Highland Collie

History

Almost becoming extinct in World War II, the Highland Collie was first ever born in the early 1500s in Britain. Allegedly created by using the Komodor, Old English Sheepdog and other unknown Sheepdog-type bloodlines. This breed was used to herd sheep and cattle. Though this breed is considered a rare breed today, they are excellent in agility, farm work, tracking and performing tricks. This breed is also reference as Bearded Collie and Beardie.

Appearance

Both males and females measuring 20-22 inches in height and weighing 40-60 pounds in weight, the Highland Collie is a large breed. Covered in a long, double layer coat, this breed has a very large, wide head that forms into a muzzle with a scissor bite. A long, low set tail is accompanied by 4 large legs with four very large, round paws in appearance. This breeds waterproof coat changes many colors as the puppy grows until it reaches growth maturity and then the coat color is final. Puppies are born in blacks, blues, browns and fawns, and typically change to shades of grey as they mature.

Temperament

This breed tends to be much more energetic than potential owners may think. Known for their "bounce" trait, this breed will jump all around outside when he or she gets play time, as they require a long walk and lots of play time daily. It is highly important that this breed receives enough daily physical and mental activity, otherwise they are excellent at finding their "own jobs" to do in the house which can cause a lot of damage and even injury to your own dog. This breed requires a confident, consistent and active owner who only uses positive reinforcement training methods. Wonderful around children of all ages, and generally other dogs and pets they grow up around, but not recommend for the elderly due to their energy levels.

Grooming

Professional grooming is highly recommended every 8 weeks, however daily brushing is still required. A comb is best for this task. Bathe when needed. This breed does shed. Grooming is a very serious issue otherwise bugs will infest their thick coat.

Special Notes

Prone to parasite infestation inside of their thick coat if not properly and regularly cared for. Please fully educate yourself about the Highland Collie to make sure you are able to maintain the proper care and requirements for owning one prior to adding one to your family to ensure that you are able to make a life long commitment to your new pup both physically and financially. A properly fenced in area is highly recommended for this breed while outdoors. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.