For the last 500 years there have been dogs resembling the Bearded Collie as we know it today, a shaggy coated dog used for herding cattle and sheep in the Borders and Highlands of Scotland.

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The first breed standard was drawn up in 1912 but the Beardie population was dwindling fast and by 1940s was very scarce. The revival of the breed came from a lucky accident. Mrs G Olive Willison asked a Scottish farmer for a working Shetland Sheepdog. The puppy she received turned out to be a Bearded Collie, which she names Jeannie. Mrs Willison, so taken with her bitch, searched for a mate for her, located a dog named Bailey in the South of England and thus were established the Bothkennar Bearded Collies, providing the foundation for the modern breed. In 1955 a new Bearded Collie Club was formed and The Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1959.

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The Bearded Collie is a medium sized breed that needs exercise daily, with regular grooming.