Early History: Distant Past – 1860 Archive
Historic articles and photos of Scotch Collies from the early history to 1860. Documentation of the collie as it existed before the show breeders began to change its form.
Dogs; Their Origins and Varieties – 1847
THE SHEPHERD’S DOG, OR COLLEY. The genuine original Shepherd’s dog is now nearly altogether confined to Scotland, where he is called the “Colley.” He stands about twenty-one inches in height at the shoulder; is very gracefully shaped; muzzle pointed; ears half erect; coat long, but fine and silky; tail and hams fringed with hair; colourRead More
Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs – PART VI
Excerpted from “Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs” by Captain Thomas Brown – 1829 SAVES THE LIFE OF A COW. I have been furnished by my friend, Mr Peter Macarthur, with the following anecdote of a Shepherd’s Dog which, he assures me, belonged to his grandfather, who resided in the island of Mull:—Upon oneRead More
Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs – PART V
Excerpted from “Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs” by Captain Thomas Brown – 1829 AN ACCURATE SERVANT. “There was a shepherd lad near Langholm, whose name was Scott, who possessed a bitch famed over all the West Border for her singular tractability. He could have sent her home with one sheep, two sheep, orRead More
James Hogg, The Ettrick Shepherd – 1829
Excerpted from “Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs” by Captain Thomas Brown – 1829 Note: James Hogg was a Scottish poet and novelist who wrote lovingly of his collies in the early 1800s. He lived in Ettrick, Scotland, which is in the border region. It is entirely possible that the Border Collie was distinctRead More
Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs, PART III
Excerpted from “Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs” by Captain Thomas Brown – 1829 CONSTANT EVEN IN DEATH. On Tuesday, the 20th of August, 1828, Lachlan Maclean, a shepherd, in the service of Mr McMillan, commissary, Isle of Skye, left his home to visit his flocks, but not returning in the course of theRead More
Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs, PART II
Excerpted from “Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs” by Captain Thomas Brown – 1829 A KNOWING ACCOMPLICE. Few instances can be adduced of the sagacity of dogs more striking than the following of the Shepherd’s Dog:—The owner himself having been hanged some years before for sheep-stealing, the following facts, among others respecting his dog,Read More
THE SHEPHERD’S DOG – 1829
Excerpted from “Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs” by Captain Thomas Brown – 1829 Note: This is the earliest detailed description of the Scotch Collie. Bewick described the collie’s behavior almost 40 years before this, but the only physical description Bewick gives other than his fine illustration relates to dewclaws. This book is noteworthy forRead More
The Shepherd’s Dog – 1856
Some writer remarks that when our first parents were expelled from Paradise, the dog, of all animals, was the only one that swerved not from his allegiance, but continued faithful to his master even in his disgrace. “Faithful found amid the faithless, Faithful only he, amongst innumerable false.” Be this as it may, the fidelityRead More
English Shepherds in America
In previous posts I have documented the existence the English Sheep-Dog or English Shepherd’s Dog, which appear as a close relative of the Scotch Collie but quite different from today’s Old English Sheepdog, as a separate and distinct breed in Britain. The articles I cited range from 1841 to 1887 and were all of BritishRead More
The Shepherd’s Dog, Or Colley – 1841
The height of the sheep-dog is generally about fifteen inches, and its colour is chiefly black or dark grey. He is of all dogs the most intelligent and faithful, and at the same time the most useful. In the wild and mountainous parts of Scotland and Wales, more particularly, must we look for proofs ofRead More
Shepherd’s Dogs of Britain – 1853
But more distinctly to be referred to the Lyciscan type, are the common dogs of shepherds, to which the term Shepherd’s Dog is, with us, more especially applied. Various kinds of dogs, however, are employed in different countries for the tending of flocks and herds. In some they approach to the Mastiff type, as inRead More
Charles H. Wheeler On The History Of The Collie
Excerpted from The dog book, Volume 1, James Watson – 1906 Mr. Wheeler most kindly consented, when asked a year ago to contribute from his store of knowledge of the old-time dogs, and on being reminded more recently of his promise, replied that he was writing exactly what we had asked for the Illustrated KennelRead More
