Since
I began work on this essay in early
2002, much information has come to light
on the origins of the English Shepherd, principally
as a 'rename' of the working farm collies
found all across America, renamed under pressure
from the 'show' Collie crowd who did not
want any association between their Collie
style, and those who worked the farms and
ranches from sea to sea. The details of this
process and the history that follows on to
the English Shepherds of today are not yet
included in the essay that follows. I will
try to have the next evolution of this on-going
historical overview completed sometime in
the next few months. Please come back and
visit this page from time to time and see
the work as it evolves. Also, and this IS
IMPORTANT....If you have any information
to add detail or correct an error in the
essay, please contact me at mail@jenalabs.com
Thanks for visiting! Jennifer
We have been asked an interesting question...
Why do we call TahTay an "American Collie"?
Additionally, other people have inquired
about just what is a Scotch Collie and are
they related to "Farm Collies"?
To answer these questions, there is lot of
history to cover, so lets just dive in and
find some answers.
The AKC [American Kennel Club] has very specific
guidelines as to what a 'Collie' should look
like. The AKC standard has even changed over
the years, specifically to allow for the
fashion of breeding larger size Collie dogs,
but it has always defined the 'ideal Collie'
in the Collie Standard as a dog which is
very different from the original working
Collies of Scotland. Back in about 1880 or
so, the Queen of England started all this
modification/evolution stuff that lead to
a new Collie type. She had traveled to Scotland
and happened to see and like the working
Collies found there. She arranged for several
of them to come home to Southern England
with her. It was there that the original
Collie stocks she brought with her were crossbred
with Borzoi from Russia, and possibly other
breeds. Her goal was to slender the muzzle,
and thin the skeletal frame, for more graceful
overall appearance. As these dogs were being
'improved' by the Queen's cross breeding
program, and then seen by the Queen's public,
it followed that it became fashionable to
have one. The Collie Craze breeding frenzy
was on, even extending to the elite rich
of the USA. In the 1885-1910 period, the
'new' Collies were in short supply and only
very wealthy people could afford them. Many
were selling for over $5,000.00, and that
was a LOT of money back then. The stockier
original working Collie dogs were viewed
as inferior 'common working class and not
recognized by the hoytee-toydee rich folk
as worth much of anything at all. Unlike
today's Kennel Club activities, the original
'Dog Show' events were a rich folks pastime
like Polo and yacht racing, it only followed
that the newly modified, longer haired, slender
muzzled, longer legged, Collie variation
was valued, and so that is what the "Show
Standard" defined, ....and later re-defined.
Breeders eventually evolved the new Show
Collie into an even larger average size,
requiring the AKC to change the weight and
size definitions of the AKC Standard Collie
sometime around the late 1940s. The standard
was again revised in 1977. The 'AKC ideal'
dogs of today are very different from the
farm/working dog that provided the 'root-stock'
from which they were intentionally evolved
by selective breeding. I call TahTay an American
Collie, because he conforms to AMERICAN Kennel
Club standards, and to set him apart from
other Collie variations, which are not recognized
as specific breeds or variations, by the
AKC.
Meanwhile, working dogs were still being
bred to do the farm and ranch work, mainly
to herd the sheep, and to do it while shedding
the rain-water and to hold up well in the
out-of-doors. Many of them made it to the
USA with emigrating farmers, and became all-around
useful farm workers on this side of the 'pond'.
Mostly, these working dogs were bred with
their own type, line bred with cousins or
relations, and sometimes with a little cross
mixing here and there. Farmers and ranchers
did not want to loose the desirable working
character of these dogs, and would never
willingly risk loosing good traits to an
accidental breeding. These owners were mostly
'maintenance' breeding for dogs that got
along well, instinctively did the work needed
with little training, and required low up-keep.
No records were usually kept, no pedigree
program needed, just breed to keep a dog
that works. Same thing held true in rural
Europe. Working dogs were maintained to be
optimal for the job at hand, and many have
changed little from the 1880s to today. Some
intentional variations were created to suit
local working conditions, such as the English
Shepherd, and the Australian Shepherd, both
of which have strong roots or influence in
or from the original Scottish Collie lines.
