98 The Collie or Sheep Dog. 



height off the ground, without approaching legginess. They 

 should be well-coated all round. 



Feet. Moderately large ; round ; toes well arched and 

 pads capacious and hard. 



Tail. This is a most important point in the Old English 

 sheep dog. Without a doubt many dogs are bred without 

 the slightest approach to a caudal appendage, while on the 

 other hand, some in the litters will be found with half, 

 three-quarters, and whole length tails. The breeding of 

 those without tails should be encouraged and persevered 

 with, and be given preference to in judging, providing the 

 dogs are good elsewhere. A tail of any length takes away 

 the appearance and the corkiness of the dog. A docked 

 dog can generally be detected by the bluntness at the end 

 of stump. 



Neck and Shoulders. The neck should be fairly long, 

 arched and graceful, and well coated with hair. The 

 shoulders should be set on slopingly, and the dog generally 

 be found to stand lower at the shoulders than on his hind 

 quarters. 



Body. Rather short and very compact. The ribs should 

 be well sprung, and brisket deep and capacious. The loin 

 should be very stout, and to a certain extent arched, while 

 the hind quarters should be bulky, and the hams densely 

 covered with coat, very often of a softer and more 

 woolly description than is to be found on other parts of 

 the body. 



Coat. Profuse and of good texture, i.e., fairly hard and 

 strong. There should also be a double or under coat. 



Colour. Varies, but preference should be given to dark 

 blue, light or pigeon blue and steel grey dogs. The colours 

 are generally intermixed with white, which imparts to the 



