At the first organized sheepdog trial held in Bala, North Wales in 1873, over 300 spectators watched as Mr. James Thompson’s dog, “Tweed” bested ten other dogs to be declared the winner. Tweed was a Scottish Collie, and this is the jumping off point for our post.

Tweed was described as a compact, black and tan Scottish bred dog with a foxy face. We wondered what a Scottish Collie is, and is it different from a “Scotch Collie,” or the “Old-Time Scotch Collie?”

The answers appear to be as varied as the sources we consulted. In Tweed’s day, the name “colley” was given by Scot farmers to the dogs who herded native mountain dwelling sheep called “colleys.” Some breed historians believe that the dogs that flourished in the border region were the dogs we know today as Border Collies, dogs that in Tweed’s time were known as “Scottish collies.”

Other sources point out that because (in part), old Scottish Collies were known to have long hair and short hair, they were more likely dogs we know today as Collies, another breed that originated from the highland regions of Scotland. The Scottish Collie Club was founded in 1885, a year before the American Collie Club was formed making it the oldest Collie Club in the World.  A year later, the Collie Club of America was formed. That “flow chart” supports the argument that these dogs were Collies (as in Lassie). 

There is also a dog known as the Scotch Collie  (known as the Farm Collie or Old Farm Collie, as well), and in terms of appearance, it looks like a cross between the Border Collie and Collie. A description of these dogs was provided in The Farmer’s Dog by John Holmes:

“There are several other types of Collie quite distinct from the Border Collie in that they are ‘loose-eyed’ workers. Most of these are native to Scotland and include the old-fashioned Scotch Collie from which the modern show Collie is descended. Now practically extinct, I have clear recollections of several of these dogs in my youth and believe that, in my early efforts to walk, I was assisted by one. They were all easy-going, level headed dogs, useful but not flashy workers, and quite willing to lie about the place when there was nothing better to do. Personally I think it is a great pity that this type has been practically exterminated by the increasing popularity of ‘strong-eyed’ dogs. For all-round farm work they were often far more use…”

Because things aren’t complicated enough, enter the Old-Time Scotch Collie. According to the Old-Time Scotch Collie Association,  their breed was popular around 1900, a dog highly prized by farmers for its herding and all-around farm dog abilities. Some branches of the breed diverged into other breeds either through selective breeding or crossing with other breeds, and the decline of the small family farm all but made the (Old Time) Scotch Collie obsolete. In the 1980s, an effort began to locate and revive the breed, and today, a small population of the dogs are left.

After all this, do we have a definitive answer to our own question? Not really. Our own interpretation is that the name, Scottish Collie, referred to both the Border Collie and Collie, while technically speaking, the Scotch Collie refers to the Old Time Scotch Collie.

Image: “The Highland Hearth” by Walter Hunt from 1903