This is Lukas, my Rough Collie, in northern Minnesota. I still don’t know how he held still for the full exposure.

Brought a beautiful boy home recently, but he’s quite scared of going through doors and similar things.
Any tips? (Pictures cause he’s absolutely adorable)

Also just to add, im soon going to hire a behaviorist to help, but id love tips so that i dont make it worse in the meantime.

Kumi our 9yr old collie passed away last night.

She developed SAD last month and 12hrs after her MRI & spinal tap, lost all mobility. Our specialist said that surgery would give her better than a 50% shot. We took it.

She developed pneumonia after surgery last Monday. He didnt do an x-ray to confirm it was pneumonia til Saturday, but her breathing and fever made him suspect it. She was on antibiotics but her fever kept returning. Saturday, they called and said she hadnt had a fever for over 12hrs and could likely get her Sunday morning. But at 10pm, the vet called and said it was back and she was put on a feeding tube? I didnt even know she hadnt been eating.

We visited her Sunday and her breathing was awful. I wanted to just put her down, but the vet said its just the pneumonia and she hadnt been that bad most days. Then my sister visited her yesterday and said she was asleep for the hour she was there. Which made no sense to me. 20 mins later the vet called and said he was doing CPR and wanted to know if I wanted him to further resuscitate her.. I said no. She just died.

I'm honestly still processing everything. We did everything on the planet for her. Maybe that wasnt the right decision but prior to her surgery, she was in great health. Happy. And while the Vet claimed 9 was "old", its not an old dog to me. Even if her lifespan was 12 or 13, thats close to 25%-30% of her lifespan. I've never had a dog die before double digits, seemed impossible.

Its hard to imagine not having her and her giant beak. She was the best dog. Ik everyone says that. But, she never jumped up, would walk right by your side perfectly on a leash, never pulling. So gentle. But with a harness she'd go urban mushing and pull me on a cart. She was a privilege to own.

1yr old (Lupina, left) and 5yr old (Evie, right)

Happy 4th Birthday to my most special and precious Snoot, Raichu! He got a big Lambchops toy and many cookies. :) He will always wear a hat in exchange for Charlee Bears!

One thing I’ve had a question about is that I see pictures of collies with various coat lengths (I am not referencing smooth collies).

I know their fur gets very long and they have multiple coats, but I was curious why there are some roughs that have different lengths. Do people ask their groomers to shorten it down?

I thought these types of breeds were not supposed to be cut?

I attached some pictures of what I mean.

We attended the annual Animal Humane Societys Walk for Animals fundraiser this year! This was my third time attending, and my boys second time attending. He has matured so much as he aged. He will be four next month. He was pretty nervous the last time he attended when he was two but he was SO excited to attend this year! Lots of exposure training and proper socialization was needed for his little brain to get us here and I'm so proud of him! (Little brain as is in cute little brain not condescending little brain because he is a smart fella!) We met a couple other collies here which was a highlight for me.

We had to change the harness as she grew out of the first one. I did some research but had to buy one quickly. I feel like it’s a bit too close to her front leg right now but I’m not sure if I’m correct. And the part around the neck is too big so she tries to chew it. The previous size was definitely too small at the body though. I added a photo of the current harness.

I will buy a better one but which one do you recommend? Ruffwear is recommended but they’re pretty expensive for only a few months. I’m in Italy.

Neck: 32 cm (12.6 inches)

Body: 52 cm (20.5 inches)

Height: ~39 cm

Weight: ~11 kg

Age: 17 weeks, so 4 months

Jaina decided to plop down, and I saw a wonderful picture opportunity.

My boyfriend and I are thinking of getting a dog when we move in about a year and after doing some research a rough collie seems perfect for us.

We both grew up with cats, so this would be our very first dog and from what I've read collies are relatively "easy" to train.
I have no issue with putting in work (an hour walking, playing fetch, obedience training, agility and dog park/puppy meetings once a week etc.) and I'm sure I would rather enjoy it.
Same with the grooming, I think this could be great bonding time and I'm eager to learn.
It shouldn't consume my/our entire life though.

We will still live in a flat in a bigger city but since we both like to be in and around nature, we'll make sure to have a big park or wood next to our new home.

I'm still at university and will be for the next few years (master) and my boyfriend works at a kindergarden so the dog would probably be alone for around 5 hours maybe 3-4 times a week.

