Any Rough Collie owners here?

[Sonolanona]

Thinking about our next dog :)
We currently have a medium/large sized double coated breed (Eurasier) so not scared of even more dog hair, and they are the perfect size for us. We walk our girl two hours a day at least and she is rarely left alone for more than 2 hours ever!
DH loves Rough Collies and our dog does too... she is funny with some breeds (hates spaniels!) but every single RC she has met she has turned into a fan girl with them so they must just smell right to her.

Breed specs don't always tell you the 'lived experience' (Kennel Club used to say that Eurasiers have a low prey drive.... lived experience tells me that was a lie😆) so it would lovely if anyone could tell me what they are like in a family home.(I know all dogs are individuals but still)

I do have my grandchildren (aged 4 and a 6m baby) here some of the time so child friendliness is a must... 4 year old is well trained with dogs but the baby will be a work in progress; we were very cautious when DGS was a baby and our dog is wonderful with him as a result.

Any experiences welcome!

We have had two rough collies. Our current dog is a rough collie cross (mixed with welsh sheepdog so she has a much shorter coat but requires more exercise.

Rough collies IME are fantastic family dogs. They love to run around but are also very happy snoozing (generally in a doorway). It's a good balance. Their coats need to be maintained but a once a week brush will keep on top of it. They get clusters of tangles behind their ears if you're not careful. They are incredibly gentle and great with kids.

Do bear in mind they are prone to kidney issues. You need to research carefully. There are some breeders I would avoid (one "breeder" in particular in Alderley Edge which is effectively a puppy farm)

The 'breeder' from Alderley Edge is now in Norwich.

most definitely one to avoid

Get insurance and a toothbrush
but lovely dogs

We have had 4 rough collies. Number 4 is now 10 months. They are lovely dogs. The ones we have had have all been great with kids. They are generally very gentle and enjoy going for a walk but doesn’t have to be miles and miles. Research your breeder carefully. We didn’t with dog number 2 and he had really poor joints, although still had a great temperament. They’re not so common to see now - we always get comments when out and about with ours.

Thank you for your replies..and the tip!
They do sound like a good fit for us, we are active but there is nearly always one of us at home . Our current dog likes a good hour off lead each walk then snoozes in inconvenient places the rest of the time!
We were very careful when choosing our dog's breeder and did a lot of checks on them...as they did on us! They actually have her back if we go on holiday and she gets to play with her Mum :)
So kidney issues and teeth issues (we use Petplan so insurance will be decent)
Anything else?

If you are still considering a rough collie OP then do have a look at the Tofty breeding programme. The breeder is selling a number of her dogs at the moment since she has too many. The aim of the programme has been to try to bring rough collies back to the working dogs they used to be and less like "show dogs". She's done a lot of work with genetics and the dogs are all free from the various diseases rough collies can be prone to. She's based up near Beverley. Ours is a wonderful dog. She isn't as lazy as a typical rough collie though.

Haggisaggis Oh he's beautiful!!!!!

We had a rough collie, sadly bought during covid, joint issues and now dead after surgery 😢. However she had an absolutely gorgeous sweet temperament and good with children. Weirdly despite all the hair, there wasn’t much shedding in the house, except for twice a year when she blew her coat. So might be less hair than your Eurasier!

User76745333 Thank you :) I have just saved a link to the breeder web page. Above all I want a healthy dog who can enjoy life!

I think that our last 2 roughs are from the breeder @User76745333 got her tofty from. Have been very happy with both dogs. There are also a few other breeders in the UK who breed dogs around similar lines. They are all very keen on doing their best to produce the healthiest dogs they can.

Ah we had a rough collie when i was a kid. Absolutely brilliant dogs! Loyal, fun - would play with us all day - and very clever.

Ours was a very good 'guard' dog of us, suspicious of strangers near us kids. We used to take him camping and you'd know no one was going to enter into our tent undetected.

As an add on, i don't remember hair shedding anymore than your average long haired dog.
My mum did the grooming, a good brush and undercoat brush once a week i think - it wasn't an all consuming task if you kept on top of it regularly.

Ours had no health issues and lived until 14 years old. He had a sensitive stomach and we were just careful of what we fed him.

We have a rough. She can be funny with strangers and a bit reactive. Loves her herd but a bit hit and miss with people but she was a lockdown pup. Big problems with fireworks and bangs. Fine with them on tv and radio. Exercise is fine with a good walk then ball games in the garden and seeing off her arch enemy the tree pigeons and the foxes. Roughs can be barky. Go on the uk facebook group as there will be advice on there and there are meet up collie walks regularly round the country that you could do. Collielife if really good website too. People do comment on her and also think they have a right to pet her (which she doesn’t like). Brushing is ok and we go to a groomer as well but takes time to find the right one. She is very protective of her herd.

Pippatpip You've just described my current dog 😁Loves her pack, nervous with strangers ( usually ignores but if they try and touch her head she backs away and barks if they persist... even though I tell them not to) We also found a fab groomer who she is now comfortable with as she's doesn't enjoy me doing it!

I'd like a less tricky dog next time, but am well equipped to cope with one with quirks! We'll never be burgled, put it that way!

@Sonolanona. Yup - we can go out and leave the windows open. Good luck to any burglar! Roughs are very sensitive souls. Sometimes I wish I’d gone for something uncomplicated like a lab. One good thing is they don’t have much doggy odour unless wet and they are not leapy or all over the place like spaniels. Neither are they particularly needy. She’s quite chilled at home unless barking at cat/zombie fox/trying to catch flying pigeons. The Lassie comments get a bit wearing and people do assume she must be friendly because of that. I actually had to tell very small children ‘no’ this holiday who were just bimbling up to cuddle her and whose parents were benignly letting them. She may well have been fine but then again she may not have been. I think herding breeds can be trickier sometimes.

They are amazing family dogs. We have a rough coated and a smooth coated at the min and they are just full of energy and bounce!!
Only downside to rough coated collies is that they do pick up ticks easily and need a good brush (ours won't let us!)