Rough Collie
Alert, hardworking, sensitive and deeply bonded. From United Kingdom.
Herdinglarge breedUnited KingdomStandards checked
Standards checked: this profile's facts are checked against the breed standards of the AKC, The Kennel Club and the FCI, as described on our methodology page.
Gallery
Real photos from licensed sources only, each credited to its creator.
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Photos show different individual dogs from licensed libraries, not one dog growing up. Stage labels are approximate, the way a careful editor would judge them.
About the Rough Collie
United Kingdom produced the Rough Collie, a large herding breed bred to move sheep and cattle with eye, bark and body, working all day beside the shepherd or farmer. Herding breeds read their owners like weather. They need training, structure and a daily job, and they notice everything, including things you would rather they had not.
History
Herding dogs were shaped farm by farm, selected purely for working sense; beauty only became a criterion when shows arrived in the nineteenth century. The AKC recognizes the breed today, and its standard is the reference most US breeders work to.
Personality
Sensitivity is the Rough Collie's defining gift: this breed reads its family like weather, notices illness, arguments and sadness, and responds with quiet, devoted presence. Collies are alert, hardworking sheepdogs under the glamour, with a herding brain that wants a job and a routine, and they bond deeply, often shadowing their favourite people from room to room. They are gentle and patient, especially with children, and reserved rather than suspicious with strangers. Puppies are soft and sweet; adults combine dignity with a playful streak that surprises people who know them only from paintings. A Collie asks for inclusion, work and kindness, and pays back in loyalty of an almost literary quality.
Temperament and traits
Energy (5/5)
Trainability (5/5)
Grooming needs (4/5)
Shedding (3/5)
Barking (4/5)
Good with children: Good with children
With other dogs: Usually good with dogs
With strangers: Reserved with strangers
Apartment life: Not ideal
Coat and care
Coat: Long double coat.
Colors: The standard accepts a range of colors and patterns, and individual markings vary a lot.
Feed to a visible waist tuck and weigh monthly; this breed does best on a routine of consistent meals, training in short sessions and daily exercise matched to its type. Long coats need brushing two or three times a week, and daily attention in mud and burr season. Mental work matters as much as miles: ten minutes of training tires a herding dog more honestly than an hour of aimless walking.
Exercise and grooming
Exercise
One to two hours a day for the high end individuals, with most Rough Collies content around the middle of that range when the time includes training, herding games and off lead running in safe places. This is a working sheepdog's engine in an elegant frame, and the herding guidance applies in full: mental work matters as much as miles, and ten minutes of training tires a herding dog more honestly than an hour of aimless walking. Puppies need protected joints and plenty of sleep between adventures. Recall should be proofed before freedom near livestock, because the herding instinct is the real thing in this breed.
Grooming
The long double coat is the breed's famous glory and its standing workload: brush two or three times a week, parting the coat and working down to the skin in sections, with daily attention in mud and burr season and during the seasonal sheds. The dense mane, the feathering behind the ears and legs and the full trousers mat first, so comb those areas through carefully. Never shave a Rough Collie; the coat insulates and protects. Baths when needed, ears checked weekly, teeth brushed regularly and nails kept short complete the system. Owners who keep the weekly rhythm find the coat stays magnificent with less drama than its looks suggest.
Training and daily life
Training
Rough Collies are elite learners in the collie pattern: quick, sensitive and eager to work with their handler. Reward based training produces polished obedience, and the breed does well in herding, obedience and agility. The priorities are socialisation to build confidence, a recall proofed against movement and livestock, a settle for the house and comfort with extensive grooming. Because they are sensitive, corrections should be minimal and quiet; a Rough Collie tries so hard to please that harshness is both unnecessary and damaging. Adolescents need the training kept interesting and the exercise honest. A trained Collie is one of the most harmonious dogs to live with in the whole herding group.
Living with a Rough Collie
The Rough Collie is the classic gentle family dog of storybooks, and the reality matches when its needs are met: devoted, sensitive and particularly good with children, watchful without aggression and usually peaceable with other dogs. It is not ideal for flats, because the exercise, coat and herding character need space and countryside, and it is reserved with strangers rather than instantly friendly. Collies bond to the household as a unit and pine when excluded. Barking can be an issue if the dog is bored or under worked. For families wanting a beautiful, gentle, trainable companion and willing to groom and exercise honestly, the Rough Collie is close to ideal.
