Collie Looks
There are two lengths of Collie Coats.
- Rough
- Smooth
Rough
The rough coat is the long, beautiful coat that is associated with "Lassie". The American Kennel Club describes the rough coat as "the crowning glory of the rough variety of Collie". The outer coat of the rough Collie, is straight and harsh to the touch. The undercoat, is soft and furry. The coat is very abundant on the mane or "ruff". The face is smooth. The forelegs are smooth and well feathered to the back of the pasterns. The hind legs are smooth below the hocks. The hair on the tail and hips is very long and bushy.
Examples of the Rough Collie
Smooth
The smooth variety of the Collie, has a short, hard, dense, flat coat of good texture, with an abundance of undercoat. They are both judged by the same standard in the show ring. The smooth collie is a lot easier to groom and more low maintenance than the rough coat - but has been known to shed a lot more than the rough.
Examples of the Smooth Collie
..and there are four Collie Coat colors recognized in the USA. (Note: Sable Merles are also recognized in other parts of the world)
- Sable White
- Tri-color
- Blue merle
- White
SABLE WHITE
The "sable and white" is the color of the famous "Lassie". It 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 backskull or both."
TRI-COLOR 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."
BLUE MERLE 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.'" This color is the widest variety of all the colors. A "blue merle" can have alot of merling or very little.
WHITE The "white" is "predominantly white, preferably with 'sable', 'tri-color' or 'blue merle' markings." A collie with all white fur, with no markings, is undesirable. While this is the least prominent collie color, white collies do have their own loyal fan base!
