Bearded Collies & Bearded Collie Breeders in South Africa

The bearded collie originated in Scotland where he was bred to find and herd sheep on the rugged mountains. His hairy coat kept him warm in the snowy winters. The bearded collie, or "Beardy" as he is knicknamed, at first appears to be all hair! The dog is hidden underneath the long coat. The coat should not be cut but should be left long. Beardies have long hair covering their eyes, and a beard hanging under the chin.

Bearded collies need daily combing and brushing to stop tangles and matting. They are good natured, fun-loving dogs and makes good family pets.

The bearded collie is a medium sized, energetic dog. He needs ample room and exercise.

Gatsby the Beardie

Bearded collie running along high plank in obstacle course

Gatsby competes in agility competitions at dog shows. His fringe is cut as well as some of the hair on his nose so he can see his way around an obstacle course. He belongs to Ron Cosser, South Africa.

Photo by Paul Greenway

The Bearded Collie

By Ron Cosser

I'm not an expert on the dogs; just interested in the Breed and facts about them.

For several hundred years, bearded collies were used as sheep and cattle dogs. Other names for them have included "Highland Collie" and "Scottish Sheepdog". I understand that they were bred to work by themselves (work-away style); ie the shepherd would send them out onto the hillsides to search out and bring the sheep back by themselves. So the ones who can solve problems were highly prized. Unlike the Border Collies who work silently, Bearded Collies bark - intentionally so - enabling the shepherd at the foot of the hill to keep track of what's happening higher up. If the barking persists from one spot the shepherd knows that there is a problem (perhaps a sheep caught in a crevasse) and goes up to investigate. So they tend to think for themselves which can be frustrating if you are training them since they usually consider any command before acting on it after seeing if there is nothing better in the offing.

They have a surprising turn of speed considering their short legs, with a gait not unlike that of a cheetah due to their long body.

I think the long hair is typical of a lot of herding dogs in the north of Europe - probably for warmth. Of course breeding for the show ring has emphasised the coat, and the hair on the top dogs reaches ridiculous lengths. I'm happy to have a dog with shorter hair.

The decorative side is perhaps a drawback since they have to be brushed and combed at least once a week (typically takes over 2 hours) if they are not to be a mass of knots. The long hair picks up leaves, seeds and even branches (bougainvillea is particularly a nightmare!) - so one's house soon has as many leaves inside as there are outside.

One of the most famous passages describing them comes from the book, "Owd Bob - the Grey Dog of Kenmuir," by Alfred Ollivant:

"Should you, while wandering in the wild sheep land, happen on the moor or in the market upon a very perfect gentle knight, clothed in dark grey habit, splashed here and there with rays of the moon; free by right divine of the guild of gentleman, strenuous as a prince, lithe as a rowan, graceful as a girl, with high king carriage... should have a noble breadth of brow, and air of still strength born of right confidence, all unassuming; last and most unfailing test for all, should you look into two snow clad eyes, calm, wistful, inscrutable, their soft depths clothed on with sadness... know then that you look upon one of the line of the most illustrious sheepdogs of the North"

That passage describes Gatsby (and my previous Beardie, Paddington) perfectly.

The 4 bearded collies above, posing so perfectly on the staircase, belong to Oda de Jong of Amsterdam.

either black (which in practice usually means
slate, although the dog that's in front in my picture above, Cosima, has always remained pitch black, much to my delight) with or without a white collar (flash or plain)

or the diluted versions of these colours, i.e. blue (the highest and second-highest up dogs, Grace and Orlando, in my picture)

or in exceptional cases, tricolour (black plus brown and white - my third dog from the top of the stairs, Aggy, is a tricolour), with the eye and pigment (nose, feet, et cetera) colours following the coat colour (which is quite unusual in dogs), and they usually have some white on the face (but never on the ears), chest and belly (but never on the side or top of the body), feet (but never above the heel on the hind legs) and tail (just the tip), although this varies between dogs.

Another quaint thing about them is that they are born in their "true" colour, then start fading except for Cosima, who never did) and agonisingly slowly return to their "true" colour, although this process can take as much as two or three years to be completed and tends to trigger considerable despair in the interim in certain owners.

I like seeing my bunch enjoying life, running around and barking like mad, more often than not covered in mud so that they're uniformly sludge-coloured!

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Dogs - Bearded Collie

Gatsby the Beardie

The Bearded Collie

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