Herding Group
Rough
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 over-all 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 back skull (cheeky) or pinched
in muzzle (snippy). In profile view the top
of the back skull 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
mid-point 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 under
jaw is strong, clean-cut and the depth of
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 very slight prominence of the
eyebrows. The back skull is flat, without
receding either laterally or backward and
the occipital bone is not highly peaked. The
proper width of back skull necessarily
depends upon the combined length of skull
and muzzle and the width of the back skull
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 very 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 color. They are
almond-shaped, of medium size and never
properly appear to be large or prominent.
The color 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
the alert. In blue merles, dark brown eyes
are preferable, but either or both eyes may
be merle or china in color 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 back skull and are carried
about three-quarters erect, with about
one-fourth 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,
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.
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, 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 "crossover,"
nor 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 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 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 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.
Color
The four recognized colors are "Sable and
White," "Tri-color," "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 the tip of the tail. A blaze may
appear on the foreface or back skull or
both. The "Tri-color" 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" color
predominantly blue-grey and black with white
markings as in the "Sable and White" and
usually has tan shadings as in the
"Tri-color." The "White" is predominantly
white, preferably with sable, tri-color or
blue merle markings.
Size
Dogs are from 24 to 26 inches at the
shoulder and weigh from 60 to 75 pounds.
Bitches are from 22 to 24 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 of
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 eye 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
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.
