One Breed.. Two Varieties..
Find more like this in: History, Looks, The Show RingUpdated: February 27th, 2007 |
Posted by Collie Dog Owners |
In America, the rough coated and smooth coated collie are considered to be the same breed of dog, and are just shown as two separate varieties of that same breed in the show ring. In Great Britain, however, the two coats are considered two separate breeds! Owners and breeders in both hemispheres are equally loyal to their local standards of what they think a true collie should be considered.
Why the disparity? Centuries ago, when the collie was being first developed in the hills of Scotland, each coat type represented a different type of job that particular dog did. This developed into the European classification of putting them into two separate breed categories. In America, where we do not have much need for sheep herders, the collie first became popular as a show dog, the two coat types were considered one breed. The elegant beauty of the rough’s long fur was prized in the show ring and the smooth was considered a farm dog.
Keeping the two types as one single breed encouraged interbreeding, something that is a no-no in Europe. Many American breeders today believe this helped greatly improve the smooth variety in America. Back in the 1800s when the roughs were focused on the most, the structure and proper breeding of the smooths was ignored and they were considered poor specimens. It is through the focus of interbreeding that the strong roughs of the time were able to impart their good genes into the smooth collie lines. Over in Europe where the two coat types are not bred, one can see marked differences between their European rough and smooth collie breeds.
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