Everyone – at least when I was young – used to talk about Lassie. Perhaps I’m showing my age, or perhaps it was just one of those things that my parents passed down to me. I ADORED Lassie. Who wouldn’t love a beautiful dog who was also a sort of superhero dog in her own right?

So why don’t you see collies anymore?

Despite being intelligent, easy to train, and needing less exercise than a Golden Retriever or a Labrador, the Rough Collie (and it’s cousin, the Smooth Collie) are one of the least popular breeds seen in the UK today.

It seems dog trends – just like fashion trends – come and go. In recent decades we’ve seen the pug trend, and the Frenchie trend, and the Chihauhua trend (thanks to Paris Hilton and her handbag dog). All of these dogs not only became popular but became prints on homeware, t-shirts, and other merchandise. You couldn’t go anywhere without seeing one of these dogs.

Harrod’s – the famous shop in London – was even selling French Bulldog puppies on their top floor for over £4000 a pup around 2010 (a practice that they no longer continue, thankfully).

Recently, I’ve noticed a huge trend towards Daschunds of all things. I get it, they are small and come in a whole range of colours, and again, are pint-sized pooches. But personally, they aren’t my cup of tea since the Daschunds I’ve met really haven’t forgotten that they were originally bred to hunt badgers, and their bark is surprisingly loud for such a tiny dog.

Sidenote: I love and appreciate all dogs, even the yappy ones.

Lately, there has been a huge upsurge in doodles – poodles crossed with practically any other breed. Goldendoodles, Cockerpoos, Cavapoos, and even Bernedoodles (that’s a Burnese Mountain Dog crossed with a poodle).

The doodle trend seems like it’s here to stay.

Last week, I was in a homeware store, only to be faced with a range of cushions, a tablecloth, and even knives and forks adorned with the face of a Cockerpoo. So this crossbreed really is in vogue, for the time being.

So where does that leave the remarkable Rough Collie?

Unfortunately, the state of both the Rough and the Smooth Collie are in danger of being an extinct breed if people don’t start owning and breeding them more often.

As of this moment in time, there are no Kennel Club Assured Breeders for the Rough Collie. And Champdogs had no litters of Rough Collie pups whatsoever. There were just five litters available on the Kennel Club website, compared to the hundreds for Labradors. But none of these litters came from Assured Breeders, since there are none at all for this breed.

Should we be worried?

Perhaps we should. A breed this beautiful – and intelligent to boot – really shouldn’t be consigned to the history books.

I for one, plan on having a Rough Collie one day. And wouldn’t it be horrible to never be able to have the dog of your dreams just because it fell out of popularity?

In 1979 (way before my time), there were over 8000 registered Rough Collies. But figures from 2022 indicated that there were less than 500 registered Rough Collies. In 2023, the Kennel Club put out a statement saying that the breed was now on its ‘at risk’ list. It stated there had been a 94% decline in ownership of this breed.

Pros of a Rough Collie

So why get a Rough Collie?

If you’ve been wanting a dog that is easy to train, and highly intelligent – you might immediately think of a Golden Retriever or a Labrador.

But the Rough Collie is an excellent alternative for our modern lives, when we have a little less time for spending every waking second with a velcro dog that needs 90 minutes to two hours (or more) or exercise each day.

Rough Collies are quite happy with an hour per day of exercise. You could do this all in one walk, or split it by doing two walks of thirty minutes. Which is far more manageable than the needs of a Golden Retriever.

A Rough Collie also enjoys people, and loves to be with their humans, but don’t demand all your attention all of the time – so they are ideal for you if you work from home and want a dog who will entertain themselves or sleep whilst you’re in the middle of a work call.

They are intelligent dogs, so you’ll be endlessly entertained by the way their minds work. They are biddable – so training is easy – but you’ll also get to experience the collie magic where the collie will think on a higher level, and show you things they have taught themselves.

Rough Collie owners describe how loyal these dogs are, and how, once you own a Rough Collie… you never go back to another breed. There’s something to be said for that collie magic.

So if you’re looking for a puppy, a Rough Collie could be a good option to consider – especially if you want the smarts of a collie but don’t fancy a Border Collie’s energy, or you want the people oriented nature and trainability of a Golden Retriever, but don’t fancy doing two hours of exercise per day.