June, i p i 6 
23 
THE WORKING COLLIE 
A FLYING 
speck over 
the distant fields, 
soon resolving it¬ 
self into a sym¬ 
phony i n sable 
and an eager face 
with a message 
plainly to be seen 
in the speaking 
eyes. No need to 
wait for the anx¬ 
ious whine and 
tug at the wrist to 
tell that some¬ 
thing is amiss at 
the big house. I 
hurriedly 
returned to find a 
valuable brood 
mare cast by her 
rope upon the lawn and but for the timely 
aid of her faithful friend a broken leg would 
have been the consequence. A hurry call 
at the telephone for the master of the house, 
who was away at the clearing near the 
pines, over the hill. Four willing feet to 
bear the note, telling him to come quickly. 
Again, a forgotten tool from the bench; 
a pail for grain; cap or gloves that have 
been mislaid, and lo!—an expressed wish 
brings it to your hands, and all for no other 
reward than a pat and an affectionate “Good 
old fellow!” Such is the value of a trained 
dog over a merely ornamental or useless 
pet. 
The Working Collie 
The pup with an 
evangelical face has 
his own share of 
individuality 
For centuries the collie has been a natural 
guardian of stock, the comrade of his mas¬ 
ter and protector of children. Many eulo¬ 
gies have been written of his combined vir¬ 
tues and nearly all writers dwell upon his 
greatest trait, the ability to do any and all 
kinds of work performed by any other 
breed. Many have deplored his supposed 
deterioration as a working collie and are 
yet forced to concede his great improve¬ 
ment in style and breeding. But while 
working for this ideal type, why may we 
not also develop his equally valuable quali¬ 
ties of usefulness? To produce the model 
working collie along lines now somewhat 
neglected, a dog whose breeding will be a 
source of pride to his owner, and which 
will yet fit into the manifold duties of 
country life, is the ambition of the writer. 
And though the experiment is yet in its 
infancy, the results of careful training of 
these dogs through several generations are 
beginning to show by the increasing de¬ 
mands for them. 
Except in certain districts abroad and in 
a few of our Western States the collie is 
principally known as a show dog; but with 
his adaptability along working lines it seems 
a pity that he should not be winning a few 
laurels on his own account instead of pre¬ 
senting them all to his owner. 
How to Raise and Train Him 
To develop a strain of working collies 
one must have an inherent love of dogs and 
Many have deplored the collie’s supposed deterioration as a useful dog , while conceding 
his improvement in style and breeding. But why should the former quality be sub¬ 
ordinated to the latterT 
be able to understand their widely differing 
individualities as well as to teach them to 
understand their trainer. Outdoor life and 
hardy conditions are absolutely necessary 
for the active life of the collie. Therefore 
the owner must be an out-of-door man or 
woman, for close association is essential. 
From the first sign of interest shown by 
the puppy after he opens his eyes upon the 
collie world, he should be placed with his 
mates near poultry, sheep, colts or cattle. 
Thus, when old enough to take his initial 
lesson in handling stock, he can be trusted 
to pass among them freely at all times and 
has taken his first important step in pro¬ 
tecting instead of injuring or worrying his 
charges. Such a trust is never afterwards 
broken. Soon his expression, as he tags 
after you, seems to say, “What are you 
going to do? Can I help? Please, tell 
me.” And if told, what happiness and un¬ 
derstanding show in the brown eyes! 
Then come the lessons of words. One 
particularly wise English collie, tracing di¬ 
rectly to the famous Bozzie, said to have 
been the most knowing dog in history, has 
developed such a wonderful memory for 
words and sentences that there seems to be 
no limit to new ones as he grows older, thus 
disproving the old adage. 
After being taught separately the dogs 
should go through the same lessons in com¬ 
pany with others, until at the commands 
“Line up”; “Bench”; “Down”; “Heel”; 
“Kennels, all,” the pack will obey with the 
precision of a company of soldiers. This 
absolute power over numbers makes each 
dog more valuable for working and enables 
one gradually to dispense with training pole, 
whip or leash, until often neither word nor 
sign is necessary, merely a look of peculiar 
understanding passing between trainer and 
pupil. 
As each dog begins to show marked 
adaptability, he should be allowed to 
specialize in his line, and thus fine 
(Continued, on page 56) 
A properly trained working collie will do 
almost any stunt that is physically pos¬ 
sible, and some that seem impossible 
