History of Scotland's Bearded Collie

As with so many Scottish dog breeds, the history of Scotland's Bearded Collie is intriguing, complicated, and more than a little hazy.

The origins of this hardy, and hard working, herding dog begin long before anyone cared to keep written records about their dogs, or had the time to consider their history.

It's believed that shaggy or long-haired working and herding dogs existed in Scotland as early as 2000 BC, as groups of utilitarian working dogs, not individual breeds.

There are some written (or artistic) references to these 'shepherd's dogs' made as early as the 16th century, but it's not until the 1800's that the Bearded Collie was beginning to be mentioned as a individual type/breed.

Overall, a patchwork of ancient historical accounts, references, images and, yes guesswork, have gone into the recreation of the earliest origins of all Scotland's native breeds, including the Bearded Collie, and it's fascinating stuff!

The original 'Shepherd's Dog' of Scotland?

The hardy, and hard-working farmers, shepherds and crofters of Scotland used dogs to help them in their work, and the dog's ability to work was the most important consideration.

Looks were only important in as far as they helped the dog to do its job.

In order to herd sheep across rocky and harsh terrain, the dogs needed to be strong, sure-footed and agile.

Because they may have had to move their charges over quite a distance they also needed stamina.

Scotland's weather is not for the faint of heart, and in order to be protected against the cold, wind, rain, snow, and general dampness, working dogs needed a thick weather-proof coat.

These physical characteristics are totally in line with those of any animal who lived in a mountainous environment with a cold, damp climate, develop naturally over time.

Interestingly, they also fit with what we know about early Scottish herding dogs, and are in line with the earliest records of the physical appearance and abilities of Scotland's Bearded Collie.

So, could this possibly mean that these strong, rough-coated, herding dogs, the ancestors of today's Bearded Collie, were the original 'Shepherd's Dogs', the foundation for all the collie dogs who developed in Scotland over the centuries?

Yes, it could... but like so much of the history of Scotland's Bearded Collie, there's no proof one way or the other, and in true Scottish fashion, there are other theories, stories and speculation that offer up alternative scenarios for the origins of the Bearded Collie, and we'll take a look at those next.

Invaders sometimes brought their own livestock, and dogs with them. In addition to livestock, trade often included other animals, including dogs.

So, it's very likely that the indigenous Scottish dogs interbred with others from far-flung countries, introducing physical traits that wouldn't have been seen otherwise.

Of course, they also would have bred with other types of local dogs to produce mixed breeds (which were called 'curs') with a variety of different physical features and abilities.

The breeds that historians and authors over the years have thought may possibly have been combined with native Scottish herding dogs to create the Bearded Collie include:

• Polish Lowland Sheepdog (aka PON)
• Egyptian Sheepdog
• Komondor
• Otterhound
• Deerhound

Some speculate that the Olde English Sheepdog was bred with local herding dogs to produce the longer coat of the Beardie, but that seems unlikely as the timeline doesn't really fit.

The Olde English Sheepdog breed was established AFTER that of the Bearded Collie, so it could even be possible that the Bearded Collie was a founding ancestor of the OES.

There are definitely similarities between the Scotland's Bearded Collie and England's Old English Sheepdog, as there are between the Beardie and the Polish Lowland Sheepdog, and the Egyptian Sheepdog.

There is documented evidence of a handful of PONs being traded by a Polish merchant to a Scottish farmer in exchange for sheep during the 16th century. So it's most likely those dogs did breed with native Scottish dogs, but which ones we'll never know.

Likewise, we'll never know whether it had any impact on the development of the Bearded Collie as a breed, but a handful of dogs would make very little difference over time, especially given how disorganized their couplings would have been.

The Birth of the Bearded Collie Breed

The earliest written records of Scotland's Bearded Collie as a recognized, and individual, breed appeared in the late 1800's, and things moved quickly from there.

In 1891, in his book 'Dogs of Scotland', D.J. Thomson Gray put into writing a description of the Bearded Collie for the very first time. 

If you're interested in how the Beardie looked at this time (in what was likely it's purest and most natural form) CLICK HERE to see the words of Thomson Gray.

A few years later, in 1898, Mrs Hall Walker produced the first formal breed standard for the Bearded Collie, which went without revision until 1964 when the height requirements were reduced. Mrs Hall's standard remains the foundation for all future standards.

During this period the Beardie made a transition from purely working dog to show dog, and in 1923 the Bearded Collie Ninewells Nell, owned by Mrs Cameron Miller, was awarded 'Best of Breed'. She went on to become the dam of a well-known show circuit Beardie called Balmacneil Jock (who appears in 'Hutchison's Dog Encylopedia').

Mrs Miller was one of a few successful Bearded Collie breeders (with her Balmacneil kennel name) in the years between WWI and WWII. Unfortunately WWII temporarily halted the breeding/showing of dogs (all breeds) for obvious reasons, and by the end of the war many breeds were in disarray with only a few dogs left (at least of the show lines). Working dogs were still on the job during wartime!

In 1948 Mrs G.O. Willison registered the first Bearded Collie, Jeannie of Bothkennar since 1939, and during the 1950's Mrs Willison's Bothkennar dogs were dominant in the show ring.

The Bearded Collie gained in popularity during the second half of the 20th century and was recognized by the Kennel Club in Britain in 1959. During this decade the breed was imported to the US (being recognized by the AKC in 1976), Australia and around the world.

In 1989, a Bearded Collie named 'Potterdale Classic at Moonhill', won Best in Show at Crufts, giving the breed it's fifteen minutes of fame.

Sadly, Scotland's Bearded Collie is now on the Kennel Club's 'Vulnerable Native Breeds' List as it is in danger of dying out due to low numbers.

Anything below 300 dogs being registered in a year puts a breed in that category and in both 2016 and 2018 there were less than 300 Beardies registered. Although numbers rebounded slightly in 2019 (307 registrations) the breed is still dangerously low in numbers.

A lot of research went into this page, some of my resources include:

• The Kennel Club
• American Kennel Club
• The North of England Bearded Collie Club (nebcol.org.uk)
• Bearded Collie Club of America
• Beardie.net
• D.J. Thomson Gray's 'Dogs of Scotland' 1891
• Robert Leighton's 'The New Book of the Dog' 1907
• W.E. Mason's 'Dogs of All Nations' 1915