ROUGH COLLIE STANDARD (cont'd)

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.

Forequarters:

The forelegs are straight and muscular, and with a fair amount of bone considering the size of the dog. A cumbersome appearance is undesirable. The forearm is moderately fleshy and the pasterns are flexible, but without weakness.

Body:

The back is strong and level, supported by powerful hips and thighs and the croup is sloped to give a well-rounded finish. 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 line is powerful and slightly arched.

Hindquarters:

The hind legs are less fleshy than the forelegs, are muscular at the thighs, very sinewy and the hocks and stifles are well bent. 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.

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.

Gait:

Gait is sound. When the dog is moved at a slow trot towards an observer, its straight front legs are not out at the elbows, do not "cross over", neither does the dog 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 towards the centre 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.

Faults:

A soft, open outer coat or a curly outer coat, regardless of quantity, is penalized. Because of the importance of the head characteristics, prominent head faults are severely penalized. Overshot or undershot jaws are undesirable, the latter being more severely penalized. Eye faults are heavily penalized. A dog with prick ears or low ears cannot show true expression and is penalized accordingly. Both narrow and wide placement of the forelegs are penalized. Noticeable fat dogs or dogs in poor flesh or with skin diseases or with no undercoat are out of condition and are moderately penalized accordingly. A dog which moves cow hocked, or a dog with straight stifles, should be penalized.

Disqualifications:

Monorchid or crytorchid in grown males.

Official Breed Standard for the Collie (Smooth)

The Smooth variety of Collie 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.

Other Rough Collie Standards

American Kennel Club Standard
The Kennel Club (UK) Standard
Australian Collie (Rough) Standard
New Zealand Kennel Club

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