Benvenuti a Collie Chatter, un posto per chi ama i Rough Collie e gli Smooth Collie. Copriamo vari aspetti della cura dei Collie e discutiamo di storie che mettono in evidenza le relazioni speciali tra i Collie e la loro gente. Sono Emily Sowulewski, una scrittrice che ha avuto Collie per oltre 25 anni, e sarò la tua ospite. La canzone che hai sentito, "A Dog on A Day", è di Jeff Hyman ed è disponibile come singolo su Amazon oppure puoi acquistare l'intero album chiamato Old Dogs New Tricks.
In questo primo episodio del podcast, ho una conversazione con Jeff Hyman, che ha iniziato la sua carriera come musicista con la band folk The Gaslight Singers negli anni '60. Sebbene sia sempre un amante dei cani, Jeff non ha avuto esperienza personale con i Collie fino a più tardi nella sua vita. Ora è un devoto fan di Collie e il suo Rough Collie Cody (che sembra essere lui stesso in una fascia per capelli degli anni '80!) Lo aiuta persino a vendere album musicali. Insieme discutiamo di diversi argomenti:canto, industria musicale, differenze tra razze da caccia come i Labs e razze da pastore come i Collie, l'addestramento al vasino di un cucciolo, la toelettatura e lo spargimento dei Collie, la popolarità dei Collie, lo spazzolino da denti canino e gli strumenti per l'igiene orale, il temperamento e l'intelligenza dei Collie, Collie con stomaci sensibili, Collie che sono schizzinosi e altre caratteristiche uniche di Collie.
Emilia
Jeff, ho comprato i tuoi Old Dogs New Tricks album, e mi piace moltissimo che tu abbia una foto di Cody sulla copertina dell'album con te. Devo dire che mi è piaciuto molto ascoltare tutte le canzoni lì. Ho pensato che potremmo parlare di come è nato quell'album e un po' della tua carriera musicale.
Jeff
Mi reputo eclettico, perché faccio canzoni di generi diversi. Quando ho fatto Old Dog New Tricks, quell'album è stato fatto sulla costa orientale prima che mi trasferissi qui [in California]. Non avevo intenzione di fare un album. "Love, Love, Love" è stata la prima canzone che ho registrato con alcuni miei amici, e poi mi è piaciuto il modo in cui suonava. Quindi ho detto:"Beh, forse ne farò un altro". E prima che me ne rendessi conto, avevo – penso che ce ne siano dieci in quell'album. Quindi è semplicemente successo.
Emilia
È un modo semplice per farlo accadere. Voglio dire, sembra che tu abbia un tema; sembra che tu abbia pianificato tutto. Immagino che sia una specie di magia, quando cadi in qualcosa del genere.
Jeff
Sì, non posso dire di averlo pianificato, perché non ricordo la sequenza delle canzoni. Ma quello che è successo è che ho appena trovato delle canzoni che mi piacevano. Poi, quando avevo circa tre o quattro canzoni, ho finito per lavorare con questa ragazza, Beth Bradley. Canta con me in molte delle canzoni di quell'album, in particolare "Somewhere in Time".
Jeff
E conosceva questo ragazzo, Rob Carlson, che faceva parte di una band – non ricordo il nome – un cantautore molto, molto talentuoso. Così abbiamo iniziato a stare insieme nel suo seminterrato ogni mercoledì sera. Avrei portato una bottiglia di vino e lui aveva questo incredibile impianto di registrazione. Non ho registrato lì, ma siamo stati in grado di mettere le cuffie con i microfoni e divertirci davvero.
Jeff
Quindi ho vissuto per il mercoledì sera. Dopo quegli incontri, ha finito per produrre forse sei delle canzoni che sono in quell'album. E ha appena fatto un ottimo lavoro. Quindi ho avuto lui, e ho avuto un'altra ragazza che veniva – grandi cantanti. Beth suona una chitarra straordinaria, ed è semplicemente venuto fuori da incontri casuali che abbiamo avuto idee che ci hanno portato in studio.
Emilia
Sembra davvero divertente.
