Old-Time Scotch Collie

What is an Old-Time Scotch Collie (OTSC)?

An OTSC is the same Scotch Collie that was so popular 100 years ago. Some branches of this family have diverged in the past century either through selective breeding (Rough Collie) or crossing with other breeds (English Shepherd, Australian Shepherd), but some have remained more or less true to form, it is these remnant old type Scotch Collies that are referred to as OTSC.

OTSC is also the same thing as McDuffie’s Old Time Farm Shepherds (OTFS). J. Richard McDuffie considered his dogs to be Scotch Collies but shied away from using that name because of its long association with the show type collie.

Is this different from a Farm Collie?

Yes and no. The term “farm collie” is considered by many to be a type and not a breed and has grown to be completely ambiguous. A farm collie today can refer to anything from a Border Collie to a Rough Collie to an Australian Shepherd, in effect any collie type dog that either lives on a farm or is old fashioned in looks.

So in short an Old-Time Scotch Collie is a farm collie, but not all farm collies can be considered OTSC.

Do they make good farm dogs?

Absolutely, most of these dogs either are working farm dogs or have working farm dogs in their pedigree. Unlike some farm dogs that you may be familiar with though, OTSC will learn the rules and be content to lie around when there is nothing to do, they will not worry your stock unnecessarily, nor are they high strung.

Do they make good pets?

Definitely, the biggest difference between the Old-Time Scotch Collie and other dogs is their personality. You will not find a more bidable, gentle dog, an OTSC wants to obey and loves children, it was this type of personality that made them so popular back in 1910. This is quite literally the kind of dog you read about in Lassie Come Home and Lad: A Dog, yes these are works of fiction but they are based on real dogs and it is no accident that the dogs in both these stories are Scotch Collies.