A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To the Dog Show

When we first started competing at dog shows, my daughter and I often traveled to shows with family and friends.  But occasionally, we struck off on our own, often with humorous results.  I was recently reminded of one trip we made to a show one weekend in early May. The show was being held at a campground up in Maine.  My small car was packed to the brim with everything we needed, and we planned on arriving at the show site by dinner time.  My daughter and I, and two collies, all squeezed into my car, and we headed off to the dog show. 

We left in the afternoon, right after my daughter got out of school, and what should have been a four hour ride ended up taking seven hours! There was a serious accident, with a roll over tractor trailer that shut down one of the highways we had to travel.  We barely moved for almost three hours. Of course, traveling with dogs, and being cooped up in the car for so long, came with its own set of challenges. After so many hours, Mariah, Kia's junior showmanship dog, let me know she had to go to the bathroom, urgently!  We were stuck, with the only exit more than an hour down the highway because of the accident. So I put the car in park, as we weren’t moving anyway, and I walked Mariah and Lad, our other collie. I was worried about walking the dogs so close to traffic, but with the accident no one was able to drive faster than 5 miles an hour so it was safe enough.

When we finally reached the campground, hours later than planned, it was dark. It was the kind of darkness that can only be found in the Northern woods at night.  With the heavy clouds obscuring the moon and stars it was not just dark, it was dark-dark. There were no streetlights, no neighboring houses, and not even the comforting glow of civilization in the distance.  The manager of the campground looked at my car and asked me, "Oh, did you already drop off your camper?" I smiled back, exhausted and hanging on by a thread, "no, we are tenting this weekend." He just looked at me and said "Oh" in a confused manner.  When we drove to our assigned site and got out of the car I understood his confusion.  Though it was May, and Summer was just a few weeks away, it was still very chilly up in Maine.  It was getting late, so I directed my headlights over our campsite and quickly began trying to set up our borrowed tent. I say "trying" because we couldn't find the directions, even though we had been assured that the directions were there.

I had a mild panic attack at the realization that I had no directions, and no idea on how to set up the tent! I had thought of trying to set it up the day before at home, but with work and packing, I didn't get a chance.  It was at that point that it started to rain, and after watching us struggle, a man in a neighboring campsite took pity on us and came over to offer his help. He was camping with his wife and their mini-bull terriers. Between the two of us we managed to get the tent up. After I thanked him repeatedly, he left to return to his huge motorhome, and Kia and I unpacked our sleeping bags and arranged them in the tent. (It was after 10:00 at this point.) 

We fed and walked the dogs, put Lad in his crate in the car with water and crawled into the tent with Mariah. I made us a couple bologna and cheese sandwiches and we ate them huddled around our shared flashlight. The humor of the situation hit us and soon we were both rolling on the ground laughing. All around us were expensive campers, RV's and motor homes, we were the ONLY ones tenting it. The next campsite had a huge, expensive RV. Inside, sitting in the heated RV, watching a movie on their flat screen TV, was our kind neighbor and his wife. And there we were, in a tent, on the ground, with just a flash light eating bologna in the rain! Kia made me laugh even harder when she said, "Sure, they may be in there watching movies, enjoying their nice, warm camper, and probably eating a casserole! But that's ok, because we have BOLOGNA and a FLASHLIGHT!”

The next morning we woke up early, around 6:00 A.M., to the sound of voices passing by our tent.  (There is no sleeping in late when you are in a tent!) It was a little boy, asking his father if people were actually staying in a tent?  It turns out my daughter and I were the only ones brave enough to camp in a tent, in Maine, that early in the season.  But the day began relatively sunny, and we finally caught a break from the rain. When we opened our tent flaps we were very happily surprised with the sight that greeted us…we discovered we had a campsite with a beautiful view!  What we couldn’t see the previous night was that we were given a campsite right on the edge of a lake.  The water and beach were just gorgeous, and almost made us forget the horrendous journey to get there.

The collies were both happy to get out and walk along the beach after the long day of travel and the cold, rainy night.  Lad, being a young dog, had enjoyed the new experiences.  Mariah was a retired champion, and before becoming my daughter’s juniors partner, had traveled to countless dog shows, often staying overnight in hotels.  She had never been camping, so she was very confused about the whole experience. A few times during the night, I caught her staring at me, as if to say, "Why are you making me sleep OUTSIDE? Don't you know I sleep INSIDE, on a BED?" But being a collie, she adapted as best she could...

