Collie

More well-known by the stage name of ?Lassie?, protagonist of a famous series of film, the Collie or Scottish shepherd, is one of the most beautiful dogs, in which robustness, elegance, and soltura of movements to a most beautiful layer are united that confers a greater harmony to him to the set. The most well-known variety is the one of long hair or Rough collie, but also it exists a variety of short hair (Smooth collie) and a next race, used only for the work, denominated Border collie (Collie of the border).
Of very remote origin, the Collie has been during centuries guardian of ewes mainly, in the southern part of Scotland. At a time, its so large one was reduced more, its shorter extremities and their predominant layer of dark color.
The own Shakespeare speaks of a ?Sky Collie? making reference, clearly, to the dark tone of the hair of the dog. Successively he is crossed other races between which the Deerhound or English Galgo of hard hair seems to be, the Scottish Terrier and perhaps, even, the Russian Galgo or Borzoi that would have contributed to give a narrow head him and releases. It was at the beginning of the century XIX that, using to the best units, paid attention the morphologic characteristics of this dog with criteria of a rigorous selection, excluding the blood introduction of other races. On 1840, one is based on England, the Collie Club that gave a great impulse to this race, that already by the end of the last century, began to extend everywhere.
Its moment of greater development in southern Europe has had it around 1960. In these last twenty years, the interest in this race has diminished a little although it continues maintaining a remarkable quality level.

In the Scottish Shepherd of long hair, with respect to its particular aptitude for the work, the set must appear agile and robust without never falling in the coarse thing. The general aspect, is characterized by a great harmony of the proportions, putting still more in evidence by a typical sweet expression and a hard coat with abundant melena and necklace. When one moves with walking light, wave, without apparent effort, with quite long step that denotes an extraordinary elegance, is included/understood immediately because of as much notoriety. The proportions of the head, are of great importance in this race and must appear as a wedge whose base is represented by the insertion of the ears and whose vertex finishes in trufa (nose). Snout and skull are of equal length and the recess naso-frontal is hardly perceivable. The eyes have almond form, their color is dark in the individuals with white coat and, dark sand or tricolor and or celestial metalist, in the units with blue-mir mantle it. In this case, both can be celestial-metalist, only one or, even, part of an eye. The small ears and distanced enough to each other, the dog takes them backwards when it is in rest or movement, but, when he is kind, approximately puts them raised in its two thirds while the end remains inclined forwards. Snout with jaw strong and powerful set of teeth. Neck of good length. Oblique and angular shoulders, powerful later part with musculados thighs affluent and made oval feet. Trunk extended with ample and deep thorax and very solid superior line. Long tail, provided well with hair, the dog takes it low when it is in rest. On the contrary, when it is put in movement, it anyway raises it but without never surpassing the line of the back. The layer has dry hair and it last to the tact with very abundant and dense subhair. The variety of smooth hair denominated Smooth collie, presents/displays the same characteristics and difference only by the hair that is short and uniformly is distributed by all the body, safe in the tail where it is slightly more length. This variety is the fruit of old crossovers between the old Collie of long hair and the English Galgo or Greyhound. With happening of the years their characteristics paid attention that are those of a a little strange dog that, in comparison with its relative of long hair to which it is resembled very many, seems ?naked almost?. Its diffusion, even in England, is far below to the one of the Rough collie: in recent years it has begun to extend abroad by his mother country and.
The two varieties of Collie, of long and short hair, also have in common a very sweet and good natured character, particularly with the children, as much as to turn them an optimal dog of company. Nevertheless still today, in their country of origin, the Scottish Shepherds, mainly those of long hair, are excellent ovejeros dogs that guard with great value and resistance to very numerous flocks. For this reason, also they are made them make tests of work with ewes, during which he must demonstrate all his value in leading to the flock, in the recovery of the misled animals, in making them surpass obligatory and difficult ways, without they suffer the minimum damage. Seeing them in action, is a really exceptional spectacle by the value, the intelligence and the rapidity of movements that demonstrate and, is a pity that these tests, very common in Great Britain, are also not carried out in other countries, where the Collie is only used like company dog. The versatility and the rapidity for the learning of this race, cause that it can be trained with relative facility, also for the guard although prefers to develop its work in ample spaces, where to be able to move with great freedom. The training must be made with great gentleness since if the violence is used the Collie becomes obstinate, refusing to even learn, the simplest exercises.

