54 DOGS AND ALL ABOUT THEM 



farmer, the butcher, and the drover that the Collie takes his 

 most appropriate place in every-day life. The shepherd 

 on his daily rounds, travelling over miles of moorland, could 

 not well accomplish his task without his Collie's skilful aid. 

 One such dog, knowing what is expected of him, can do 

 work which would otherwise require the combined efforts 

 of a score of men. 



Little is known with certainty of the origin of the Collie, 

 but his cunning and his outward appearance would seem to 

 indicate a relationship with the wild dog. Buffon was of 

 opinion that he was the true dog of nature, the stock and 

 model of the whole canine species. He considered the 

 Sheepdog superior in instinct and intelligence to all other 

 breeds, and that, with a character in which education has 

 comparatively little share, he is the only animal born perfectly 

 trained for the service of man. 



One of the most perfect working Collies in Scotland to-day 

 is the old-fashioned black and white type, which is the most 

 popular among the shepherds of Scotland. At the shows 

 this type of dog is invariably at the top of the class. He is 

 considered the most tractable, and is certainly the most agile. 

 Second to this type in favour is the smooth-coated variety, 

 a very hard, useful dog, well adapted for hill work and usually 

 very fleet of foot. He is not so sweet in temper as the black 

 and white, and is slow to make friends. In the Ettrick 

 and Yarrow district the smooth is a popular sheepdog. The 

 shepherds maintain that he climbs the hills more swiftly 

 than the rough, and in the heavy snowstorms his clean, 

 unfeathered legs do not collect and carry the snow. He has 

 a fuller coat than the show specimens usually carry, but he 

 has the same type of head, eye, and ears, only not so well 

 developed. 



Then there is the Scottish bearded, or Highland Collie, 

 less popular still with the flock-master, a hardy-looking dog 

 in outward style, but soft in temperament, and many of them 

 make better cattle than sheep dogs. This dog and the Old 



