What breed is Lassie?
Lassie is a Rough Collie, a herding breed from Great Britain. She first appeared in Eric Knight’s 1938 story Lassie Come-Home (Wikipedia). Its breed standard calls it the “Collie Rough”.
Would you spot a real Rough Collie?
Lassie’s breed is one of these three British sheepdogs. Which one?
Where do Rough Collies come from?
This dog’s breed is the Rough Collie’s twin. What is the one difference between them?
Photo: Mwensley, CC BY-SA 4.0 How tall is a Rough Collie male at the shoulder, by its standard?
Which colours does the Rough Collie standard allow?
The real Rough Collie
.jpg){kind=link}
| The Rough Collie, by its breed standard | |
|---|---|
| Home | Great Britain |
| Bred as | A sheepdog |
| Height | Males 56 to 61 cm, females 51 to 56 cm |
| Coat | Very dense: a straight, harsh outer coat over a soft, close undercoat, with a very abundant mane and frill |
| Colours | Sable, tricolour or blue merle, with white Collie markings |
| Ears | Small; on alert carried semi-erect, the top third tipping forward |
| Tail | Long, carried low, with a slight upward swirl at the tip |
From the Rough Collie breed standard (No. 156, 8 September 2026).
Where do Rough Collies come from?
Scotland, in Great Britain. The Rough Collie’s standard says the breed is thought to have evolved from dogs the Romans brought to Scotland, which then mated with native dogs. It calls the Rough Collie a refined version of the original working collie of the Scottish shepherd, selected over at least a hundred years, and adds that many can still do the work if given the chance: “for all his beauty, the Collie is a worker.”
The rough and the smooth Collie, the standard says, are the same breed type except for the length of the coat, and they share bloodlines to this day.
Rough Collie, Border Collie or Shetland Sheepdog?
All three are British sheepdogs, and all three get called “collies”. Size and coat separate them. Heights are from each breed’s standard.
| Rough Collie | Border Collie | Shetland Sheepdog | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height, males | 56 to 61 cm | Ideally 53 cm | Ideally 37 cm |
| Height, females | 51 to 56 cm | Slightly less than males | Ideally 35.5 cm |
| Coat | Long, very dense, abundant mane and frill | Moderately long or smooth | Long and abundant, with mane and frill |
| Colours | Sable, tricolour, blue merle | Many; white should never predominate | Sable, tricolour, blue merle, black and white, black and tan |
| Ears | Semi-erect, tips forward | Erect or semi-erect | Semi-erect, tips forward |
Rough Collie or Border Collie? The Rough Collie is the bigger dog, up to 61 cm for a male against an ideal 53 cm, with a far heavier coat and a large mane and frill. The Border Collie’s coat is moderately long or smooth, and it comes in many colours.
Rough Collie or Sheltie? They look alike in coat and colour, but the Shetland Sheepdog is a small dog, ideally 37 cm for a male, about two thirds of a Rough Collie’s height.
The Border Collie has its own look-alike: Australian Shepherd vs Border Collie.
Who was Lassie, and who played her?
Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie. Eric Knight’s short story about her ran in The Saturday Evening Post on 17 December 1938, and he expanded it into the novel Lassie Come-Home in 1940 (Wikipedia). MGM filmed it in 1943 with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. The television series Lassie began in 1954, and over the next 19 years a succession of Pal’s descendants played her (Wikipedia).
Other British sheepdogs people mistake for Lassie
Smooth CollieUnited Kingdom
Shetland SheepdogUnited Kingdom
Border CollieUnited Kingdom
Bearded CollieUnited Kingdom
More cartoon and screen dogs with a real breed behind them: what breed is Scooby-Doo? and what breed is Snoopy?
Breed facts from the Rough Collie (No. 156), Border Collie (No. 297) and Shetland Sheepdog (No. 88) standards.