Jeff
Oh mio Dio, ho vissuto per questo! Stavo lavorando in quei giorni. Quindi tornavo a casa dal lavoro verso le 6:00 o le 18:30 e mangiavo la cena il più velocemente possibile per salire in macchina per andare a casa di Rob.
Jeff
Sai, ero fuori dalla musica da decenni. Ho lasciato i Gaslight Singers nel '64 e non credo di aver toccato la mia chitarra per tipo, 30 anni. E mi sono sposato, ho cresciuto la famiglia, sono andato al lavoro e non mi sono preoccupato molto di questo fino a molto tempo dopo.
Emilia
E poi hai avuto tempo e tutto si è riunito. È abbastanza carino.
Jeff
Quindi, quando sono venuto qui [in California], quattro anni fa dopo il mio ritiro, sapevo solo che questa era come la Mecca della musica. E all'inizio ho ricevuto alcuni consigli su come entrare nella comunità musicale. Questo è quello che ho fatto. Ho fatto l'altro album, faccio il programma radiofonico, ed è solo una parte del tutto. Lo adoro e significa davvero tutto per me.
Emilia
Sì, è una specie di ispirazione. Il mercoledì sera, io e il mio partner andiamo in giro con un gruppo di amici, parliamo di cose spirituali e mettiamo in discussione le cose. In realtà mi è piaciuta molto la tua canzone "Let the Mystery Be", perché è un po' rinfrescante trovare una prospettiva di:"Sai, forse non conosciamo tutte le risposte, ma va bene, non ci preoccuperemo".
Emilia
Ma parliamo solo di vita. E mi sono reso conto che quasi tutti noi in quel gruppo cantavamo formalmente in gruppi diversi, quindi continuo a dire a tutti:“Dobbiamo fare una serata karaoke. Hanno un pianoforte a casa di un mio amico. Vedremo cosa succede solo per il gusto di farlo. Mi manca davvero cantare con le persone. Quando stavo ascoltando il tuo album, ho avuto una sensazione di vicinanza con le voci che si fondevano insieme. Mi ha appena fatto capire che questo mi manca un bel po'.
Jeff
Sì, lo sai, se ce l'hai nel tuo DNA e nella tua anima, è davvero qualcosa che vuoi far uscire e che vuoi sperimentare. Non tutti hanno il talento per fare cose del genere, che si tratti di suonare uno strumento o cantare bene, ma non importa. L'unica cosa che conta è che lo facciano e che si divertano a farlo. Perché trovo che quando faccio musica, mi trovo in una zona che amo. Lascia entrare tutto ciò che c'è là fuori, quindi posso capire perché qualcuno vorrebbe farlo.
Jeff
Sai, altre persone si dedicano all'atletica. Non sono mai stato atletico. Quando giocavamo a punch bowl oa stickball – io sono cresciuto a New York e giocavamo a quei giochi – loro sceglievano le ragazze prima di me.
Emilia
Di solito sono stato scelto per ultimo per il kickball crescendo, quindi posso relazionarmi.
Jeff
Sì, avevo questo mio amico a est, ed era come un grande giocatore di basket. Era così bravo che il suo lavoro nell'esercito era giocare a partite di basket per i soldati. Ho detto:"Neil, darei qualsiasi cosa per poter fare un layup come fai tu".
Jeff
E lui mi ha guardato e ha detto:"Beh, darei qualsiasi cosa per poter suonare la chitarra come fai tu". E qui sta tutto. È proprio lì che si trova. Fai qualcosa , non importa cosa sia.
Emilia
Sì, gioca con le tue abilità e non preoccuparti di ciò che non puoi fare, immagino.
Jeff
Giusto. E i tuoi talenti, dati da Dio. Se ce l'hai, dovresti usarlo.
Emilia
Sì, sono d'accordo. Quindi un po' stimolante, e forse ho bisogno di tornare in quello. È solo una bella liberazione emotiva. Cantare è una specie di purificazione dell'anima, vero? Se senti davvero quello che stai cantando.
Jeff
Lo è. E se lo fai con gli altri, c'è un cameratismo che hai. La cosa che amo del cantare con gli altri è che tutti condividono il momento esatto all'ora esatta. Devi, se stai cantando in gruppo o stai cantando sottofondo o armonie o altro, devi essere proprio nella zona con tutti gli altri. E così puoi avere tre o quattro persone che condividono un preciso momento nel tempo. Insieme. E dove altro lo fai? (Voglio dire, se pratichi uno sport di squadra, è un altro modo per farlo...)
