THE COLLIE. 



107 



A good head is all very well, but the frame- 

 work on which the head is supported must 

 be sound ; otherwise little work can be 

 accomplished. Of course, the dog bred for 

 show purposes is seldom asked to perform 

 work in the pastures. What is aimed at 

 is something beautiful ; a head that will 

 cause the observer to linger in admiration. 

 Twenty years ago, when Collies were 

 becoming fashionable, the rich sable coat 

 with long flowing white mane was in 

 highest request. In 1888 Ch. Metchley 

 Wonder captivated his admirers by these 

 rich qualities. He was the first Collie for 

 which a verv high purchase price was paid, 

 Mr. Sam Boddington having sold him to 

 Mr. A. H. Megson, of Manchester, for 

 £530. High prices then became frequent. 

 Mr. Megson paid as much as £1,300, with 

 another dog valued at £300, to Mr. Tom 

 Stretch for Ormskirk Emerald. Sixteen 

 hundred pounds is a very respectable sum 

 to pay for a Collie dog. Considering that 

 one might buy the freehold of a villa 

 for the money, it seems extravagant ; 

 but I believe the investment was a profit- 

 able one to Mr. Megson. No Collie has 

 had a longer or more brilliant career than 

 Emerald, and although he was not esteemed 

 as a successful sire, yet he was certainly 

 the greatest favourite among our show 

 dogs of recent years. I have never met 

 with one to equal him ; he added up on 

 points better than any I have known. 

 He had a well balanced head, with the 

 sweet Collie look on his face, and while 

 he was at times of sour disposition he 

 compelled everyone who saw him to acknow- 

 ledge his perfect grace and beauty. 



Mr. Megson has owned many other good 

 specimens of the breed, both rough and 

 smooth. In the same year that he bought 

 Metchley Wonder, he gave £350 for a ten- 

 months' puppy, Caractacus. Sable and white 

 is his favourite combination of colour, a 

 fancy which was shared some years ago 

 by the American buyers, who would have 

 nothing else. Black, tan, and white be- 

 came more popular in England, and while 

 there is now a good market for these in 

 the United States the sable and white 



remains the favourite of the American 

 buyers and breeders. 



Good coated dogs are less plentiful to- 

 day than they were twenty years ago. 

 Square shaped bodies and sound limbs are 

 also less frequently seen. A Collie should 

 resemble a Clydesdale or Hackney horse 

 in appearance rather than a thoroughbred. 

 Compact, well coupled bodies are greatly 

 wanted. Among our present-day champions 

 I see narrow fronts, straight hocks, and 

 legs wrongly placed. Narrow-fronted horses 

 are usually swift, but one that is to do 

 a big day's work and finish his journey 

 without breaking his knees must have a 

 leg placed on every corner of his body. 

 I have always applied the same principles 

 in judging dogs as in judging horses. For 

 the Collie or Sheepdog, like the horse, is 

 wanted for work, and it is of the greatest 

 importance that he should stand well on 

 his legs. 



When a judge enters a ring with twenty 

 or more Collies round him, he cannot 

 avoid first looking at the head. I quite 

 agree that head is of great importance ; 

 but when he moves the exhibits round 

 the ring he will soon find many a sweet 

 head, good body, and coat placed upon 

 unsound limbs. The legs should be straight 

 and strong in front, moderately fleshy in 

 the fore-arm, and the quality of bone not 

 the round Foxhound style, but fairly flat. 

 The hind legs ought also to be strong, with 

 the hocks well bent and placed stra ght 

 below the body. A great objection in 

 many of our show dogs is the turned-out 

 stifle, which mars the movement and gives 

 an appearance of unsoundness. Sound feet, 

 as in the horse, are of great importance. 

 Nothing looks worse than a flat, open 

 footed dog, of whatever breed. The Collie's 

 foot should be like that of the Greyhound, 

 well padded, oval in shape, the toes close 

 together, and nicely arched up. I do not 

 consider twenty points out of the hundred 

 too much for legs and feet. 



I have likened the perfectly coated Collie 

 to a well-thatched cottage. But it is a 

 fact that a rain-proof coated Collie is as 

 uncommon as a rain-proof thatch. The 



