This article first appeared in the AKC Gazette.
Written by Marianne Sullivan
It might be time to take a serious look at the AKC registration ranking of our breed. There’s a lot to parse when you scroll down the list of breeds and where they place in “popularity.” Labradors, Goldens, Rottweilers, Beagles and Poodles are all higher up on the list if you’ve followed for a while, and they’ve been at or near the top for a long time. There are the usual expectations in the popular line-up of smaller size, short coats, those considered for protection, or who are all round family dogs. But then there are the surprises-rising to the top twenty list of the AKC’s list; dogs that are pretty expensive-the Frenchie for example, who is #2, or dogs who require considerable research to understand the needs or purpose of the breed, or breeds that are not for the average, inexperienced pet owner.
Those dogs are a bit more unexplainable, except that the rankings are based on registrations and not on actual breed ownership. Still, it’s what we have to go by when we look at our own breed and reflect on the future of the Collie. Collies who were once consistently in the top ten have also been consistently dropping in the last few decades. We are currently 40th and while we are no where near in a tight spot like some of the rarer breeds, we should be paying attention to the downward trend.
What are the numbers telling us when Berners, Cane Corso, Mastiffs and Malinois are all ranked higher than Collies? I’m not passing judgement on any particular breed, please believe me, but how did we get to be number 40? We are the breed of Lassie and Lad, A Dog, we’re the poster child for the all-round family dog. Collies are the perfect breed for the less experienced dog owner, typically the very ones who go to shelters to get a dog, which might be one clue. We have some pretty good outreach in our breed: the Collie Club of America website emphasizes the positive characteristics, Sunnybank The Gathering every August is a weekend open to all to celebrate the joy of owning a Collie, we have a very strong health foundation promoting the well being of our breed, there’s always enthusiastic interest at Meet the Breeds—so what gives?
Some say we don’t want to be popular like we used to be, but it’s not an either/or issue. With breeds as large or larger than ours ahead of us, size doesn’t appear to be an issue, although the smaller dogs still “lead the pack” in general popularity. Coat might be a strong factor. Of the large breeds ahead of us on the list, none of them have big coats. When people see Collies with massive coats, like Westminster dog show or the Thanksgiving Day dog show, for example, it’s a turnoff. A similar situation arose with Old English Sheepdogs; as the coat got bigger and bigger and maintenance became a hassle, a once popular breed nose-dived in ranking. Breeding for these huge coats or super soft coats is not only against our standard, it makes a negative impression on the public as too much work to maintain. And while smooths are steadily growing in interest they still are not well known to the general public.
Why does any of this matter? When people are looking for puppies I try to recommend they find a breeder reasonably close to meet the family and see the puppies. My preference is for them to see firsthand how the dogs are cared for, how the puppies are raised and what the temperaments are like. But they typically tell me there is no one near them, and this is in major population areas, so they turn to a different breed or the internet. No solutions to offer I’m sorry to say, but something we might want to reflect on.
