The Collie breed that this site is dedicated to comes in two different varieties – the beautiful, flowing Rough Collie and the sleek, shiny Smooth Collie. Although some owners have claimed a slight difference in their temperaments, they are considered by AKC and those in the United States to be the same dog breed.

The rough collie is the one we are most familiar with due to Lassie – he has a long, flowy, textured outer coat and a short, fluffy inner coat.  He has lots of hair everywhere except for his legs and head.  The abundance of hair around his neck gives him a lion-esque type of mane.  This hair is the crowning glory of the rough collie, and is considered by some a huge offense if it is cut off for any reason. The smooth collie’s fur lays flat, and is short (about an inch long) and dense – like you would see on a doberman.

In the US, they are both considered to be of the same breed and and rough to smooth coat breeding is allowed. In England the two varieties were made separate breeds in 1994, and therefore the two coats are not allowed to breed with each other. Due to this, and other European standards, the western hemisphere collies and the easter hemisphere collies can look strikingly different.

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Related posts:

1. Breeding for Coat Variety
2. The Collie Coat
3. Are rough and smooth collies judged differently in the show ring?? Do they have a different standard?
4. Coat Color – Sable & White
5. Intro to Collie Looks – 2 textures, 4 colors