Bearded Collie
For the Bearded Collie, it's believed that in the 17th Century the Polish
Lowland Sheepdog was bred into the local Scottish dogs, to give the typical
appearance of the working strain of beardie, and that in the 20th Century Old
English Sheepdog may have been bred in to produce the longer coat of the typical
show beardie.
The Bearded Collie nearly became extinct; the modern Beardies all originate from
the Bothkennar kennel owned by Mrs Wilison, who began breeding from a small
number of remaining working-type Beardies.
The Bearded Collie became more and more popular over the last half of the 20th
century, in part propelled by a Bearded Collie, "Potterdale Classic at Moonhill",
winning Best in Show at Crufts in 1989. The Bearded Collie Club celebrated its
Golden Jubilee year in 2005; where "Bumbleridge Original Oka" (Bred by Sue
Nichols-Ward, Owned by Sue Unsworth & Andy Miller) won the "Most Handsome
Bearded Collie" event.