Anyone here have a collie?
 

I am going to be getting a collie later on when I move to a bigger place with a backyard.

Any advice? Not many people I see around with collies so any info would be great!

my niece just adopted a collie/shepherd mix, she's about 4 months old now, really smart as a whip dog, show her something (trick) 4 times and she catches on immediately and doesn't forget, but ....she is a heck of a nipper, always at my great nephews heels when he tries to walk.

I have shelties and all I will say is to get yourself some good quality grooming equipment for your Collie. I used to wonder whether people at shows talking about Mason Pearson brushes(made in England) for instance weren't just big noting themselves seeing they are expensive, but no, they really are a lovely brush to use. For mine I have a M & P bristle and nylon brush, a German Pin brush, a big steel comb , a small one for face, ears etc.., a spray bottle to mist the coat before you groom, another steel comb with a handle that I use to get hair out of my brushes, and of course sharp hair dressing scissors for tidying up hairy feet, and thinning scissors for neatening them up if they have a lot of hair around the ears. No doubt there are loads of things you could use. I don't know about Collies but some shelties have very fine hair behind their ears that can go into knots if they aren't groomed often enough, and they must also be kept clean under the tail. If they have very thick petticoats/breeching, you can carefully cut what they call a poop track down the middle.
I think they are magnificent dogs, Collies, we only opted for shelties because I wanted something smaller. At least if you aren't buying your dog till later on you would have time to spread the expense of all its gear over as much time as you like.

[url]http://www.bordercollie.ca/Breed-Information.html[/url]

Collies are part of the herding group. Need LOTs of excerise and a fenced area won't do.

They herd. Everyone. All the time.
I've collie-sat and found it annoying, but others love them.

This is my collie Noah. He's 8 now. Before him I had a pair of sisters. My neighbours have a couple now but in the past have had as many as 15 at one time.
[ATTACH]66761[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]66760[/ATTACH]

I've always loved my collies but now that I'm into mushing I wouldn't get another one just because I prefer the high energy/high drive of the border collies for racing.

[QUOTE=Etown_Chick;929910]They herd. Everyone. All the time.
I've collie-sat and found it annoying, but others love them.[/QUOTE]

Most don't actually. Like so many other breeds, their instincts have dulled with years of breeding for conformation purposes rather than instinct/ability.

As for exercise, yes they need it but they are far more laid back than my border collies. No where near the energy level.

Amount of grooming will depend on the individual dog's coat. Some need more than others. I'm lucky with Noah, I rarely groom him and he doesn't mat up behind the ears or inner thighs. When he's blowing undercoat I groom it out well and then he needs very little grooming otherwise. One of the collies I had before needed much more grooming to prevent/remove mats. My favourite grooming tool for Noah is my shedding slicker. There are various different styles of slicker brushes available but the shedding slicker is one of the varieties with a curved head and 2 different length of pins. When the undercoat is coming loose it just strips it out (and collects it in the brush so it's not blowing around). I have an undercoat rake that will take the coat out but it doesn't collect it and it seems to be blowing everywhere. I also have a metal comb that I use a bit, but the shedding slicker by far gets the most use.

One thing to be aware of with this breed is the potential for eye problems. If the dog comes from a breeder (a good one) there should be eye checks done on the parents to screen for CEA (collie eye anomaly). Some also can have very tiny eyes. If adopted from a shelter you can have the eyes of your dog checked by a veterinary opthamologist yourself if you wish.

And, they bark. When I only had the 2 collies I never really noticed it that much but now that I have other dogs I notice how much more Noah barks in comparison. And the neighbour's dogs too, their collies bark more than their other dogs. They particularly like to bark at her miniature horses when they get running around.

Thanks for all the info Gail. Noah is a gorgeous dog! I am thinking of getting a smooth collie so it will hopefully need a lot less grooming.

[QUOTE=NoahGrey;929772][url]http://www.bordercollie.ca/Breed-Information.html[/url]

Collies are part of the herding group. Need LOTs of excerise and a fenced area won't do.[/QUOTE]

i don't know if you missed my post, however i posted a important link

Thanks Noah I will take a look at the link.

I'm hearing that collies bark a lot, is that something that can be trained out of them?

Thanks!

