Collie Breed Notes

Collie Colors - The Kennel Club of England recognizes three colors of Collies: sable and white, tri-color and blue merle. The American Kennel Club recognizes these colors as well as white. There is no preferences among them. The "Sable and White" is predominantly sable (a fawn sable color of varying shades from dark gold to dark mahogany) with white markings usually on the chest, legs, feet and the tip of the tail. A balze may appear on the foreface or backskull or both. The "Tri-color" is predominantly black, carrying white marking as in the "Sable and White" and has tan shading on and about the head and legs. The "Blue merle" is a mottled or marbled color predominantly blue-gray and black with white markings as in the "Sable and White" and usually has tan shadings as in "Tri-color". The "White" is predominantly white, preferably with blue, sable or tri-color markings.

Hereditary Skin Diseases - The Collie is affected by a disorder known as canine cyclic hematopoiesis, or more commonly as gray collie syndrome for which there is no effective treatment or known cure. The disorder affects white blood cells which drop to a potentially fatal low level. Another diorder mostly seen in Collies is dermatomyositis, characterized by scrape-like marks on the face of 12-week-old puppies. Sebaceous adenitis is another skin disease seen in Collies which is marked by inflamed hair follicles and sebaceous glands, causing drying and flaking of the skin.

Training - Collies take harsh correction very personally. They don't have to be told many times that have done or are doing something displeasing to you. Hitting a Collie with your hand, or, worse with a rolled-up newspaper to punish for a bad behavior, will only give you an unhappy and reluctant breed. The Collie's sweet and gentle nature seem to make it almost impossible for it to understand angry conduct. While they are quick to forgive your anger, they will not respond to your training with an eagerness you would like to see.