot of mental stimulation…eg. hide and seek with toys, lots of tricks and commands eg. down sit, etc. we put a ball on her head and she waits till we say ‘take it’. Forever inventing new games to play with her. Many are toy obsessed. So they’ll bring a toy and stare at it till you play. If they come to you, there’s usually a toy around somewhere….they are highly focused as with sheep rounding.
They need a lot of exercise. One really long run in open space off lead and as much play and little walks you can manage.
It’s their intelligence I love and their loyalty and obedience (once trained). They are not suitable to be left at home while you are out at work all day as will become extremely bored.
So if you have a lot of time and energy the rewards are great. As for health problems…they’re not really prone as some pure breed are…they tend to be hardy and healthy.
Hope that helps.
Posted by Goldengal on 03.06.10 4:36 pm
Collies are herding dogs. They tend to try to keep their family close by in a group. They actually will try to get every one together in one place. Other than that they are great dogs!
Posted by Eddie S on 03.06.10 4:45 pm
Collies are, in general, very good dogs for families. They tend to be mild-mannered and good-natured, overall. What are some of the not-so-great aspects of owning a Collie?
Collies (at least the rough coated version, like “Lassie”), require a good amount of grooming to be done regularly. No matter what the breeder may tell you, don’t believe the whole “they blow their coats twice a year and that’s it!” … it’s a myth. With the introduction to indoor heating and artificial light, a dog’s system is confused into thinking it’s always springtime, so most dogs shed all year long. Yes … ALL…year….long. Be prepared for frequent, regular trip to the groomer and doing a good amount of maintenance at home (brushing, combing, raking, etc).
Also, Collies are part of the Herding Group. Herding dogs, well, like to herd. Herding dogs have been known to try to herd entire families, or groups of children by running them into a group, sometimes even nipping at them to gather them up into a herd.
Collies also have a very high-pitched, ear-piercing bark. And while not all Collies are known for being excessive barkers, if you do get one of those, be ready for it!
As for health issues … the majority of health issues I’ve seen with Collies are skin issues (hot spots, etc) which are usually caused by a lack of proper grooming. Thick, double coats like those on Collies tend to cause skin problems if not taken care of very well.
For more specific info, go to http://www.akc.org and read up about the breed.
Good luck!
Posted by sillybuttmunky on 03.06.10 5:38 pm
Collie refers to various breeds of herding dog originating primarily in Scotland. The exact origin of the name is uncertain, although it probably originates in Early Scots col(l) (coal), meaning black. Another explanation sometimes put forward is that collie was a regional word in Anglo-Saxon for “something useful.” The fictional Lassie, star of movies, books, and television shows, was a rough collie, which helped to popularize Collies in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as in many other countries. Lad of Sunnybank also deserves credit for making the collie popular and was a real dog written about by Albert Payson Terhune. The Collie Club of America [1] is one of the oldest breed-specific clubs in existence in the United States (founded in 1886). However, there are three different dog breeds with “Collie” in their name:
Collie (including both Rough Collie and Smooth Collie varieties)
Border Collie
Bearded Collie
The farm collie was a generic term for a wide range of herding dogs common in North America until the middle of the 20th century.
Shetland Sheepdogs (commonly known as “Shelties”) are sometimes mistakenly called Miniature Collies, but they are a completely different breed of distinct origin.
The highlands of Scotland were the natural home of the collie, where the sheepdogs had been used for centuries by shepherds, but the modern form of the breed was mostly developed in England in the late 1800s. This early form of the breed was usually referred to as the Scotch collie (or Scottish collie) in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Scotch collies were heavier and less fine-boned than today’s rough and smooth dogs. The ancestors of the modern Collie were first exhibited as “Scotch Sheep-Dogs” in the 1860 Birmingham (England) dog show.
Collies come in two varieties of the breed based on coat length in America; in the UK these are shown as separate breeds. The rough collie is the collie seen in films and on television (e.g., Lassie). The downy undercoat is covered by a long, dense, coarse outer coat with a notable ruff around the neck, feathers about the legs, a petticoat on the abdomen, and a frill on the hindquarters. The smooth collie likewise has a double coat, but the outer one is short and dense, albeit there is a notable ruff around the neck. Both rough and smooth varieties are available in four distinct colors. Sable collies are generally the most recognizable, the choice of the Lassie television and movie producers. The sable color on these dogs can range from a light blonde color to a deep reddish-brown, with any hue in between possible. Tri-colour dogs are mostly black and white with tan markings. Blue Merle collies are best described as tri-colour dogs whose black has been diluted to a mottled gray-blue color. White collies are usually mostly white on the body with a head coloration of any of the three previous. A lesser-known variant of blue merle colouring is that of the “phantom merle” – a seemingly tri-colour dog, with only perhaps a slight merling of one or two areas of fur, which actually carries the gene for merling, which is a dominant dilution gene. If bred to another dog with a merle gene, the resulting pups may be “double-dilute”, which can result in devastating and lethal neurological conditions. In America, a dog with the phantom merle coloring is described as being “cryptic for merle.” The least-seen colour among collies is sable merle, that is sable collies carrying the merle (dominant dilution) gene. These collies have white hairs mixed in among the sable ones along with patches of white in the sable. They may have dark eyes, merles eyes (dark brown irises with patches of blue) or blue eyes (often called China blue color). In America, blue-eye sable merle collies are disqualified from the conformation show ring, according to AKC rules.
As modern-day “Lassies”, both rough and smooth collies have become successful assistance, and therapy dogs. At least one guide dog school, Southeastern Guide Dogs in Florida, currently trains smooth coated collies as guide dogs, and a number of collies are currently partnered with disabled individuals around the United States.
[edit] Health
The collie is typically a very healthy breed, and is known to inherit few health conditions that are both serious and prevalent. Some health conditions of note include Collie eye anomaly, PRA (progressive retinal atrophy), gastric torsion, dermatomyositis, grey collie syndrome (a type of neutropenia), collie nose (discoid lupus erythematosus), and demodicosis.[1] Seizures, canine hip dysplasia, microphthalmia, and cyclic neutropenia are also occasionally seen.[2] The Collie Health Foundation (http://www.colliehealth.org) maintains a website and database on disorders affecting collies.
Some Collies suffer from a special gene defect due to a mutation in the multidrug resistance gene, MDR1. This is also known as “the Ivermectin-sensitive collie”. All dogs with this mutation must be descandents of a dog who lived in Great Britain in the midst of the 19th century. This mutation is found worldwide and can even cause the death of a dog, if it gets the wrong medicine (based on Ivermectin, Doramectin, Loperamid and many more pharmaceuticals). Therefore all Collies and breeds akin to them (such as the Shetland Sheepdog) should either be tested or receive a different class of heartworm preventative drug, such as milbemycin oxime (Interceptor brand by Novartis).
Collies typically live an average of 12 to 14 years.
[edit] Temperament
Collies are known to be generally sweet and protective. They are generally easy to train due to a high level of intelligence and a willingness to please. Some collies are a bit clingy, but this is often seen as an overdeveloped sense of loyalty. They are excellent herding dogs and benefit from the companionship of a family or other dogs.