The Rough Collie or Long-Haired Collie is a United Kingdom breed of long-coated herding dog of medium to large size. It is identical to the Smooth Collie in all respects but the length of the coat. Dogs of both breeds were bred for herding sheep in Scotland. In the twenty-first century the Rough Collie is commonly kept as a companion dog, or may be bred for showing. The recognised coat colours are sable or merle in various shades, tri-coloured or colour-headed white.

The Rough Collie is similar in appearance to the smaller Shetland Sheepdog, but a genetic link between the two breeds is not established.[citation needed]

 

Rough Collie, circa 1915

Both the Rough and the Smooth Collie descend from a localised variety of herding dog originating in Scotland and Wales. The Scottish variety was a large, strong, aggressive dog, bred to herd highland sheep. The Welsh variety was small and nimble, domesticated and friendly, and also herded goats. When the English saw these dogs at the Birmingham market, they interbred them with their own variety of sheepdogs, producing a mixture of short- and long-haired varieties. After the Industrial Revolution, dog ownership became fashionable, and these early collies were believed to have been crossed with the Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound) to get a more "noble" head (longer muzzle), which is today one of the true characteristics of the Rough Collie. It is not known conclusively if the Borzoi cross made it into the mainstream of the breed.

When Queen Victoria acquired a Rough Collie, after seeing one at Balmoral Castle, they were transformed into something of a fashion item. Continued breeding for show purposes drastically changed the appearance of the dogs; in the 1960s, it was a much taller dog than it is today (in the UK.  In the UK the Rough Collie is no longer used for serious herding, having been replaced by the Border Collie.