I Cantanti Gaslight all'Accademia Navale degli Stati Uniti nel 1963
Emilia
Sì, c'è qualcosa nel cantare in un gruppo che ti radica davvero nel presente, perché devi prestare attenzione.
Jeff
Esattamente. O verrai buttato fuori! A meno che tu non lo stia facendo solo per divertimento, non importa.
Emilia
Sì, mi sono divertito molto a cantare con cantanti stonati. Erano sordi, ma oh che gioia! Si sono divertiti così tanto. Nel mio gruppo di cantanti del college, mentre registravamo, sistemavamo i nostri microfoni in cerchio. Cantando in quel cerchio, potevi davvero sentirti. Bellissimi ricordi.
Jeff
Beh, ai vecchi tempi e ai tempi della musica popolare, lo chiamavano hootenannies. Sto parlando dei primissimi anni '60. Il Kingston Trio era davvero grande e tutti volevano essere un cantante folk. Quindi andavamo giù a Washington Square Park nel Greenwich Village, e tutti si presentavano con banjo e chitarre o qualsiasi altra cosa suonassero e semplicemente si raggruppavano insieme, suonavano canzoni insieme, cantavano canzoni insieme, quindi si spostavano in un altro gruppo. Ed è stato fantastico. Non lo vedi più.
Emilia
Sembra fantastico, in realtà:un canto all'aperto.
Jeff
Sì, ed è stato facilitato dal genere. Se stai facendo heavy metal, è difficile farlo. Ma la musica popolare – si chiama “musica popolare” per un motivo. Sai, non avevi nemmeno bisogno di uno strumento. Potresti semplicemente presentarti e cantare insieme.
Emilia
Sì, è appena scoppiato in una cappella. Ehi, è stato fantastico parlare di musica con te, dato che ho scaricato l'album che conteneva una foto di te e Cody. Dovremmo parlare di Cody, ma probabilmente potrei parlare di musica per molto tempo con te.
Jeff
Beh, se mi fai iniziare con Cody... è meglio che prepari il pranzo, perché posso parlare di lui tutto il giorno!
Jeff
Sai, l'ho messo nell'album. Era solo qualcosa che mi è venuto in mente, ed è così che la maggior parte delle cose accadono con me. Improvvisamente mi viene un'idea. E ho pensato a quanto sarebbe bello – perché è così bello – quanto sarebbe bello metterlo in copertina con me. E ho pensato che, se non altro, attirerà l'attenzione al posto mio, e forse la gente comprerà il CD.
Emilia
È stata davvero una buona strategia di marketing.
Jeff
Ecco cos'era; era principalmente una strategia di marketing. Quindi è quello che è successo. Quando abbiamo fatto il servizio fotografico per l'album, il ragazzo è venuto e ha scattato molte foto (aveva un grande fotografo), ed eccolo lì, il vecchio Cody.
Emilia
Beh, il fatto di lui è che, con tutti quei capelli, è così riconoscibile. Voglio dire, parlare di avere un marchio. Non ho mai visto un altro Collie con i peli del viso così, la frangia (o come li chiami tu) davanti alle orecchie è davvero unica. Quindi ogni volta che è apparso nei gruppi di Collie [Facebook], sapevi che era Cody subito dai capelli. Con altri cani, ci sono così tanti zibellino e collie bianchi. Stai dicendo:"Quale è quello? Conosco quella persona?" Ma con lui, non ti chiedi mai. È come "Oh sì, è decisamente Cody".
Jeff
Beh, questo è il suo marchio di fabbrica. Ricevo commenti su questo tutto il tempo. Ho appena pubblicato una sua foto – non so se l'avete vista – circa una settimana fa. Quei capelli che ha:la gente lo chiama Fabio, Rod Stewart... Ha quello sguardo. Quando scuote la testa, si alza in piedi come Einstein. E l'altro giorno sto salendo le scale, e ho girato l'angolo, e lui è semplicemente lì a guardarmi con quei capelli dritti in aria. Ho appena preso il mio telefono, fatto la foto e l'ho messa sul gruppo di Rough Collie [Facebook]. Ad oggi, ha ottenuto circa 932 reazioni e circa 175 commenti.
