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