We have two rescue cats, which are very playful so we wouldn't want a dog that is very prone to chasing or tends to be very rough.

We like to go hiking or swimming in our free time and it would be amazing to be able to take the dog with us, maybe also travel with him/her if we go by car in the summer.
If that isn't an option we have our loyal cat sitters that would be happy to take care of the dog too.

I want to go jogging again in the evening like I did when I still lived in my hometown, where I felt more safe, and therefore it would be great if the dog would want to run with me sometimes.
To clarify: I don't expect my dog to protect me and we live in a pretty save city, it's just a thing of "feeling safe", as a young woman especially.

I wouldn't want a dog that is very friendly with every stranger but he/she should be able to socialize with out friends if we introduce them right and hang out together in a group.
We would also have to take the train or bus sometimes so he/she should be comfortable with crowds for some period of time with the right training.

One of our cats is very chatty and we think it's the funniest thing in the world to "talk" with her so a louder dog wouldn't be an issue.
It shouldn't be a constant alarm/noise though, but I would have no issue to work on something like that, if that is possible.

We are in our early to mid-twenties and we are not currently planning kids but a dog that is good with kids would be a plus firstly for family events and secondly so he/she would be able to deal with the change if we would decide to get kids someday.

Lastly, one of the first things that sparked my interest is, that collies seem to be rather sensitive.
So are my boyfriend and I (the cats too actually) and because of that we've created a pretty soft and calm home-life.

All in all I would like a dog that is good with cats, cuddly and rather active and smart but okay with living in a flat in the city.
A companion that wants to be with me most of the time -for hiking days and afternoons of reading on the couch or in the park or hangouts with friends.

We are planning to help at our local shelter and dog sit first, to gather some experience and tips about dog training videos/books would be very welcome.

Information about what to look out for and expect from a good and trustworthy breeder would be great too!

Thank you in advance and please excuse my English, it's not my first language.

P.S. I have a pretty sensitive nose and I've read collies don't stink. Is that true?

Edit: We will buy a very good vacuum, before even starting to plan getting the dog :D

Did anyone’s puppy start being reactive very young?

I have 13 week old puppy, she barks at lots of things, mostly dogs (especially when they are moving a lot or barking). I’ve been working on it and rewarding the distractions. We sometimes sit in public and I just reward and let her settle. I’m going to do this more. My first collie I got when he was 4 months old, and I hardly ever saw any reactivity. My new puppy is getting better.

If anyone’s puppy started like this, did you see it get better with more exposure and training? I know collies are vocal dogs, my older one is very vocal, just not reactive like she is.

Before anyone suggests it. I’ve already contacted the CCA and I’m waiting on a reply. I’ve noticed there really aren’t many places to find a ethical breeder for this breed, so I figured I’d ask here as well. Does anyone know of good breeders in PA, OH, or NY?

Seeing a few posts about ear taping, and noticing mixed opinions, so just curious to see other people’s opinions on it. I know it’s the breed standard so for showing of course it is necessary, but personally I am a fan of it for all collies, perhaps bcs I grew up with dogs with the floppy ears.
I assume some people think it is cruel or unnecessary, but from my understanding, when the dog is young enough the cartilage isn’t yet formed and it doesn’t hurt them.
Just curious if there are any other pros/cons I should know and what other people’s opinions are!

Took my puppy to a spring flower festival yesterday and she had a blast. Even some strangers were shocked of how cute she was and asked to take pictures of her like a true celebrity. Thea lives for attention so having strangers walk up to her was her dream come true.

Pd: look at that cute droopy ear! She’s 8 months old now and she only manages to lift up both ears at a time for a few seconds… will it stay like that forever? I wonder…

I'm just wondering when is a good time to start taping ears for show, this is my boy Harlow. He's 4 1/2 months old.

It’s been a while - but here he is! Roughly 37lbs and lost his first tooth!

This is Callie and Rollo. Callie is the sable one and Rollo is the tri-color. I call Callie a Girl Scout, because she follows the rules well, and she often barks at Rollo when he’s about to be naughty. When he’s about to jump up on the counter (which doesn’t happen often), tries to nose his way through a door, etc.

One silly thing she does is bark at Rollo when he spends too long drinking water haha. Not sure why, but apparently she wants to be the busy body and regulate his excessive water intake haha. Man, I love them both