(Sharing a favorite from 2012)
I love both rough and smooth collies. My love for collies began much the same as any collie lover - I fell in love with the Sunnybank collies in Albert Payson Terhune's books, and with the Lassie movies. There was no mention of smooth collies in either the books or the movies. When I caught a glimpse of my uncle's first smooth collie, years ago, I thought she looked all kinds of wrong. But my opinion has changed, and I now view smooths as the beautiful examples of the collie breed that they are.
Funnily enough, my first collie, lad, was actually a smooth. So were my second and third collies, Abby and Holly. But then Ryder was born, and I just couldn't part with my sweet, fuzzy boy.
I still find it funny that so few people even know about the smooth collie. They have the same wonderful collie temperaments, and they are MUCH easier to groom. And getting them ready to enter in the show ring takes about half the time as a rough. But when we walk both Ryder and Kori, everyone immediately call out to Ryder, "look it's Lassie!" And they immediately smile and ask to pet him, while little Kori stands waiting, wagging her tail. I can't tell you how many times we have been asked if our smooths are collie mixes, or why did we shave our collie? In the UK, Smooth collies are actually on the UKC's vulnerable breeds list. But I'm happy to say the smooth collie seems to be gaining popularity here in the USA.
I think you might appreciate this conversation between Kori and Ryder today...
Kori: I'm tired of everyone petting Ryder first...(sad face)
Ryder: Is it any wonder the people love me? I AM a superstar!
Kori: You're nothing but a boy!
Ryder: Handsome Boy, super star, stud muffin...take your pick!
Kori: Oh pleeease!
Ryder: I'm going to bed, being this awesome is exhausting...
Funnily enough, my first collie, lad, was actually a smooth. So were my second and third collies, Abby and Holly. But then Ryder was born, and I just couldn't part with my sweet, fuzzy boy.
I still find it funny that so few people even know about the smooth collie. They have the same wonderful collie temperaments, and they are MUCH easier to groom. And getting them ready to enter in the show ring takes about half the time as a rough. But when we walk both Ryder and Kori, everyone immediately call out to Ryder, "look it's Lassie!" And they immediately smile and ask to pet him, while little Kori stands waiting, wagging her tail. I can't tell you how many times we have been asked if our smooths are collie mixes, or why did we shave our collie? In the UK, Smooth collies are actually on the UKC's vulnerable breeds list. But I'm happy to say the smooth collie seems to be gaining popularity here in the USA.
I think you might appreciate this conversation between Kori and Ryder today...
Kori: I'm tired of everyone petting Ryder first...(sad face)
Ryder: Is it any wonder the people love me? I AM a superstar!
Kori: You're nothing but a boy!
Ryder: Handsome Boy, super star, stud muffin...take your pick!
Kori: Oh pleeease!
Ryder: I'm going to bed, being this awesome is exhausting...
Java Bean: "Ayyy, I kind of like it that everyone is drawn to fluffy Lulu. She enjoys the attention, and that means people aren't coming over and trying to pet me!"
ReplyDeleteBOL, guess you’re not a fan of strangers touching you? Sophie agrees!
DeleteWe love the conversation between Kori and Ryder. For us it's a black dog (Millie) being ignored and the tan one getting more of the attention even though we both love to meet people.
ReplyDeleteWhen my daughter was little, I had a beautiful black shepherd mix and a golden retriever. Everyone wanted to pet the golden, Chloe, and kept their distance from my Shepherd mix, my girl, Mojo.
DeleteThe rough and smooth are both beautiful Collies. I always wanted a "Lassie". There was one in our neighborhood when we lived in MD and he was so handsome and gentle.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely come back tomorrow…the post could have been written for you!
DeleteSo cute.
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Thank you for stopping by and reading the post!
DeleteAwww, your babies are most adorable. Collies rock.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week. Scritches to the pups. ♥
Blog hops are always fun, thank you for hosting!
DeleteAwww, Kori is so cute, I’d definitely pet her first!
ReplyDelete