Tamaron Rough Collies: Collie Standard

ROUGH COLLIE STANDARD

Origin and Purpose:

Both the Rough and Smooth breeds of Collie originated in the British Isles. The Rough Collie was originally used as a herding dog, while the Smooth Collie was the drover's dog.

General Appearance:

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 over-all balance impair the general character.

Coat and Colour:

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 undercoat, 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 rings. 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.

The five recognized colours are "Sable and White", "Tricolour", "Blue Merle", "Sable Merle" and "White". There is no preference among them. The "Sable and White" is predominantly sable [a sable colour of varying shades from light gold to dark mahogany] with white markings usually on the chest, neck, legs, feet and tip of the 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 shading 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 "Sable Merle" is predominantly a light sable with darker sable mottling or marbling as in the "Blue Merle" and with white markings as in the "Sable and White". The "White" is predominantly white, with sable, tricolour, blue merle, or sable merle markings on the head and elsewhere.

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