Height and weight. Raised to the cross: males of 56 to 61 cm., females of 51 to 56 cm. Weight: males of 20 to 29 kg Females of 18 to 24 kg.

Head. In front with form of wedge of sides cleared. Superior lines of the skull and the snout, straight lines and parallel bars, of the same length. Stop little pronounced. Black Trufa.

Eyes. Of medium size, with a little oblique insertion, almendrados, of dark color. In the units with the blue mantle ?mir it?, the eyes can be blue.

Ears. Small, not very next. When the dog is in rest, it throws them backwards, when he is kind has them semi-raised (that is to say, which they are raised in his 2/3 while the remaining third, it hangs forwards).

Neck. Muscular, powerful, enough length, bent.

Previous extremities. Well angulados very oblique shoulders and. Muscular, perfectly vertical extremities. Elbows neither too many patches to the either very divergent flanks nor.

Body. Enough length in relation to the height. Slightly ascending back towards the kidneys. Ribs with good fall. Deep thorax and a little ample behind shoulders.

Later extremities. Powerful and very strong. Muscular, metatarsos thighs thin and sinewy. Very powerful and located Corvejón rather down.

Feet. Of made oval form, with curved fingers and tightened well. The later feet less are bent than the previous ones.

Tail. Very long: its terminal bone arrives until the joint from corvejón.

Coat. Two varieties of Collie exist: Rough Collie and Smooth Collie that respectively have a long and rough hair and a short and smooth hair. In the Rough Collie, the hair is longer and abundant in the neck, on the chest and in the tail. Color: in both varieties it can be of three types: 1º sand: from pale gold to the dark mahogany; 2° tricolor: black (predominant), target and spots fire in the extremities and the head; 3° blue-mir it: blue-silverplated or black marmóreo, frequently with spots fire.

FEEDING. The power necessities, calculated in ration of maintenance are of 1,550 - 1,650 Kcal. daily in the adult unit complementing them with 4 - 4.5 g. of calcium, 3.3 - 3.7 g. of phosphorus, 0.55 - 0.60 of 4.6 and mg. vitamin - 5.2 mg. of vitamin D. These exigencies, variables according to the weight, must be respected without arriving at the excess. The overdose, as much in mineral salts as in vitamins, sometimes is much more dangerous that its deficiency. Let us remember that an excess of vitamin To - of which we know that it participates in several mechanisms to maintain the organism complete as the function epitelio-protector reason why frequently is hyperdosed determines: state of anemia, loss of the appetite, hair fragility, loss of weight.

DAILY CARES. Due to the characteristics of the layer of the Rough Collie, provided with a rough hair and a dense subhair, the daily use of a strong metallic brush with wide prongs and of a soft brush for the snout and the ends of the extremities is necessary, where the hair is smooth and short. For the Smooth Collie, the use of a glove for smooth hair, it as much assures a good care and state the layer as of the skin.

DISEASES. Being the Collie a race very extended, the diseases that plus affect it, particularly has been studied. Of special way those of the apparatus of the vision that, in this race, has a particular incidence. The central retínica atrophy, that takes place by a degeneration of the retina, begins in the proximities of the optical disk and ends up extending to all that part of the eyes, determining a diminution of the vision of the dog to the light of the day, with one better visual capacity to the light of the twilight. This injury does not cause the total blindness, as it happens to the generalized retínica atrophy, nevertheless, seriously debilitates the dog. Not yet therapeutic systems are known that have a certain effectiveness. For this reason, in England a prophylaxis with the purpose of guaranteeing is made, through a clinical examination, absence of injures, in the puppies. Having the retínica atrophy central hereditary character, if they are excluded for reproduction the affected units, is reduced the percentage of patients remarkably. Other hereditary anomalies of the Collie that can be demonstrated in the puppy are the oftálmicas tortuosidad of the retínicos glasses and other fisiopatías. Here also it is important, for an effective prophylaxis, to exclude like reproducers the units that present/display clinical symptoms or those that, put under a oftalmoscópico examination, above-mentioned present/display the affections.
Also a skin disease is well-known that affects the Collie and that characterizes by the loss of hair in the back of the nose and the secretion of a seroso and firstly later hemorrágico exudate. The skin becomes fragile and exposed to the formation of wounds. As a result of this disease, the skin of the nose acquires, to the solar light, a special sensitivity. The well-known therapies are many, nevertheless, the results that are obtained are little constant.

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