| Rough Collie General
character-
The Collie is a
lithe, strong, responsive, active dog, carrying no
useless timber, standing naturally straight and
firm. The deep, moderately wide chest shows
strength, the sloping shoulders and well-bent hocks
indicate speed and grace and the face shows high
intelligence. The Collie presents an impressive,
proud picture of true balance, each part being in
harmonious proportion to every other part and to the
whole. Except for the technical description that
is essential to this Standard and without which no
Standard for the guidance of breeders and judges is
adequate, it could be stated simply that no part of the
Collie ever seems to be out of proportion to any other
part. Timidity, frailness, sullenness,
viciousness, lack of animation, cumbersome appearance and
lack of overall balance impair the general character.
Head- The head properties are of
great importance. When considered in proportion to
the size of the dog the head is inclined to lightness and
never appears massive. A heavy-headed dog lacks the
necessary bright, alert, full-of-sense look that
contributes so greatly to expression. Both in front
and profile view the head bears a general resemblance to
a well blunted lean wedge, being smooth and clean in
outline and nicely balanced in proportion. On the
sides it tapers gradually and smoothly from the ears to
the end of the black nose, without being flared out in
backskull (cheeky) or pinched in muzzle (snipey).
In profile view the top of the backskull and the top of
the muzzle lie in two approximately parallel straight
planes of equal length, divided by a very slight but
perceptible stop or break. A midpoint between the
inside corners of the eyes (which is the center of a
correctly placed stop) is the center of balance in length
of head. The end of the smooth, well rounded muzzle
is blunt but not square. The underjaw is strong,
cleancut and the depth of the skull from the brow to the
under part of the jaw is not excessive. The teeth
are of good size, meeting in a scissors bite.
Overshot or undershot jaws are undesirable, the latter
being more severely penalized. There is a slight
prominence of the eyebrows. The backskull is flat,
without receding either laterally or backward and the
occipital bone is not highly peaked. The proper
width of backskull necessarily depends upon the combined
length of skull and muzzle and the width of the backskull
is less than its length. Thus, the correct width
varies with the individual and is dependent upon the
extent to which it is supported by length of
muzzle. Because of the importance of the head
characteristics, prominent head faults are severely
penalized.
Eyes- Because of the combination
of the flat skull, the arched eyebrows, the slight stop
and the rounded muzzle, the foreface must be chiseled to
form a receptacle for the eyes and they are necessarily
placed obliquely to give them the required forward
outlook. Except for the blue merles they are
required to be matched in colour. They are
almond-shaped, of medium size and never properly appear
to be large or prominent. The colour is dark and
the eye does not show a yellow ring or a sufficiently
prominent haw to affect the dog's expression. The
eyes have a clear, bright appearance, expressing
intelligent inquisitiveness, particularly when the ears
are drawn up and the dog is on alert. In blue
merles, dark brown eyes are preferable, but either or
both eyes may be merle or china in colour without
specific penalty. A large, round, full eye
seriously detracts from the desired "sweet"
expression. Eye faults are heavily penalized.
Ears- The ears are in proportion
to the size of the head and, if they are carried properly
and unquestionably "break" naturally, are
seldom too small. Large ears usually cannot be
lifted correctly off the head and even if lifted they
will be out of proportion to the size of the head.
When in repose the ears are folded lengthwise and thrown
back into the frill. On the alert they are drawn
well up on the backskull and are carried about
three-quarters erect, with about one-forth of the ear
tipping or "breaking" forward. A dog with
prick ears or low ears cannot show true expression and is
penalized accordingly.
Neck- The neck is firm, clean,
muscular, sinewy, and heavily frilled. It is fairly
long, is carried upright with a slight arch at the nape
and imparts a proud, upstanding appearance showing off
the frill.
Body- The body is firm, hard and
muscular, a trifle long in proportion to the
height. The ribs are well-rounded behind the
well-sloped shoulders and the chest is deep, extending to
the elbows. The back is strong and level, supported
by powerful hips and thighs and the croup is sloped to
give a well-rounded finish. The loin is powerful
and slightly arched. Noticeably fat dogs, or dogs
in poor flesh, or with skin disease, or with no undercoat
are out of condition and are moderately penalized
accordingly. In grown males, the monorchid or
cryptorchid are disqualified.
