Collie

Collie, the northern name for the sheep-dog, now generally used to denote a special strain bred for companions to, rather than servants of, man, for both which offices they are admirably fitted by their high degree of intelligence. The collie should stand about 20 inches at the shoulder, be lithe and active, but strongly built, with shoulders well set back, deep chest, broad muscular back, strong, straight forelegs, sickle-shaped hocks, free of feather to the heel, and small, somewhat round feet. The head should be long and sharp, with small semi-erect ears. The colours are black and tan, black, white, and tan, black and white, sable, and grey. The coat is double: the under coat is short and close like sealskin, and well-fitted to resist the damp; the outer coat is harsh and coarse; in rough collies the latter is long, in smooth collies it is short. The former carry a good deal of feather on the fore legs and on the hind legs down to the hock, and the long outer coat forms a kind of ruff which is absent in the smooth collie. Wonderful stories are told, on good authority, of the intelligence of this breed when employed as sheep-dogs. Their only drawback as companions is a somewhat uncertain temper, which, however, is more apt to be manifested to strangers than to the animal's master or mistress, to whom it is ordinarily devotedly attached.