The Collie is an alert watchdog, quick to sound an alarm and very protective of his family, although he is not an aggressive dog. The collie comes in two varieties, the longhaired Rough and the shorthaired Smooth. Renowned for his loyalty and his reliability, the Collie makes a great companion and friend.

Both rough and smooth coats require thorough weekly brushings to keep the coat clean and free of mats.

The smooth Collie originates from Scotland, and was used as an excellent herder of sheep. It's said that the smooth Collie originated from crossbreedings between old fashioned black and white Collies and British greyhounds -- in order to create fast runners which could also be used as hunting dogs. The Collie was first shown in the United States in May of 1877, at the second show of the Westminster Kennel Club in New York.

The smooth Collie is judged by the same Standard as the rough Collie, except that the references to the quantity and distribution of the coat are not applicable to the smooth. The smooth Collie's coat is a short, hard, dense, flat coat of good texture, with an abundance of undercoat. One of the most important sires for the early smooth Collie was Ch. Glengyle Smooth Sailing, who sired only nine champions.

The eye is almond-shaped, of medium size, dark in color and are required to be matched in color (exception for the Blue Merle color, pictured above Rough Collie.) In blue merles, dark brown eyes are preferable, but either or both eyes may be merle or china in color. The eyes have a clear, bright appearance, expressing intelligent inquisitiveness, particularly when the ears are drawn up and the dog is on the alert.

The four recognized colors are Sable and White, Tri-color, Blue Merle and White. The Sable and White is predominantly sable (a fawn sable color of varying shades from light gold to dark mahogany) with white markings usually on the chest, neck, legs, feet and the tip of the tail. A blaze may appear on the foreface or backskull or both. The Tri-color is predominantly black, carrying white markings as in a Sable and White and has tan shadings on and about the head and legs. The Blue Merle is a mottled or marbled color predominantly blue-grey and black with white markings as in the Sable and White and usually has tan shadings as in the Tri-color. The White is predominantly white, preferably with sable, tri-color or blue merle markings.

The Collie presents an impressive, proud picture of true balance, each part being in harmonious proportion to every other part and to the whole. The Collie's parent club, The Collie Club of America, was organized in 1886, two years after the establishment of the American Kennel Club and was the second parent club to join the AKC.