How chatty are smooth/rough collies?

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Erica
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Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

How chatty are smooth/rough collies?

Post by Erica »

First: this is not for any time in the near future! If I do go for a collie (probably a smooth) it'll be in a few years' time.

Secondly, how talkative are collies, exactly? I'm not fond of very barky dogs, but I grew up with GSDs who bark at every stranger passing our house and consider that to be my upper limit on barking. As long as there's a reason for it, and the dog can be trained to quiet down after acknowledging the cause, I'd be happy. Beagles, for example, were too barky for me though. I can handle dogsitting one but living with one would not work out for me!

Otherwise, smooth collies seem very well suited for me - good energy level, intelligent, enjoy training, suited for sports and hiking, etc.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
JudyN
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Re: How chatty are smooth/rough collies?

Post by JudyN »

The two rough collies I've known have only ever barked for a reason. The first (the dog I grew up with) was a calm dog so was very quiet, the second (OH's parents' dog) was much more highly strung so barked more - but only because he thought he had a reason to. He still wasn't what I'd call 'barky'.

Mind, this was back in the 60-70s and 80s, and in the UK, so they could be quite different today, and where you are.

Is it easy to find smooth collies where you are? I think I've only ever seen 2 or 3 in my life.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Erica
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Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: How chatty are smooth/rough collies?

Post by Erica »

I've only seen a rare few and not usually out-and-about in the neighborhood, but at events like the "responsible owner" fair that the AKC put on. (I also saw a Belgian Laekenois there...that's another dream dog, but a much bigger maybe, lol. Lots of personal evaluation to do with that breed ;) ) But America is big, and there are many people, and I drove 500 miles for Delta - which would cover most of the east coast and a moderate portion of the midwest - and didn't mind it much at all as part of the price for getting such a fantastic dog. :) I would be surprised if we didn't see a few smooth collies as we get into competing in rally-o and agility.

(According to the AKC breed popularities, Collies are right behind weimeraners and viszlas in popularity, and above westies and border collies! The lattermost surprised me but I guess the sports circles have a distorted population demographic, especially for border collies :lol: The fitness workshop we went to was about 80% BC.)

It's good to hear that they aren't the constant barkers that I assumed they would be! Obviously it may depend somewhat on the line, and regional differences, but there's hope. It'll be a fun path for future-me to explore.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Suzette
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Re: How chatty are smooth/rough collies?

Post by Suzette »

I had a rough collie growing up, my uncle had a rough collie up until a few years ago and my daughter has one now. They all have been barky. All were raised from pups and all were very, very talky. Most folks I speak with that have or had collies say the same thing. I do not know if the smooth collies are any different, but it is definitely my experience that the rough coats love to bark.

On the plus side, they are so smart and so eager to please, training can go a long way to teach them when it's acceptable to bark and when it's time to stop.
My avatar is Piper, my sweet Pembroke Corgi. b. 5/11/11
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