Collies come in two varieties, Rough and Smooth. In North America both varieties are identical beyond their coat types and are bred together. You can have both Smooth and Rough Collies as siblings in the same litter. The Collie is a member of the Herding Group. Both varieties of Collie originated in the British Isles. The Rough Collie was originally used as a herding dog, while the Smooth Collie was the drover's dog.
General Appearance
The Collie is a lithe, strong, responsive, active dog, carrying no useless timber, standing naturally straight and firm. The deep moderately wide chest shows strength, the sloping shoulders and well-bent hocks indicate speed and grace and the face shows high intelligence. The Collie presents an impressive, proud picture of true balance, each part being in harmonious proportion to every other part and to the whole. Except for the technical description that is essential to this Standard and without which no Standard for the guidance of breeders and judges is adequate, it could be stated simply that no part of the Collie ever seems to be out of proportion to any other part. Timidity, frailness, sullenness, viciousness, lack of animation, cumbersome appearance, and lack of overall balance impair the general character.
Expression is one of the most important points in considering the relative value of Collies. "Expression," like the term "Character", is difficult to define in words. It is not a fixed point as in colour, weight or height and it is something the uninitiated can properly understand only by optical illusions. In general, however, it may be said to be the combined product of the shape and balance of the skull and muzzle, the placement, size, shape, and colour of the eyes, and the position, size and carriage of the ears. An expression that shows sullenness or is suggestive of any other breed is entirely foreign. The Collie cannot be judged properly until its expression has been carefully evaluated.
Colours
Collies have two coat types, rough, the gorgeous flowing coat of Lassie and smooth, a short dense coat. There are 5 acceptable colours in Collies: Sable and White, Tricolour, Blue Merle and White, Sable Merle and White, and White.
Size
Dogs are from 24-26 inches (60-67 cm) at the shoulder and weigh from 60-75 lb (27-34 kg). Bitches are from 22-24 inches (55-61 cm) at the shoulder, weighing from 50-65 lb (22-30 kg).
Temperament
Temperament is paramount in our breed. A Collie should be a kind and attentive companion. Collies make wonderful family pets and thrive with exercise and training. They are thoughtful dogs who do best with positive based training. Aggression towards people or dogs is not correct, but a good Collie will keep an attentive eye on your property and alert you with barking if something is amiss.
Health
It is important to understand each breed's unique health issues before getting said dog. Collies are large dogs with relatively low incidences of hip and elbow issues. They do, however, have a number of other health concerns to be aware of: Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA), Bloat, Epilepsy, skin problems, Dermatomyositis (DMS) and Grey Collie Syndrome (CN). I would invite you to check out the Collie Health Foundation for more indepth info on these diseases. I am also very happy to talk anytime about Collies in general, my dogs' health testing, and the health of the puppies I produce. My dogs are tested above the recommendations set out by our club.
Additional Resources
You can find out more about Collies from the following excellent websites: