THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



229 



watching to prevent his acquiring a taste for 

 chickens and even lamb. Once this predilec- 

 tion gets established, it is hard if not impossible 

 to eradicate. 



In this country we know the collie chiefly as 

 a beautiful, vivacious, and alert companion, but 

 in the great sheep-raising districts of Scotland, 

 northern England, and Wales, he is an abso- 

 lutely indispensable assistant of the shepherd. 



Not that the working collie looks very much 

 like the long-muzzled, much-berumed, and well- 

 groomed specimens which grace the benches at 

 our dog shows. He would never be allowed 

 inside the ring at Madison Square Garden, and 

 if he were he would stand about as much 

 chance of taking a prize as a blue-ribbon win- 

 ner would have of defeating him in one of 

 the great annual sheep-dog trials of his native 

 land. He lacks the superficial beauty neces- 

 sary to win in the show-ring but he has the 

 brains, the courage, and the stamina without 

 .which the sheep industry of Great Britain 

 would quickly come to a standstill. 



In the land of misty mountains one good 

 dog can do the work of a dozen men, and 

 there is no other animal which could possibly 

 replace him. 



Obeying the voice, or, better still, the whistle, 

 of his master, a good working collie will "run 

 out" to a distant pasture, round up his flock, 

 separating them if necessary from other sheep, 

 and bring them along at just the right speed; 

 head off any which may try to take a wrong 

 direction ; go back and hurry those which lag 

 behind ; fight off strange dogs if necessary, and 

 finally bring them into the fold without losing 

 one. 



Next morning he will take them away to the 

 pasture and guard them all day, if asked to 

 do so, or help his master to drive them to the 

 market, along the quiet country lanes and the 

 crowded city streets alike, preventing every at- 

 tempt of his charges to wander or stampede. 



The Shetland collie, a tiny sheep - herder 

 weighing between six and ten pounds and im- 

 ported from the Shetland Islands, is becoming 

 known in the country as an attractive pet. 



SMOOTH COLLIE 



(For illustration, see page 238) 



The smooth collie is to be judged by exactly 

 the same standards in everything, except coat, 

 as the rough, or common, collie. 



The artist had never seen one and was some- 

 what desperate for a model, when to his sur- 

 prise he found that the Belgian farmer who 

 comes for the neighborhood garbage was ac- 

 companied by a fine specimen, brought with 

 him in 1914 from home, whence he fled at the 

 instance of the Hun ! 



It is somewhat of a surprise to see what a 

 collie looks like in short hair, but it rather in- 

 creases our regard for him than otherwise. 

 For he is a fine, strong, "doggy'' animal, and 

 in this example, at least, the "refinement" 

 which so often results in extremely nervous 

 and high-strung dogs has not been sought. 



The present fad for long, slender, roman- 

 nosed and narrow-faced collies seems to intro- 

 duce an entirely undesirable slenderness of 

 temper as well, quite different from the genial, 

 easy-going dependability of the "old-fashioned" 

 collie,\vide between the eyes and ears. It is 

 a distinct loss to the breed. 



ENGLISH SHEEP-DOG 



(For illustration, see page 238) 



Rapidly gaining in popularity, the curious 

 woolly sheep-dog has become thoroughly estab- 

 lished in the United States; he has long been 

 used as a practical helper in the great sheep 

 ranges of western Canada. He bears no re- 

 semblance whatever to the familiar collie type 

 of sheep-dog, but looks rather like a great 

 long-legged, round-headed, bounding terrier. 



He has a formidable voice, very different in- 

 deed from the rather fox-like yap of the collie, 

 and while he is some 24 to 2J inches at the 

 shoulder and weighs 60 to 80 pounds one can- 

 not_ quite get away from the impression that 

 he is, in fact, a huge terrier of some kind. The 

 effect is heightened greatly by the long woolly 

 hair on his head and face, which virtually 

 hides the clever eyes, and makes a study of 

 his actual head-form very difficult. The hair 

 on back and hips is very long; when combed 

 out they look very curious indeed. 



In color they are usually blue gray and 

 white; any strong tendency toward brown is 

 not good. The white usually occupies most of 

 the head and fore-quarters. 



He is a dog of very striking appearance — one 

 might almost say of un-dog-like appearance. 

 He is large, rather tall on the legs, tailless, and 

 covered from head to foot with a long, loose 

 hair, which tosses about freely when he runs 

 or jumps, giving him the appearance of a huge 

 animated floor-mop. But if you part the hair 

 on his face you will find a pair of beautiful, 

 intelligent, friendly eyes. He is active, good- 

 natured, and makes a fine companion. 



Dogs of this breed were not always bob- 

 tailed ; originally they were probably as well 

 provided wxfk tails as other dogs. Many of 

 them were used for herding, and consequently 

 exempt from taxation. It is said that the 

 drovers amputated the tails of their working 

 sheep-dogs to distinguish them from those 

 which were not exempted. 



It is believed by some authorities that this 

 mutilation, continued through many genera- 

 tions, created in the breed a tendency to pro- 

 duce tailless and short-tailed offspring. What- 

 ever the cause, it is certain that today many 

 Old English sheep-dog puppies are born bob- 

 tailed. When they are born with tails it is 

 customary to dock them to within an inch or 

 two of the root, and the operation is per- 

 formed not more than four days after birth. 



The docking accentuates the characteristic 

 rounded quarters and increases the somewhat 

 bearlike appearance of the animal. 



