Rough Collie

The Rough Collie and its cousin the Smooth Collie are descendants of ancient herding dogs bought by Romans in 50 BC to Scotland and Wales. These old dogs were named after the Scottish black-faced sheep called the Colley. Early Collies, a mixture of short- and long-haired varieties, were bred with the Borzoi during the industrial revolution when owning a dog became a fashion statement. The resulting puppies had a more “noble” head, which is a characteristic of Rough Collies.

Queen Victoria became a fan of the Rough Collie breed and brought some of these attractive and gentle dogs to England. It was first exhibited in a Birmingham Dog Society show in 1860 under the name Scottish Sheepdog. It was brought to the USA in 1879. Rough Collies became popular throughout the world thanks to the American film adaptation of the 1940s book “Lassie Come Home.” The Rough Collie remains to be a popular choice as a family and companion dog worldwide. It is registered with The Kennel Club under the Pastoral group.

The Rough Collie is a beautiful and elegant dog boasting of a long luxurious coat. This medium breed has an average size of 50 to 70 pounds and 51 to 66 centimetres at the withers. Its body is slightly longer than it is tall. It has a well-chiselled and wedge-shaped head that is well proportioned to its body, a flat skull, a strong jaw with a perfect scissor bite, and small ears. It has almond-shaped dark brown eyes with an intelligent, kind and thoughtful expression. Merle-coated dogs have blue or blue-flecked eyes, which can be one or both.

The Rough Collie has an abundant and lush double coat composed of a straight harsh outer coat and a soft, furry and thick undercoat. Hair around its neck is thick, forming a unique mane. The accepted colours according to KC standards are blue merle, sable & white and tricolour.

The Rough Collie is an intelligent breed and a fast learner that is eager to please, making training rather easy. However, it also has a tendency to learn bad habits, which can easily be curbed through consistent and firm yet gentle training with plenty of positive reinforcements. Since this breed easily gets bored, keep trainings short and fun.

It is worth knowing that although the Rough Collie is a placid and gentle dog, it needs to know its place in the pack, which should be below everyone else in the house. It is smart enough to realise that if no rules are set, it can get away with anything and will try to become dominant. It will need direction from its alpha to grow up obedient and well behaved.

• Senior and less active: up to 1,500 calories daily
• Typical adults: up to 1,690 calories daily
• Physically active/working dogs: up to 1,880 calories daily

Owning a dog entails financial responsibilities that can be overwhelming if one is not prepared. We have listed down some of the most important costs of raising Rough Collies to see if you can afford to own one now or still need to save up.

• Well-bred pedigree Rough Collie puppy - £600 to £800
• Pet insurance - £20 for basic and £40 for lifetime coverage
• Veterinary expenses - up to £1,000 annually
• Food - £40 to £50 per month
• Basic equipment - initial cost of £200