Bearded Collie

szecsuani

Experienced Member
So, now I chose to collect some information about my favorite breed. I want to get a beardie puppy when I finish school! :)

The Bearded Collie or Beardie is a herding breed of dog, once used primarily by Scottish shepherds, but now mostly a popular family companion, bred almost exclusively for dog shows.

An average Bearded Collie weighs 40-60lbs and is 20-22 inches tall. Average litter size: 7

Bearded Collies as Pets

The Bearded Collie ranks 104 out of 155 breeds in popularity in the United States, according to the American Kennel Club's yearly publishing of breed rankings. [1] A Bearded Collie is best obtained from a reputable dog breeder or a dog rescue, not from a pet store situation where dogs are bred specifically for profit. Bearded Collies make excellent pets for those who are willing to accommodate their high energy level and grooming requirements. Weekly brushing is mandatory for keeping their long hair mat-free. Some Bearded Collie owners opt to keep their pets in a "puppy cut" haircut, which does reduce the need for brushing, but does not eliminate it. Bearded Collies are a very high energy breed, originally bred to work in the Scottish Highlands herding sheep. Beardies also excel at dog agility trials. They also prefer to be kept indoors with their families.

Working Life

The Bearded Collie was used to herd both sheep and cattle. As such it is essentially a working dog, at one time bred to be hardy and reliable, able to stand up to the harshest conditions, and the toughest sheep. The "working bearded collie" became less common in the last few decades and might have died out, but thanks to the efforts of relatively few shepherds such as Tom Muirhead and Peter Wood and breeders like Brian Plummer the "working beardie" has survived and is becoming more popular. It has been exported to Australia and the United States, and finds favour among those looking for an independent and intelligent sheep dog. The purpose of the Working Bearded Collie Society is to preserve the working abilities of the non-registered working dogs from 'bearded' ancestors. The web site Shepherds with beardies contains a lot a valuable information on the few remaining working beardies.

The KC registered bearded collie has fallen into disrepute with the shepherds of Wales and Scotland (and elsewhere), because of the show breeding communitys lack of attention to 'hardy and reliable', and because of the tendency of show bred lines to develop excessive coats. However, in some countries, notably Sweden and the United States, herding programmes have been developed for the breed. The breed clubs in those countries are these days actively encouraging breeders to pay close attention to non-exterior qualities.

It's possible the beardie gained its epithet of the 'bouncing beardie' because dogs would work in thick undergrowth on the hill, and would bounce to catch sight of the sheep, or because of the characteristic way the beardie faces a stubborn ewe, barking and bouncing on the forelegs. However that may be, the typical bearded collie is an enthusiastic herding dog that needs structure and fostering, and that moves stock using both body, bark and bounce, should that be required. Very few beardies show "eye" when working, most are quite upright.

History

It is difficult to distinguish between fact and legend when looking at the history of a breed, but it is believed that Kazimierz Grabski, a Polish merchant, traded a shipment of grain for sheep in Scotland in 1514, and brought six Polish Lowland Sheepdogs to move them. A Scottish shepherd was so impressed with the herding ability of the dogs that he traded a few sheep for a few dogs. These were bred with the local Scottish dogs to produce the Bearded Collie.

What everybody seems to agree upon is that Mrs. G. Olive Willison founded today's breed with her brown bitch Jeannie of Bothkennar. Jeannie was supposed to have been a Shetland Sheepdog, but by mistake Mrs. Willison received a Bearded Collie instead. She was so fascinated by the dog that she wanted to start breeding, so she started looking for a mate for Jeannie. A man she met one day while walking along the beach was about to emigrate from Scotland, so Mrs. Willison became the owner of his grey dog David, who was to become Bailie of Bothkennar.

These two dogs are what we today refer to as the founders of the modern breed and there are but a few other registrable blood lines, preserved in large part by the perseverance of Mr. Nicolas Broadbridge (Sallen) and Mrs. Betty Foster (Bredon). These are based on a dog named Turnbull's Blue, a bearded collie from pure working stock registered in ISDS, at the time when ISDS still registered non-border collies. He fathered three litters of registerable bearded collies.

The breed has become popular over the last half of the 20th century, in part propelled by a Bearded Collie, "Potterdale Classic at Moonhill", winning Best in Show at Crufts in 1989. The Bearded Collie Club celebrated its Golden Jubilee year in 2005; where "Bumbleridge Original Oka" (Bred by Sue Nichols-Ward, Owned by Sue Unsworth & Andy Miller) won the "Most Handsome Bearded Collie" event.

And now some videos! :)

Canine freestlye:
This is Nora Karlyik, and her beardie Sherlock. They are the Best hungarian canine freestylers. :)

Agility

I hope you like it! :)

(article from Wikipedia)
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
They are adorable as puppies. ^^ Cute little fuzzballs, lol! They aren't all that common around here.
 

szecsuani

Experienced Member
Yes, I love them as puppies!!!:)
But they always remain a big puppy. I know Sherlock, he is about 10 years old now, and he is still very active and playful! :)
 
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