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Dog Articles
Past and Present: Collie
There is
little resemblance between the working ‘Collie’ of the Scottish
sheep-herder and the elaborately furred, slender faced, bench-dog
now so popular. The broad-skulled, rather neglected looking
‘shepherd dog’ of our boyhood, with his friendly, democratic
manners (or lack of them) would get short shrift now at any show or
gathering of the elite, while of all dogs his handsome, richly
frilled descendant, with all the earmarks of aristocracy, is the
cause of more 'Ohs' and 'Ahs' than any other dog in the show.
Nevertheless, one might see an ordinary looking, half-moulted type
of the countryside handle a drove of 3,000 or more sheep in
Saskatchewan in a manner to bring one up standing. And when, on
returning at nightfall, he puts every ewe and lamb in one corral and
every ram in another, without error or violence, one feels like
asking him if he would shake hands with a mere spectator! It is
doubtful if any Borzoi-headed champion could do that with a lifetime
of training.
Still, the
Collie is a most intelligent and handsome dog, and the present
tendency is toward a greatly elongated and consequently
narrowed head, forming almost a straight or even slightly deflected
line from nose to occiput. The neck, throat, and chest bear a great
frill of long hair, and the back of the thighs also is very deeply
and richly furred. The hair of the body is long and straight, rather
harsh, but with a deep and woolly undercoat. The feet, from hock and
wrist down, should be smooth.
In color,
the Collie may be black and tan, sable or rich orange brown, with
white frill, collar, and face harlequin, or white, with black
spotting and freckling at random; blue’, or mouse color, and white,
or even pure white everywhere. Some few kennels specialize in white
Collies and advertise extensively; they are very beautiful dogs,
though probably requiring more care to keep presentable than the
'more practical colors as our mothers would call them.
The Collie
should stand 20 to 24, inches and weigh from 40 to 60 pounds. He
requires considerable exercise, and while growing up needs watching
to prevent his acquiring a taste for chickens and even lamb. Once
this predilection gets established, it is hard if not impossible to
eradicate.
In this
country we know the Collie chiefly as a beautiful, vivacious, and
alert companion, but in the great sheep-raising districts of
Scotland, northern England, and Wales, he is an absolutely
indispensable assistant of the shepherd.
Not that
the working Collie looks very much like the long-muzzled, much-beruffled,
and well-groomed specimens which grace the benches at our dog shows.
He would never be allowed inside the ring at Madison Square Garden,
and if he were he would stand about as much chance of taking a prize
as a blue-ribbon winner would have of defeating him in one of the
great annual sheep-dog trials of his native land. He lacks the
superficial beauty necessary to win in the show ring but he has the
brains, the courage, and the stamina without which the sheep
industry of Great Britain would quickly come to a standstill.
In the
land of misty mountains one good dog can do the work of a dozen men,
and there is no other animal which could possibly replace him.
Obeying
the voice, or, better still, the whistle, of his master, a good
working Collie will run out to a distant pasture, round up his
flock, separating them if necessary from other sheep, and bring them
along at just the right speed; head off any which may try to take a
wrong direction; go back and hurry those which lag behind; fight off
strange dogs if necessary, and finally bring them into the fold
without losing one.
Next
morning he will take them away to the pasture and guard them all
day, if asked to do so, or help his master to drive them to the
market, along the quiet country lanes and the crowded city streets
alike, preventing every attempt of his charges to wander or
stampede.
The
Shetland Collie, a tiny sheep-herder weighing between six and ten
pounds and imported from the Shetland Islands, is becoming known in
the country as an attractive pet.
Source:
National Geographic 1919
Recommended Reading
Dog Training
Mastery - An Owners' Manual
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