[QUOTE=NoahGrey;930183]i don't know if you missed my post, however i posted a important link[/QUOTE]

She appears to be considering a Smooth Collie, [the short coated version of a Rough Collie] not a Border Collie. Not the same breed or energy level, as Gail can attest.
Once when I traveled to a dog show with my Rhodesian Ridgebacks, I met two Smooths on their way to the same show. Nice dogs, well behaved, but hours of training behind them. A good breeder with health clearances on their stock is a must.
Yes, you can tone down the barking--not train it out though. I have a mini long haired dachshund--most of whom bark at everything. Mine does not--and if I am around only barks once to alert.

I'd agree with Gail about Collie Roughs being a bit lacking in energy. I have two friends who've bred them for showing. Don't know much about the smooths though, whether the temperament and energy level is different. What you need to watch for here in both Collies and Shelties too, apart from eye problems, is that those who have white around the nose or lack pigment there can get nasal solar dermatitis, leading to cancer. Is that sort of cancer seen in Canada, Gail, or only here where it gets really hot? I love that first photo by the way, a gorgeous boy.

[QUOTE=Goldfields;930454] What you need to watch for here in both Collies and Shelties too, apart from eye problems, is that those who have white around the nose or lack pigment there can get nasal solar dermatitis, leading to cancer. Is that sort of cancer seen in Canada, Gail, or only here where it gets really hot? I love that first photo by the way, a gorgeous boy.[/QUOTE]

Thanks :)
I'm sure it is seen here too but I don't know how frequently. Of all the collies I've had/known, Noah is the first I've seen with anything like that and it's only started occurring in the last couple of years. He doesn't even have any white around his nose. Those with white and naturally occurring pink skin there would be more prone to sun sensitivities. The fall of 2008 (7 years of age) Noah lost some pigment just above his nose and had a pink spot there for a few months. Gradually the colour came back and all was well. Then last year in the summer he suddenly got into a whole mess of problems, terrible hot spots on his belly and back of his thighs, losing hair and pigment on his nose and around his eyes and getting kind of scabby spots on his face. Even the tips of his ears were affected. Because it all happened in the later summer, a little earlier than the year before and all these things happened at once to him I assumed it was environmental allergies and treated it as such. Eventually the hot spots cleared up and most of the pigment and hair came back on his face, though there are still spots that appear to be somewhat scarred and he still has a pink spot above his nose. It was starting up again this spring, no hot spots but loosing hair around the eyes etc. just a week before the vet came to vaccinate so she had a look at it and suggested a skin scraping, to rule out mange, bacteria, yeast etc. The scraping was clean so she just recommended keeping him out of the sun and if it got worse that we might consider doing a biopsy. Luckily it has cleared up quickly this time, the hair has now regrown and he's not all bald around his eyes anymore. I'm not really sure how the sun could have much affect in his case. He spends hours outside in the sun in the winter time without any problem, it only happens in the hotter weather and although the sun may be more intense then he's not really out in it much. If he's in the yard he's often laying in the shade or else inside in the a/c when it's really hot. He's turning 9 this fall, I just hope it doesn't continue to get worse each year as he ages :shrug:

ETA: Here's a picture of him from Oct. 2008 that shows the pink spot on his nose. That time the pigment did come back after several months.

[ATTACH]66834[/ATTACH]

Found a couple more pics that show it better. First one is Nov. 2008 when the pink spot was getting smaller, second one is March 2010 and scarring can be seen as black-ish spots. Those areas and more had lost hair, turned pink and been scabby. Once they began healing the skin turned black and some hair regrew but not all. He kind of looks like he's been all bitten up or something but at least it's not inflamed and bothering him.

[ATTACH]66836[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]66835[/ATTACH]

Gail, what a friend up the road did for her Collie when he had that sort of problem (just near the nose) was she had a vet tattoo the area. It is a problem here, in fact the truth is that Collies and Shelties should probably not be in such a harsh environment as the Australian summer . My sister and I disagree on one point about shelties, she has bred dogs with white noses and she likes the marking, just thinks it looks good, but I know that marking leads to this problem so I would never aim for it. She's had a white cat that got cancer on its ears, I've had a grey mare that had cancer, baldy faced cows here get cancer - our sun is a real killer.
Did your vet consider lupus? I only wonder about that seeing your boy gets hair and pigment loss around the eyes as well as the nose. I see our two breeds are on the short list of dogs effected by this. :(
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_discoid_lupus_erythematosus[/url]

As a teenager we had a collie for 15 years. He was a very gentle social boy but what a BARKER. Barked when happy, to protest, when someone came over, for food...OMG the list goes on. He would not shut up, but he was momma's boy for sure.

