Bearded Collie

The Bearded Collie, or Beardie, is a herding breed of dog once used primarily by Scottish shepherds, but now mostly a popular family companion.

Bearded Collies have an average weight of 40 - 60 lb. Males are around 20 - 22 in tall at the withers while females are around 20 - 21 in tall.

History
The legend of the Bearded Collie's origin is that the ancestors of what is today the Polish Lowland Sheepdog were abandoned on the shores of Scotland, and these dogs then bred with native herding dogs. A variant on this story is that Kazimierz Grabski, a Polish merchant, reportedly traded a shipment of grain for sheep in Scotland in 1514 and brought six Polish Lowland Sheepdogs to move them. A Scottish shepherd was so impressed with the herding ability of the dogs that he traded several sheep for several dogs. The Polish sheepdogs were bred with local Scottish dogs to produce the Bearded Collie.

The first written reference to the Bearded Collie occurs in 1891, when D.J. Thomson Gray describes them in his book The Dogs of Scotland as

"A big, rough, ‘tousy’ looking tyke, with a coat not unlike a doormat, the texture of the hair hard and fibry, and the ears hanging close to the head."

It is generally agreed that Mrs. G. Olive Willison founded the modern show Bearded Collie in 1944 with her brown bitch, Jeannie of Bothkennar. Jeannie was supposedly a Shetland Sheepdog, but Mrs. Willison received a Bearded Collie by accident. She was so fascinated by the dog that she wanted to begin breeding, so she began searching for a dog for Jeannie. While walking along the beach, Mrs. Willison met a man who was emigrating from Scotland; she became the owner of his grey dog, David, who became Bailie of Bothkennar.

Bailie and Jeannie of Bothkennar are the founders of the modern show breed; there are only a few other registrable blood lines, preserved in large part by the perseverance of Mr. Nicolas Broadbridge (Sallen) and Mrs. Betty Foster (Bredon). These are based on Turnbull's Blue—a Bearded Collie from pure working stock, registered in ISDS when ISDS still registered non-Border Collies. He sired three litters of registerable Bearded Collies.

While the registered breed lines can be traced to a limited number of bloodlines, there are still many unregistered Bearded Collies in Scotland, some still working as herding dogs.

The breed became popular during the last half of the 20th century—propelled, in part, by Potterdale Classic at Moonhill, a Bearded Collie who won Best in Show at Crufts in 1989. The Bearded Collie Club celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2005.

As pets
The Bearded Collie ranks 117 out of 175 breeds in popularity in the United States, according to the American Kennel Club's yearly breed ranking. A Bearded Collie is best obtained from a reputable breeder or a dog rescue. There are Bearded Collie rescue associations, such as Bearded Collie Rescue and "Rescue Me".

Bearded Collies make excellent pets for those willing to accommodate their high energy level - they are very enthusiastic and have a bouncy nature. They also require regular grooming; weekly brushing is mandatory for keeping their long hair mat-free. Some Bearded Collie owners opt to keep their pets in a "puppy cut" haircut, which reduces the need for brushing. Bearded Collies are an energetic breed, originally intended to work in the Scottish Highlands herding sheep; they also excel at treibball, dog agility and Obedience trials.

Working life
The Bearded Collie is used to herd both sheep and cattle. It is essentially a working dog—bred to be hardy and reliable, able to stand up to the harshest conditions and the toughest sheep. The working Bearded Collie has become less common in the last few decades and risked dying out.

Herding instincts and tractability can be assessed in noncompetitive herding tests. Bearded Collies exhibiting basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.

Health
The size of an average litter is seven pups.

Mortality
A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 13.9 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.

Leading causes of death amongst Bearded Collies in a 2004 Kennel Club survey were old age (26%), cancer (19%), cerebrovascular disease (9%), and chronic kidney failure (8%).

Morbidity
Further existing breed dispositions of the Bearded Collie include: Dermatological conditions, such as pemphigus foliaceous and black skin disease, follicular dysplasia, musculoskeletal conditions such as congenital elbow luxation, ocular conditions, such as corneal dystrophy, cataract and generalized progressive retinal atrophy (GPRA).

Hypoadrenocorticism
Hypoadrenocorticism (also known as Addison's disease) is an inherited disease in Bearded Collies, although the mechanism of inheritance is not known. It occurs when the adrenal cortex produces insufficient glucocorticoid and/or mineralocorticoid hormones. It affects approximately 2–3.4% of Bearded Collies in the USA/Canada, and causes the death of at least 1% of Bearded Collies in the UK. These are much higher percentages than for the general dog population (0.1%), and hypoadrenocorticism causes a disproportionate number of deaths among young dogs.

In popular culture

 * The role of Nana in the original production of the James Barrie play Peter Pan was performed by a Bearded Collie.
 * A Bearded Collie named Coal featured in the 2006 film The Shaggy Dog starring Tim Allen. This film involves Dave who turns into one after getting bitten by a sacred dog.
 * Ralphie, a Bearded Collie, appears in the 2009 film Hotel for Dogs.