Collie Smooth

The Smooth Collie is a loyal, affectionate, strong and active dog that is both elegant and graceful. This breed is one of the best family dogs: it devoted to the entire family and will be especially good with children. The Smooth Collie is energetic outside and calm inside.

The Collie originated in the highlands of Scotland in the XVIII century. In Scotland and Northern England the breed was used as sheep herding dog and for guarding the flock. The Smooth Collie, also known as the «ban» dog, was used to guide the cows and sheep to market. The Rough Colie, also known as the «shepherd’s» dog, was used to guard the sheep and cattle in the pastures. The name of the breed probably comes from the term «coalie» or «coaly», that was used to describe the black faced sheep that the dog herded.

Collies were first exhibited in 1860 at the Birmingham (England) dog show. After that show Queen Victoria fell in love with these dogs and began to keep them at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. In 1879 the first Collie was imported to England, where the modern type of breed was developed.

The Collie was one of the first breed registered with the newly formed American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1885. The Kennel Club (England) accepted the breed in 1886. In 1914, the United Kennel Club (UKC) recognised the breed, gave it the official name – the Scotch Collie that was changed to Collie only in the 1991.

Until very recently, the Smooth Collie and the Rough Collie were considered the same breed. Rarely, they were interbred and produced pedigreed offsprings. Today, almost all countries separate the two varieties. American canine organizations still consider these two varieties as the same breed with identical standards other than coat. Both breeds are mainly used as companion animals and show dogs, but they still are capable of herding.

The Smooth Collie is a loyal, affectionate, active, intelligent, sensitive and tolerant dog with natural protective and herding instincts. This breed is very people-oriented, forms incredibly intense bonds with its family and is ideal for children. The Smooth Collie is very gentle and also incredibly playful with children. This dog needs to be constantly around its family and suffers severe separation anxiety, so it’s absolutely not recommended to keep your dog outside alone. The Collie is not a good choice for families that argue or fight a lot as this breed is so emotionally sensitive that can become neurotic or physically ill.

Smooth Collies are not human aggressive but are generally very cautious of strangers. These dogs usually accept them, but proper socialization is very important to prevent you dog from becoming excessively timid. Smooth Collies are extremely alert and very vocal, which makes them an excellent watchdog. However, they are not good guard dogs, as the most breed members will warmly greet an intruder or run in fear.

The Smooth Collie is very trustworthy with dogs and other animals. This breed shows low levels of dog aggression. Most Collies would prefer to live with at least one other dog, especially if that is another Collie. Most breed members would not intentionally harm another animal, but will try to herd it, which if can annoy a cat or horse.

The most common health problems for the breed include:

• different eye problems (including Collie eye abnormality (CEA));
• dermatomycosis;
• cerebellar abiotrophy;
• deafness (merle coat color);
• allergies;
• drug sensitivity;
• elbow dysplasia;
• epilepsy;
• canine hip Dysplasia;
• von Willebrand’s Disease.

The Smooth Collie has short double coat. Brush you dog thoroughly once every week and two or more often during seasonal shedding. Some dogs may need to be trimmed around their head and feet.

Bathing must be done only when need and nit more than once a month. Some owners choose to visit a professional groomer. Brush you dogs’ teeth daily, check and clean eyes and ears on a regular basis and trim nails when needed

The Smooth Collie is a highly intelligent and very trainable breed that loves to please. You can teach your dog almost everything except for aggression training and advanced scent tracking.

Collies get bored quickly with repetitive obedience exercises, so your dog will need interesting and motivated training sessions. Harsh and correction-based training techniques are will make your Smooth Collie confused or frightened. Training must be gentle and based on positive methods like praise or a treat.

You also need to know that Collies tend to be very vocal, and can be very loud. Even the best trained and exercised Smooth Collie will still bark much more than most other dogs.

The Smooth Collie is very agile and needs plenty of exercise otherwise it will become lazy. You have to take your dog to daily long walks and provided it with a physical workout of about at east an hour per day. However, the Smooth Collie doesn’t require as much exercise as other herding breeds and even a moderately active family can meet this dog’s needs.

These dogs make excellent jogging and hiking companions. The modern Smooth Collie prefers to have a job, and love running through an agility course or herding some sheep.