According to the Collie history the precise source how a Collie came into being is not known, but it is a result of breeding between many different types of diligent herds of dogs. Collies are of two kinds the rough and the smooth. The Collie with rough hair is much better known than the Collie which is smooth. They are both same except that the Smooth Collie does not have long coat.
The Collie characteristics include it is a big, thin and strong dog. It has flat skull and arched eye brows. The face of the Collie is chiseled and the head is shaped like a wedge. It has almond shaped medium sized eyes which are dark brown in color. They have fairly long neck and small ears. The body of the Collie is a little long and it has straight legs. It has a long tail which is twisted upwards and spins at the end. The coat of the Collie comes in two textures the coarse and soft and silky .The coarse coat covers the whole body as it is long but the hair o the head as well as the legs is short and a sort of mane is formed in the area that surrounds the neck and the chest.
The coat from outside is flat and rough when felt while the inner coat is silky .The Collie with a smooth coat has short 1” coat which covers the whole body.
The Coolie training should be given by a person who is confident, calm yet firm, consistent in his training ways and who sets rules and maintains them The Coolie needs to be taught kindly but with confidence and firmness otherwise they will not cooperate.
Other Collie information includes it is an extremely intelligent dog. It is very sensitive, good-natured lovable, easily trainable, faithful and playful thus very protective about the members of the family and excellent with young ones. Their life expectancy is 14-16 yrs. The height of the male Collie is about 24-26 inches and that of the bitches is 22-24 inches. On the other hand the weight of the male Collie is 60 – 75 pounds and that of a bitch is 50- 65 pounds.
On the whole Collie is regarded as a healthy dog but some of the Collie health problems include eye defects, hip problems which lead severe arthritis and lameness, PRA and lastly they also need to apply sun bock on their nose. They are also very sensitive to heat so need to be given fresh water and kept in a shaded area during warm weather.
The Collie is very active thus they need to be taken for long walks daily and allowed to run and play without strap in a play area which is fenced. Though the Collie is not an apartment dog they can be maintained in an apartment if they are given proper exercise.
Collie adoption is a good idea as to groom it is not hard. It has a stiff coat which sheds off the dirt easily so if it is brushed thoroughly brushed once a week it can be kept in good condition. The Collie needs to be given a bath or shampooed only when very essential. It’s seen that the rough collie hair fall heavily two times a year while the smooth collie sheds less.