What a Rough Collie costs
Food cost
About $39 per month for a typical 62 lb adult eating roughly 3.6 cups a day of a standard quality food ($1.60 per lb). Full breakdown in our food expense calculator.
Activity and exercise
Plan 60 to 120 minutes a day of walks, play and training. Under exercised dogs of most breeds invent their own projects, and they rarely pick good ones.
Insurance cost
Typical US range $41 to $74 per month for accident and illness cover. Estimate only, based on market ranges for this breed's risk profile; see the insurance estimator and the insurance guide.
On the monthly figures above, a typical adult year runs to about $462 for food and $492 to $888 for insurance, before routine vet care, grooming and gear. Year one costs more: vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, a crate, bedding and training all land at once.
Growth: puppy to senior
How weight typically builds with age for a large breed, and when full size arrives.
| Stage | Age | Typical weight |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 8 weeks | about 6 to 9 lb |
| Puppy | 4 months | about 14 to 21 lb |
| Puppy | 6 months | about 24 to 36 lb |
| Young | 9 months | about 34 to 51 lb |
| Young | 12 months | about 41 to 61 lb |
| Adult | 18 months | about 48 to 71 lb |
| Adult | 24 months | about 50 to 75 lb |
| Adult | Full grown | 50 to 75 lb (standard range) |
| Senior | From about 7 years | Healthy weight stays in the adult range; watch for slow gain or loss |
Growth pattern follows the size class growth curves published by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, applied to the adult weight range in the breed standard. Individual puppies vary; steady growth matters more than hitting any single number, and your vet's growth checks come first.
Life stages
Puppies need gentle, wide socialisation, because sensitivity tips into shyness without it, plus grooming habituation for a lifetime of brushing and protected joints while growing. Adolescents are keen and energetic, and structured training or herding games give the drive a channel. Adults enjoy a long, capable prime: keep the work and training in the week and the coat on its rhythm. From around eight, seniors benefit from joint friendly exercise, continued mental work, twice yearly vet checks and help with the coat if standing for grooming gets hard. Old Collies stay gentle, watchful and devoted, and usually stay convinced the family still needs supervising.
Health
Hip screening and eye checks are the core of responsible breeding in herding breeds, and several herding lines also DNA test for drug sensitivity (MDR1) and hereditary eye conditions. Ask the breeder what their lines are tested for.
Conditions to know about
- Hip dysplasia: Hip screening is the core of responsible breeding in herding breeds. Ask for scores in writing, and protect growing joints with lean weight and sensible exercise.
- Collie eye anomaly: The collie family's inherited eye defect, present from birth and ranging from mild to, rarely, sight threatening. DNA testing of parents and eye examination of puppies at six to eight weeks are the standard of care.
- MDR1 drug sensitivity: Rough Collies are one of the breeds most associated with the MDR1 mutation, which makes certain common drugs dangerous at normal doses. A DNA test settles status for life, and every treating vet should know the result.
Facts follow the Rough Collie breed standard (AKC, The Kennel Club and FCI standards agree on the essentials for this breed). Health notes summarize the conditions breed clubs and veterinary bodies most often flag for this breed. They are general information for choosing and caring, not a diagnosis or a substitute for your vet.
Gear for Rough Collie owners
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Rough Collie questions
How long do Rough Collies live?
A typical lifespan is 12 to 14 years. Weight control, dental care and screening for the breed's known conditions give a dog the best chance of reaching the top of that range.
How much does it cost to keep a Rough Collie?
Food for a typical adult runs about $39 a month at a standard quality tier, and accident and illness insurance usually falls between $41 and $74 a month in the US. Try the full cost calculator for a complete year one and yearly picture.
Are Rough Collies good with children?
Good with children. As with every breed, supervise dogs and children together and teach children to respect the dog's space.
How much exercise does a Rough Collie need?
Plan on 60 to 120 minutes a day, split between walks, play and training games. Puppies and seniors need gentler, shorter sessions.
Is the Rough Collie the same breed as the Smooth Collie?
Yes, they are varieties of one breed in most registries, identical in character and standard except for coat length. The Smooth carries a short, dense coat and needs far less grooming.
Do Rough Collies shed a lot?
The long double coat sheds steadily and heavily twice a year. Brushing two or three times a week keeps on top of it; owners accept collie hair as part of the furnishings.
Are Rough Collies good family dogs?
They are one of the classic gentle family breeds: devoted, sensitive and especially good with children, provided the family can meet the exercise, grooming and company needs honestly.