The Collie by Katherine Anna Nicholas (1986, Hardcover)

This book is another typically excellent Nicholas in-depth breed book, containing a wealth of breed and bloodline information, breed history, influential dogs, kennels, and people in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and other parts of the world. Statistics on production, wins, etc, are given for many influential dogs in the breed. The stories of influential breeders dogs, kennels, and breeding programs are told in a way that not only is informative, but also written in such a manner that they are enjoyable to read. Also in this book are a multitude of beautiful photos of collies rough and smooth, of all colors and ages, including top show dogs from a wide variety of bloodlines and parts of the world. This is one book where you can see excellent breed specimens in the USA and UK for example, and compare them and if you happen to be an artist, are most useful in showing you the finer points that differ between top USA and UK style dogs, for instance. In addition to all this wealth of information and photography, there are excellent sections on the basics of choosing and buying a puppy, care, feeding, health, grooming, training, etc. Easy to understand explanation of showing, show classes, etc, are given, as well as a very helpful section on how to show your dog and prepare your dog to be shown. Performance training and events, such as obedience training and competition, are also covered. For those of you who may be interested in breeding your dog, the finer points of breeding, selecting a mate to complement your own dog's qualities and improve your own dog's imperfections, evaluating the producing ability of potential mates, and the best proven strategy for creating your own successful breeding program, are given. The necessity of taking precautions to make sure both potential mating partners are free of canine venereal disease, is covered. Care of the bitch before mating, stages of the female heat cycle and physical signs for each stage, care during pregnancy, and management of pregnancy, labor, and birth of puppies is also covered. Useful tips for assisting in labor and delivery of puppies are also given, as well as signs to look for during labor and birth of pups, that indicate potential problems and the need to seek veterinary help with the birthing process. Should you own a stud dog, management and training of a stud dog is also given (and yes, human assistance in mating two dogs to each other is the RULE, not the exception!) All these things, and too much more to mention in this brief review, can be found in this excellent indepth informative book of the breed, the Collie, both rough and smooth!