Today we have fewer family farms or small
ranches needing working dogs, and without
a show circuit to provide a demand to keep
the working dog bloodlines going, the REAL
working Collies have been dying out, or mutt
bred into oblivion. I have Collie post cards
and photos from the 1880s to recent times.
Some of the oldest ones, from England, actually
state "Scottish Collie" of 'such
and such' a breeder named on the card. It
is easy to see the deviation/evolution from
the working Scottish Collie into the newer
show type if you see enough old pictures
and do enough research to understand the
motivation of the breeders of the day. I
have one card with many adult dogs shown.
It represents Collies from a period before
the new 'Show Collie' breed variation was
fully developed. The card is identified as
"Six Fordhook Scotch Collies of Parbold
Pegway by Champion Squire of Tytton",
These were examples of the early generation
descendants of the REAL WORKING dogs of Highland
Scotland, and my Cookie is an exact replica
of the dogs illustrated. The AKC and the
corresponding associations in England and
continental Europe do not wish to recognize
the original Scottish Collie in any form
other than a root-stock that has been 'improved'
upon and that is now developed. Also of interest
is the fact that the major Kennel Clubs of
England and Europe differ in small points
as to the definition of the 'perfect Collie'.
This represents the evolution of differing
'fashion' in breeding interests in each of
their respective countries. I have a friend
back east who has owned Collies for about
40 years, and has occasionally participated
in AKC shows with many of her dogs. She had
never seen nor heard of a Scotch or Farm
type Collie until she recently saw my website.
Many other AKC collie fanciers and breeders
have expressed little awareness of the Scotch
and Farm type Collies. This may be an indication
of the tight focus the major international
Kennel clubs place on the specific Official
Breed Standards they recognize, and also
perhaps an indication of the relative scarcity
of the Scotch and Farm type Collie in post
50's America. Most published histories of
the modern AKC type Collie do indicate its
roots in the working Collies of the Scottish
Highlands. The more complete histories even
show drawings or photos of these early Scotch
Collies. However, they universally omit any
reference to the fact that those 'root stock'
Scotch Collies have continued to be bred
in small numbers largely unmodified on at
least 2 continents and exist to this day.
This is not a prejudicial or judgmental indication.
These histories are written by and for fanciers
of the modern American AKC type Collie. Omission
of parallel developments from the Scotch
root stocks that are not specifically relevant
is not unexpected, These histories provide
an answer to the question posed by an AKC
fancier. How did we get here to this point
today? and make no attempt to answer questions
of history for those who passed through time
on a diverging path, though from a common
point in the past. Incidentally, there is
very little known about the origins of the
'vintage' Scotch Collie. Before about 1870,
no one bothered to make much detailed reference
to appearance or origins of these dogs. There
is even debate as the origin of the name
Collie. Most historians, but not all, agree
that the name came from the faces of the
sheep the dogs often worked with, faces of
coal black color. The sheep themselves were
often referred to in the local slang vernacular
as "coals" and it followed that
a dog that worked these sheep was a coal-ee.
The Scotch type Collie and other farm-bred
Collie variations are becoming rare. There
are fewer and fewer working farms and ranches
that need them. There is NO incentive for
breed development to 'show' them and little
need to breed them for their working character.
For some of us the, the only motivation for
preservation is simply being a fancier of
the type, and loving them for what they are.
Some others have returned to the countryside
and have a small herd of livestock, and working
farm dog is an asset beyond measure. I suppose
that to call an AKC type Collie such as my
TahTay, an American Collie is technically
wrong, but it IS an accurate description
of what he is. I believe it is less confusing
than referring to Cookie and her type as
a 'Scotch Collie' and TahTay and his type
as simply a 'Collie' I would suggest that
rather than being confusing, that my wording
is actually more descriptive, helping to
indicate that there are several types of
Collies, and that we can differentiate between
them. In fact, to be most specific, I should
also add to the description of TahTay as
being an American Rough Collie, as the AKC
does recognize and make distinction between
hair length variations within the Official
Collie Breed Standard. Longer haired versions
are called Rough, and the very shorthaired
versions are called Smooth. Both AKC variations
must share identical bone structure, color
range, eye shape and ear detail. Only the
coat is different between the two.
