Chapter 1 -Collie Varieties
GETTING TO KNOW THE COLLIE
The collie is one of the most beautiful dog breeds. Though many people may have a mental picture of the Collie as looking like Lassie, the Collie is actually bred in two different coat types and four different color variations that add to the breed’s great beauty and appeal.
BREED TYPE
The ideal Collie is defined by the Collie Standard; a specific set of required breed characteristics developed over the past 130 years.
COAT: There are two coat types or varieties of Collie: rough and smooth. Both varieties are the same except for the length of coat. The smooth has a short, hard, dense, flat coat, while the rough Collie has a long well-fitting harsh-textured coat.
COLOR: The four recognized colors are "Sable and White," "Tri-color," "Blue Merle," and "White." There is no preference among them. The sable and white is predominantly sable; a fawn sable color of varying shades from light gold to dark mahogany, with white markings usually on the chest, neck, legs, feet and the tip of the tail. A blaze may appear on the foreface or backskull or both. The tri-color is predominantly black, carrying white markings as in a sable and white and has tan shadings on and about the head and legs. The blue merle is a mottled or "marbled" color predominantly blue-grey and black with white markings as in the sable and white and usually has tan shadings as in the tri-color. The white is predominantly white, preferably with sable, tri-color or blue merle markings on its head.