He also would herd quite abit. Especially the children in the park. You need to watch out for the little nibbles that they give. It is not biting but it does pinch somewhat.

Grooming everyday is a must.

All in all, not only are they one of the most gorgeous dogs, but they are wonderful family dogs. Just all around great temperments.

Watch out for medical issues usually related to the eyes. Before getting a collie I would advise having a vet look them over first, before making the committment. Not that it is a huge expense, but because there is not much that can be done for 'collie eye'.

Best to you.

Thanks so much for all of the info!

Someone was talking about nasal solar dermatitis, is this something that only happens when the dog has white fur?

[QUOTE=Kalou;930875]Thanks so much for all of the info!

Someone was talking about nasal solar dermatitis, is this something that only happens when the dog has white fur?[/QUOTE]

No, as you can see from my pictures Noah has no white hair on his nose. Probably more prevalent on the dogs with white on their noses though, similar to how people with fair complexions burn easier.


[QUOTE=Goldfields]
Did your vet consider lupus? I only wonder about that seeing your boy gets hair and pigment loss around the eyes as well as the nose. I see our two breeds are on the short list of dogs effected by this.
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_..._erythematosus[/url]
Yesterday 11:54 PM[/QUOTE]

After the skin scraping my vet basically just recommended that since it wasn't bothering him I keep an eye on it and if it got worse then we'd look further to what it might be.

I don't know about Collies but Collie Eye Anomaly in shelties is not a progressive condition. If they are only mildly effected as pups then they will be fine all their lives. Colabomas are what you need to avoid, also microphthalmia(small eye). Actually, just looked at a book here and Collies can have more eye problems than shelties. Our sheltie pups were always checked out by a canine ophthalmologist before going to their new homes and I would not want to buy a Collie or sheltie pup in unless it was checked first.

I use a child's coloured suntan stick on Tucker's nose, its purple and as the colour wears off I reapply more:shrug:it seems to work.

[url]http://www.optigen.com/[/url] here is a great web site for info on inherited disease and other issues with dogs.. collies etc

[QUOTE=Goldfields;930854]
Did your vet consider lupus? I only wonder about that seeing your boy gets hair and pigment loss around the eyes as well as the nose. I see our two breeds are on the short list of dogs effected by this. :(
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_discoid_lupus_erythematosus[/url][/QUOTE]

Bringing this thread back up again, there are updated pics in the following thread showing what Noah is now dealing with in the summertime :( [URL="http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=71914"]http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=71914[/URL] This is the first year that his actual nose has been affected. Those pics were taken a couple of days ago and he doesn't look quite so bad now as the big scabs have come off the bridge of the nose and it's healthy looking pink skin underneath (no sores or oozing). Right now I'm managing it with vaseline on his nose to keep it from getting dry and crusty and zinc oxide cream on the rest to help heal the scabs and sores and protect it from the sun. I have an eye ointment from the vet that I can use on the sores around his eyes.

Gail,I just love Collies and your Noah is beautiful,his nose looks really sore though in the other thread:(

[QUOTE=chico2;943845]Gail,I just love Collies and your Noah is beautiful,his nose looks really sore though in the other thread:([/QUOTE]
Thanks :) His face is quite a mess but luckily not really bothering him. When he gets really scabby around the eyes too then he starts rubbing on the fence and makes it bleed so it scabs up even more. At not quite 9 years of age I'm so reluctant to put him on something like Prednisone unless it's absolutely necessary. It's surprising how quickly Noah's condition will change, in a matter of days it's a mess but then just as quickly it begins healing up...just takes a while for the hair to regrow. In the meantime, he doesn't spend much time out in the sun. He gets to chill in the a/c and gets lots of fussing over his face with all the ointments (more attention than he'd like :rolleyes: )