Bringing back the old fashioned farm collie
Welcome to our website, newly updated for the first time in 20 years! Here you can see pictures of the dogs we bred as Faraway Farms in the 1990’s and learn about our vision for breeding Old Fashioned Farm Collies. At the moment we are on a hiatus from breeding and we cannot take any inquiries about puppies. We are working on plans to revive our breeding program over the next few years and will update the site when we are able to offer puppies again. Until then we hope this site provides you with some collie inspiration and tips if you are looking for a puppy from another breeder in our community. - Emilie Lee and Laura Ellis Bruckmann
Our Story
Laurie Ellis fell in love with collies as a young girl and raised her first litter of collie puppies in the 1960’s. When she started a family of her own in the 1980’s she searched for a Collie but was dismayed to find that modern rough collies no longer resembled the dogs of her youth. With extra long noses, narrow heads, small eyes, and impractically thick coats, the modern collie had evolved to suit Kennel Club breed standards. In an experiment, Laurie bred our family’s Australian shepherd to an AKC rough collie in 1986 and the resulting litter of puppies was exactly what she was hoping for. Over the next fifteen years our dog family grew along with our human family, producing many beautiful and beloved old fashioned farm collies. Most of them were 3/4 rough collie and 1/4 Aussie with loving, loyal personalities - the ideal family companions.
Collies through history
Collies and other herding breeds can all be traced back to similar origins in the British Isles. However, today’s modern rough collies all descend from a common ancestor “Trefoil” who was a tri-color collie from Galway, Ireland born in 1873. Queen Victoria popularized the collie in the 1880’s, and in the 1920’s Albert Payson Terhune (pictured here) further elevated the noble Collie in his novels depicting his dogs as the heroes. The Collies he raised at Sunnbank kennels had a lasting influence on today’s breeding lines. By the 1950’s, Rough Collies were the most popular breed in America, thanks to the long running TV series “Lassie.” Much has been written about the history of the breed, click below for more links and photos.
Farm Collies Today
We share our vision with a number of like-minded breeders who wish to bring back a more old-fashioned type of collie. Most of these dogs are a result of crossing the rough collie with English shepherds or Australian shepherds. The preferred amount of outcross varies among breeders, resulting in a wide variety of looks and temperaments in the dogs. Click here to learn more about where to find an old fashioned collie today.