The History of the Working Collie Breeds

COMPLETE AND DEEPLY PERSPECTIVE HISTORY TO THE SKILLFUL COLLIE BREEDS The shepherd's dog is time honored; but particular collie breeds, the subject of this book, are descended from shepherds' collies from the 18th and 19th centuries. Prior to that time shepherds' dogs were extremely diverse in looks and working style. Shepherds selected and bred their dogs for the kinds of work for which they were needed. Diversity plays a role in the survival and adaptability of species. With more variation, it is likely that some individuals in a population will possess genes best suited for the environment they are working in. As gene pools become smaller, vulnerability to disease and environmental pressures increase. Without diversity a breed may eventually go extinct. Diversity in the working collie breeds will ensure that there will be a wide range of working collies accessible into the future that will meet the needs of shepherds and farmers in a rapidly changing livestock environment. The author presents a comprehensive viewpoint on the history and development of collies in Great Britain and Ireland, North and South America, and in Australia and New Zealand. She introduces each breed of working collie, and discusses its evolution. Will the working collies survive the 21st century? With Global Warming, the melting of the ice caps and the rising of the oceans, population expansion, deforestation, the loss of farmland, and farmers and shepherds abandoning the business of farming, this question is not just rhetorical, but will have repercussions for the future of the working collie breeds. Carole Presberg was a sheep farmer for 25 years with the help of her Border Collies. She published a quarterly magazine (The Shepherd's Dogge) and co-authored a book with Irish author Marjorie Quarton (The Working Border Collie, T.F.H. Publications, 1997). She has written articles for numerous magazines, including International Sheepdog News (the magazine of the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS) in the UK). For many years, Carole has maintained an extensive Border Collie website (BorderCollieMuseum.org) These endeavors and their attendant research have given her a unique outlook on the working collies, and led to the writing of this book.