"THEY ARE NOT THE SAME"
from DogWorld Magazine, April, 1952
Could you please give me the following information. Why do you have your English shepherds and Border Collies advertised in the same ad column. Are they the same kind of dog, and is the Border Collie sometimes short tailed? Are the short tailed shepherd and the Border Collie the same dog? Please write the answer to the questions back to me. - CHARLES GROSS, Box 32, Grafton, Nebr.
ANSWER - this reader is very much in order, for it is high time that correct and clear distinctions be made among the several dogs in this group. The group includes the Border Collie, the English Shepherd, and the Farmer's collie.
The BORDER COLLIE is true to type, usually is black with white markings, varies in size from 30 to 40 pounds, and is registered by the North American Sheepdog Society, Wooster, Ohio.
The ENG. SHEPHERD is limited to black and tan markings and within the last few years, has come into great popularity. It is registered by the English Shepherd Club of America, Quinlan, Tx. Thus far this club has closed the books to dogs of other color or markings. Frankly, the Editor of Dog World world like to see this breed called American Shepherd, for it is far more American than English.
The FARMER'S COLLIE is a term applied to a large number of dogs of collie background and usually of wide skull, rather heavy muzzle, and not as high as he collie proper.It is this type of dog which proved to be satisfactory in the K-9 Corps of World War II. A dog of this type would never win a prize in the show ring as a collie. It is distinctly an American deivation.
The American Kennel Club does not recognize any of these three groups. A standard for the Border Collie and also a standard for the English shepherd will be published in the June Issue of Dog World.
P.S.- None of these breeds has a bob tail or short tail by nature. Occassionally a dog will be born with a bob or short tail and this is particularly true with an entirely different breed - the Old English Sheepdog, which is seldom used for work in the field.
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Website owners note. *******
There was also another dog in this grouping - the old Scotch Collie. See picture on this page. The old Scotch Collie was probably intermixed at some point with the breeds/types named above but is also known as the precursor to the AKC Collie of today.
The black/tan only color specifications on the English Shepherd at this time were coming from Tom Stodgehill, Texas, who carried on a advertising and promotion campaign on the English Shepherd and in an effort to make the breed more standardized in looks promoted the black/tan color. English Shepherds are traditionally black/tan, black/white, sable/white ( sometimes called brown or tan or shaded sable), clear sable/white ( yellow) , saddle-back sable and tri-color ( black/tan/white).
