Recently I have been to some Collie Shows where American and American crossbred collies have been entered and it is my opinion that the two breeds have grown too far apart to be considered the same breed any longer and also that further cross breeding would be detrimental to both breeds. There has already also been a lot of discussion both at club shows and online, with little action being taken, mainly because the present system is too long. Currently breed clubs have to submit proposals to the Rough Collie Breed Council for consideration. Any decisions made, have to go back to the clubs for approval, then returned to the RCBC for submitting to the Kennel Club.

It is time for the breeders themselves to take the matter directly to the Kennel Club.

Listed below are some of the main differences between the 2 Breed Standards to hopefully help you reach a decision and support this petition.

The breed standards for both British and American Collies are incompatible; therefore any collie which meets one standard cannot fit the other standard.

There are five very clear differences:

                        British Standard​                              American Standard

Height             Dogs 22”-24” Bitches 20”-22”           Dogs24”-26” Bitches 22”-24”

Weight            Not specified                                      Dogs 60-75 lbs Bitches 50-65 lbs

Note: With the Smaller British Collie these weights could make them too heavy in proportion to their size

Colour            Sable & White                                                Sable & White

                        Tricolour                                                         Tricolour

                        Blue Merle                                                      Blue Merle

                                                                                               White

Note: The British Standard states that for Sable & White, “Light Straw or Cream coloured are Highly undesirable” and for all Collies, “White or predominately white are “Highly undesirable.”

Head               Stop slight                                                       Stop very slight

Note: Though this may seem insignificant it makes a very noticeable difference to the appearance of the head which is of great importance in both standards.                      

Eye                  Never very small                                             Never large 

In addition to this there are certain health issues which are more prevalent in one breed than the other and any cross breeding could spread these to a larger number of dogs in both breeds. 

Finally making them both separate breeds would only be in line with what has happened in the past with Cocker Spaniels and Akitas.