there's only one Lassie dog! i loved him. and we'll never see that type of RC, i would have thought.

I don't think so either unfortunately. I have said a few times that I would definitely have considered having a Rough Collie of the old fashioned type - larger dog, less coat, more energetic etc if they were still available, but a long and detailed search proved fruitless.

Lovely dogs ...

There are breeders with this type, or aiming to get back to this type, in the uk Mooblil. The pups from the american/canadian imports..particularly Van M Goodfellow are on the ground quite a bit.
As a side note...H has no US breeding behind him, he's from English lines albeit more moderate lines and dogs, but I have to be very careful with him around sheep...he express' lots & lots of interest, and goats too. He also "herds" up my aunts poultry when we visit their stables, he has a thing for runner ducks. In a total different style to a border collie though, and I know his dad is the same too with the ducks at the kennels.

I have seen some of the Canadian imports Luke, and they are larger dogs than many of the UK types, but they still don't have the classic look that I would be after.

Sounds interesting about Hunters herding instincts. I don't think I have ever (in person or on video) seen a rough collie herding sheep. It would be fascinating to see what sort of style they would adopt.

In an ideal world, absolutely not. however we are far from ideal, and if supplying the pet market

I have Border Collie cross who is very BC personality wise, she was very hyper as a pup and given up to rescue where I found her.

I fell in love with her intelligence, she was (and still is) so smart! Obviously I don't have a farm or sheep for her to herd, but she adapted well to a different kind of job and became my assistance dog.

She just has a busy mind which thrived on the training and the puzzle toys I got her as well as the long walks to make sure she got all the exercise she needed.

I think the problem is most people's lifestyles are no longer compatible unless they can work from home and fit in walks and finding their dog things to do throughout the day rather than been left on their own in a crate all day so they don't trash the house out of boredom!

I often get comments from friends on FB with dogs "my dog can't have those toys he/she would just destroy them"... so TEACH them not to!.. Inca just used to chew everything when I first got her! .. you wouldn't plonk a puzzle in front of a small child and expect it to know what to do with it!.. as a young child much like a dog would put pieces straight into his mouth!

I've detailed how to teach a dog to play step by step to said persons and just get "oh we haven't got time for all that, he/she's only a dog!".. what can you do?.. you get out what you put in!!

My next dog will get trained the same and I'm hoping to find another collie cross again cos I love the temperament so wouldn't want a collie with a lab temperament as someone mentioned before! (unless it was actually a cross between a lab and a collie!)