I make no apologies for being specific about
the variations of the general Collie breed
type that my dogs represent, and encourage
everyone to do the 'learning' required to
understand the roots of the worldwide Collie
type breed variations and the history of
how and why we have what we have today. In
answer to questions about the number of Scotch
Collie or Farm Collie breeders, I have no
definitive answer, only a guess. These people
are only just beginning to find each other,
mostly via the Internet, and are not yet
highly organized. I suspect that there are
probably 10 to 20 people in all of USA and
Canada who are actively trying to preserve
the few rare original Scotch Collie type
dogs, and/or are redeveloping an accurate
representation of the Scotch Collie type
by deliberate crossing of appropriate related
breeds or historical 'collie variations such
as English Shepherd, Sheltie, Australian
Shepherd, Shetland Sheepdog American Rough
Collie and perhaps others. As new information
becomes available, I will update this number.
There are many more who have a casual interest
or participation in this effort. I have been
told by an active breeder </SPAN>that
there are about 100 or so people breeding/
preserving the beautiful English Shepherd
dogs in North America.
To a great extent the e-mailing list of the
Farm Collie Breed Conservancy is a place
where people interested in these Collie type
breed variations can interact, teach each
other, and in general try to be helpful to
one another. This list caters to all the
cousins of the root Collie stock, in all
the casual variations and defined breeds
we have today, even mixes. Another group,
just recently formed, is the Highland Working
Collie Association. The focus of this group
is far narrower and more specific... to define
a "standard" of some kind for 'Scotch
Collies', and to provide a framework to register
pedigrees as a breed restoration program
develops. The HWCA also has an interest in
the American AKC Rough Collie.
In conclusion, [my old grammar teacher hated
that phrase] it is generally agreed that
Scotch Collies are a part of the larger group
of Farm Collies. Farm Collies may be closely
related to the Scotch Collie in its origins,
and may contain mixes of other breed types
that are weak enough to allow the dogs an
appearance that is generally recognized as
'Collie' in nature, and a temperament that
is also similar. Some of these Farm Collies
are really fine dogs!
Scotch Collies are also the root-stock from
which the modern show type Collie was developed
by deliberate limited cross breeding, principally
with Borzoi. Certainly, there are some who
would argue one point of this or another,
but the weight of historical evidence indicates
that this is the general relation of the
historical Scotch Collie to the present day
Collie variations.
Whatever variation of Collie catches your
eye and fancy, they all have a lot in common.
Prior to having Cookie come into our lives
about 2 years ago, I had never owned a Collie
of any type. I had grown up and led my life
with dogs of many other breeds and types,
some purebred, some outright mutts, small
to large. I loved them all. But I have to
say, as much as I loved them and enjoyed
them, the Collies have been the best. I have
now met many variations on the Collie root-stock
theme, everything from modern 'blue-blood'
AKC to casual cross-breed mutt-mixes. In
one-way or another, as a big family of 'cousins'
and I find that for me, the Collie FAMILY
are the best dogs of all.
I hope that this small essay helps the reader
to understand the wide influence of the original
Scotch Collie type, and how that today we
have many variations on his theme, all still
'Collies' at heart. Some of these not-officially-recognized
types are in endangered status and need our
help to survive.
In the future we plan to scan and post on
our website several vintage historical photos
of Scotch Collies, early show type AKC Collies
and more modern AKC American type Collies.
Perhaps when we are able to do this, the
illustrations will provide a better 'roadmap'
to understanding the evolution of the Collie
variations we have today. The Farm Collie
Conservancy website has several good articles
on Collie variation history and is a good
place to start your web surfing/learning/research.
We will also be adding many links to other
informational sites that relate to Collies.
This essay is to be considered a work in
progress, and as new information becomes
available, I will revise, update and make
additions. Jennifer WhiteWolf-Crock, copyright
2002 All rights reserved. Permission to duplicate
with author's credit may be given, so please
just ask me at mail@jenalabs.com
Page Updated 4-25-07
