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Monday, January 11, 2016

The American Collie, you've come a long way baby! - A history of our collies, part 1

I've always felt that to understand the present, you must consider the past.  And when I look at my collies, when I study their pedigrees, I can't help but be fascinated by how far back I can trace my dogs' ancestry.  But before I get into my own collies' pedigrees, I want to discuss the history of the American collie, as I love learning about all those collies from long ago.
CH Anfield Model


The first English collie was imported to the United States in 1879 by Allen Apgar.  When his imported collies began winning at dog shows, other breeders followed his example and began importing collies as well.  So the foundation stock of the American collie were collies imported to our country from England.  A famous collie breeder, W.E. Mason established his kennel, Southport Collies, in New Jersey.  While he began breeding his own family of collies, he started importing English collies to his kennel.  He was responsible for importing more high quality collies to this country than any other breeder/exhibitor.  He imported four famous collies to our country, Ch Anfield Model, Ch Squire of Tytton, Ch Parbold Picador and Ch Southport Sample, and these collies changed the breed.



Because lines of American collies were still being developed, the collies that were imported from Britain were of higher quality than what was being bred here in the United States.  So when these imports stepped into the show ring, they won.  The high demand for these collies led many English kennels to sell their top winning collies to American kennels.  With the importation of these, high quality collies, the American collie "made rapid progress between 1900 to 1920."  The American collie was originally a farm type specimen, and all the British imports helped to develop our collie into the beautiful dog we now see in most American kennels.


What I find interesting is that when I look at pictures and videos of the collies being shown in England and other European countries today, and compare them to the modern American collie, I prefer our collies.  The European collie has changed quite a bit in appearance and temperament over the years.  They are shorter, heavier, and have a wider skull and a more pronounced stop.  They don't resemble the top winning collies of the past, many of which were imported to the United States.  And if you compare the American collie with those British imports from the turn of the century, they still look very similar.  I think that the American collie now surpasses European collies in beauty, grace and elegance.  But that is just my own opinion, and I'm sure many European breeders prefer their collies to ours.  However, I have seen breeders from England, Japan, and many other countries attend the Collie Club of America National dog show.  They come to evaluate our collies, and they offer exorbitant sums of money to purchase our collies to add to their own breeding stock.  The American collie has come a long way from it's original working stock, but they can still herd sheep and other farm animals just as their ancestors were of long ago.

Kori loves herding!

24 comments:

  1. It's a good thing you guys love herding. We love chasing and mom is'nt happy about that LOL :)

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    1. We actually belong to a collie club that holds herding instinct tests. It is pretty fun, maybe you can try it sometime? You might surprise your mom!

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  2. We have always thought they were beautiful.
    stella rose

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    1. My daughter loves collies obviously, but she wants to have a little pug someday. :)

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  3. I LOVE researching my dogs' pedigrees and seeing where they came from. Its very interesting to know the American collie came from European lines and now those dogs are vastly different from our own. They remind me a chow-type of dog and not a collie. Like you, I prefer the American.

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    1. Yes! I have thought the same thing! I know part of their problem is that they do not breed their smooths with their roughs, which limits their gene pool.

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  4. I think I might have mentioned that my brother use to breed collies back home in Australia - he had one of the oldest lines in Australia and they looked just like Ryder :)

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    1. Have you ever thought of adding a collie to your family? Are the boys your first shelties or have you had others?

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  5. Your collies bear a strong resemblance to the collies of yore. What handsome dogs.

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    1. Thank you! There aren't as many pictures of smooths of the past available to see what changes have occurred over the years.
      And we have more smooths than roughs in our family, but it wasn't always that way. And there is just something so beautiful about a rough collie, so it's easy to see why they have been so popular.

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  6. That's interesting the European collies are so different. I love collies and collie mixes. Such beautiful and intelligent dogs.

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    1. They are, and not many people realize how versatile they are as a breed. Maybe I should do a post about that in the future...

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  7. I think my generation all fell in love with Collies after watching years of Lassie - I know I sure did! Always thought they were gorgeous dogs. I'm learning from this series. Keep it coming :)

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    1. Lassie movies were a favorite of mine as well. Though they did set some unusually high expectations for collie heroics! lol

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  8. What a wonderful post, and what a beautiful breed!

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    1. My sister has collies, and gave us our foundation bitch, Abby. But she also has two rescue shih tzus, and they adore their collies sisters. :)

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  9. Thank you for this very interesting history! Growing up, we had an English collie and adopted a rough collie from a neighbor who didn't want her anymore (why, we will never know. She was gorgeous, looked just like Lassie, and so loving). They both were gorgeous, loving, devoted dogs. The two were inseparable! Whenever I would take the horses out, they were right there with me! It was great to hear about their history.

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    1. My cousins grew up with collies, as their father was the one who began our family's obsession with the breed. When they grew up two of them refuse to get any dogs, and the third doesn't have interest in owning a collie at all. It's hard to say why someone would give up their collie, as I find them to be loving, loyal and funny.

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  10. Wonderfull post, love much collies

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  11. Collies, short and smooth, always have an elegant look about them. Fascinating post - I certainly learned something today! :)

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    1. Thank you! I thought the smooth collie was a little odd looking when I met my first smooth. I preferred the rough coat, but smooths grow on you!

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  12. Wonderful information about your breed! I have always loved Collies(since the time I was 2 watching Lassie on t.v.)and would have loved to have one, but due to allergies/asthma can't. Even the rest of the family has the same issue-so now beauties for us. Thanks for sharing!
    Wags,
    Noreen and Hunter

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    1. That's too bad about the allergies, but it's so great that you can still share your life with other breeds of dogs. Dogs just make everything better!

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