Legs- The forelegs are straight
and muscular, with a fair amount of bone considering the
size of the dog. A cumbersome appearance is
undesirable. Both narrow and wide placement are
penalized. The forearm is moderately fleshy and the
pasterns are flexible, but without weakness. The
hind legs are less fleshy, are muscular at the thighs,
very sinewy and the hocks and stifles are well
bent. A cow-hocked dog or a dog with straight
stifles is penalized. The comparatively small feet
are approximately oval in shape. The soles are well
padded and tough and the toes are well arched and close
together. When the Collie is not in motion, the
legs and feet are judged by allowing the dog to come to a
natural stop in a standing position so that both the
forelegs and the hind legs are placed well apart, with
the feet extending straight forward. Excessive
"posing" is undesirable.
Gait- Gait is sound. When
the dog is moved at a slow trot toward an observer, its
straight front legs track comparatively close together at
the ground. The front legs are not out at the
elbows, do not "cross over", nor does the
Collie move with a choppy, pacing, or rolling gait.
When viewed from the rear, the hind legs are straight,
tracking comparatively close together at the
ground. At a moderate trot the hind legs are
powerful and propelling. Viewed from the side the
reasonably long, "reaching" stride is smooth
and even, keeping the back line firm and level. As
the speed of the gait is increased the Collie single
tracks, bringing the front legs inward in a straight line
from the shoulder toward the center line of the body and
the hind legs inward in a straight line from the hip
toward the center line of the body. The gait
suggests effortless speed combined with the dog's herding
heritage, requiring it to be capable of changing its
direction of travel almost instantaneously.
Tail- The tail is moderately
long, the bone reaching to the hock joint or below.
It is carried low when the dog is quiet, the end having
an upward twist or "swirl". When gaited
or when the dog is excited it is carried gaily, but not
over the back.
Coat- The well-fitting, proper
textured coat is the crowning glory of the Rough variety
of Collie. It is abundant except on the head and
legs. The outer coat is straight and harsh to the
touch. A soft, open outer coat or a curly outer
coat, regardless of quantity, is penalized. The
under coat, however, is soft, furry and so close together
that it is difficult to see the skin when the hair is
parted. The coat is very abundant on the mane and
frill. The face or mask is smooth. The
forelegs are smooth and well-feathered to the back of the
pasterns. The hind legs are smooth below the hock
joints. Any feathering below the hocks is removed
for the show ring. The hair on the tail is very
profuse and on the hips it is long and bushy. The
texture, quantity and the extent to which the coat
"fits the dog" are important points.
Colour- The four recognized
colours are sable and white, tricolour, blue merle, and
white. There is no preference among them. 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 tip of tail. A blaze may appear on the
foreface or backskull or both. The tricolour 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" colour, predominantly blue-grey and
black with white markings as in the sable and white and
usually has tan shadings as in the tricolour. The
white is predominantly white, with sable, tricolour, or
blue merle markings.
Size- Dogs are from 22 to 24
inches at the shoulder and weigh from 60 to 75
pounds. Bitches are from 20 to 22 inches at the
shoulder, weighing from 50 to 65 pounds. An
undersize or an oversize Collie is penalized according to
the extent to which the dog appears to be undersize or
oversize.
Expression- Expression is one of
the most important points in considering the relative
value in Collies. "Expression", like the
term "character", is difficult to define in
words. It is not a fixed point as in color, weight
or height and it is something the uninitiated can
properly understand only by optical illustration.
In general, however, it may be said to be the combined
product of the shape and balance of the skull and muzzle,
the placement, size, shape and color of the eyes, and the
position, size and carriage of the ears. An
expression that shows sullenness or which is suggestive
of any other breed is entirely foreign. The Collie
cannot be judged properly until its expression has been
carefully evaluated.
Smooth Collie
The Smooth variety of Collie is judged by the same
standard as the Rough variety, except that the references
to the quantity and distribution of the coat are not
applicable to the Smooth variety, which has a short,
hard, dense, flat coat of good texture, with an abundance
of undercoat.
Revised 1977
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