We had survived the exhausting trip to the campground, we had survived the night in the tent on that cold, hard ground, and it was time to prepare for the dog show.  We got Mariah and Lad ready at our campsite.  Kia showed Lad first and he won Winner's Dog, which made her very happy.  Then it was time for the junior handling competition.  Kia and Mariah won 3rd place, which gave her more points towards her top twenty junior handler ranking for the Collie Club of America.  We also discovered that a friend was staying at a campsite near ours. She invited us to come sit by her fire that night, and if we got too cold to stay in her camper with her. We took her up on the offer to hang out by her fire, but we managed to make it through another night in the tent.  So while the weekend had gotten off to a rough start, it was still a successful one, and it was quite an adventure that we will always remember!  

Rough Collie vs. Smooth Collie: What’s the Difference?

If you research this question, you’ll usually get the same answer: The Rough Collie and Smooth Collie are the same breed.  They share the same breed standard, temperament, structure, colors, and working heritage. The biggest difference is simply the coat length.  But is this the truth?  

The AKC, or American Kennel Club, views rough and smooth collies as two varieties of the same breed. As they are considered to be the same breed, American collie breeders can breed the rough and smooth collies together.  In England (UK Kennel Club) they are viewed as two completely separate breeds. In the UK, the rough and smooth collies haven't interbred since January 1, 1994, when they were classified as separate breeds. Breeding a smooth and rough collie is not allowed in most European countries and Australia.  Some Nordic countries (like Sweden, Finland, and recently Norway) have maintained open pedigree rules or voted to permit controlled interbreeding to boost genetic diversity.

In Europe, the primary goal of separating the rough and smooth, was to preserve the distinct bloodlines of the smooth collie and prevent it from simply being absorbed or diluted by the more popular rough collie.  Though they share the same ancestors, the rough and smooth collies were originally developed to perform different tasks in different climates.  The rough collie was bred to herd sheep in the harsh, freezing weather of the Scottish Highlands, requiring a long, heavy, protective double coat. The smooth collie was primarily used in the wetter, milder lowlands of Northern England as a drover’s dog, driving large herds of cattle and sheep to market.  This required a short, hard, and dense coat that wouldn't easily get weighed down by thick mud. 

Genetically, the rough coat is a recessive trait, meaning a dog needs two copies of the gene to have long hair, and the smooth coat is dominant.  When the two varieties are allowed to interbreed, a single litter can produce both coat types. Because the gene for the rough coat is recessive, if you breed two roughs together the breeding will only produce roughs.  If you breed a rough and a smooth together, you can have both rough and smooth puppies in the litter.  The smooth puppies from such a breeding would be considered rough-factored.  If you bred two rough-factored smooth collies together, you could end up with both rough and smooth puppies in the litter, because smooths can carry the recessive rough gene.  If you bred two pure-for-smooth collies together, you would end up with only smooth collies in the litter.

Nolan, CH Creekwood Winterberry Rich and Famous, DCAT

Because the smooth collie has always been far less common than its famous "Lassie" counterpart, in Europe the smooth collie has been listed on their “Vulnerable Dog Breeds” list for a number of years.  While I don’t know the the exact number of smooths vs roughs registered under the AKC, as they are not listed separately, the collie breed is ranked at #39 and continues to remain in the top 25% of breed popularity.

Individual breeding and bloodline have a greater impact on determining temperament than whether the dog is Rough or Smooth. Under the AKC, the temperaments of the smooth and rough collies are similar. Both varieties are:

• Intelligent and highly trainable
• Sensitive and responsive to their people
• Affectionate without necessarily being overly clingy
• Excellent family dogs
• Naturally alert without being aggressive
• Athletic and capable of obedience, herding, agility, and many other activities

The main difference in the rough and smooth collies is the coat maintenance.  Both the rough and smooth collies shed, and both are double coated.  The coat of the rough collie  is beautiful and eye catching.  The smooth collie’s shorter coat gives them an elegant, more defined appearance.  With a thicker, heavier coat, the rough collie requires more brushing.  The smooth collie is easier and quicker to groom, which makes them an ideal dog for anyone looking for that sweet collie temperament, but with less coat to maintain.  

Many have a definite preference for either the rough or the smooth collie, but in the end, it’s still a collie.  Whether dressed in a flowing mane and feathered coat or wearing the sleek, shorter coat of the smooth, the collie remains the same wonderful breed at heart. Both varieties share the intelligence, sensitivity, loyalty, athleticism, and unmistakable expression that have made collies so beloved for generations.  Rough collies may capture the imagination with their classic, stylish silhouette, while the smooths appeal with their clean lines and easy-care coat. One is no more “Collie” than the other, they simply represent the breed in two beautifully different ways.

Rosie, Creekwood’s Sunshine and Roses

You can read more about collie coat inheritance by clicking here.