Emilia
È molto con cui stare al passo!
Jeff
Lo è sicuramente. E rispondo a ogni commento, almeno con il cuore o qualcosa del genere.
Emilia
Per riconoscere che è stato visto?
Jeff
Sì. È molto popolare perché:i capelli. Tutti me lo chiedono sempre.
Emilia
Sì, penso che sia quello che ho visto e commentato. Sai, solo quella pura energia da genio pazzo. Poi ti ho mandato un messaggio e questo ha portato a... Sai, ho usato una foto di Cody prima. Perché non l'ho usato come immagine in primo piano? (Quello che compare quando pubblichi un link a un articolo.) E poi ho pensato:Beh, ehi, se ho intenzione di dargli un'immagine in primo piano, perché non gli racconto la sua storia ? Poi ho pensato:Beh, Jeff sembra che gli piacerebbe una conversazione . Allora, sei la mia cavia, Jeff. Sei la mia cavia del podcast:tu e Cody. Vedremo come andrà.
Jeff
Beh, sono onorato. Vuoi che ti parli un po' di lui e di come l'abbiamo preso?
Emilia
Sì! Quindi mi avevi raccontato un po' di come ti sei avvicinato ai Collies con tua moglie, con il blue merle Ricky, che era destinato a diventare un cane da esposizione, e poi hai finito per adottarlo. Quindi suppongo di iniziare dall'inizio. Mi è piaciuto molto quello che hai detto riguardo ai Labs [Labrador Retriever], che sono come il ragazzo alla festa con il paralume in testa.
Jeff
Giusto, esatto. È così che li descrivo. Ho avuto i laboratori. Ho avuto molti cani. In realtà, il mio primo è stato un German Shorthaired Pointer, che da cucciolo ci è stato regalato quando mia moglie era incinta di otto mesi del nostro primo figlio. Quindi è stato un po' impegnativo.
Jeff
But I had Labs for most of my life and I loved them. You know, they’re just the friendly guys and gals, and they love you, and they’re happy. Some of them are very exuberant. Some of them are more laid-back. That’s why I use the term that they’re like the guy with the lampshade on his head at the party, because that’s their nature. And I always had them.
Jeff
Then I met Donna, my current wife, and she came from a family that was a college family.
Jeff
Her brother, when he was eight years old, was a huge Lassie fan. Everything just revolved around Lassie. One year he went to camp, and while he was away, his parents got him a collie puppy which they named Happy.
Emily
Aww, that’s a good name.
Jeff
And this was everything to Jimmy – everything to him. He was always a huge Collie fan. Then later on in life, he had 4 of them at the same time. That’s what he had when I met Donna. So I go to his house, and there were these 4 Collies. They actually looked a little odd to me because I wasn’t used to the long nose. I didn’t know anything about them. And they went about their business, as Collies will do.
Jeff
Then when Donna and I got engaged, Jimmy gave us a Collie as an engagement present and he was the most magnificent blue merle. He was 8 months old when we got him. Like you said, he was supposed to be a show dog, but they changed their mind. I used to say that he was born white, and Picasso filled in the rest. That’s how beautiful he was with his coloring. I would take him out and people would say, “Oh my God, he’s so beautiful!”
Jeff
And Ricky had a much different personality than Cody. Ricky was very circumspect. My son described him as he was like Joe DiMaggio, Joe D – just smooth as silk, a lot of class, you know? That kind of a thing. He knew how to work a room.
Jeff
I noticed when we first got him that we’d call him, when we’d be in the bedroom, and he’d come to the door. He’d look, he’d just take the measure of the room, see what was going on – I could see the wheels turning – then he would decide whether he would come in or not. And that was his personality. He was very sweet, very loving, very protective – but circumspect. You know, a little on the… cool side.
Jeff
Cody, on the other hand, is totally different. He loves everybody. He can’t wait to interact with everybody:the tail is going, and he’s smiling. I take him to the dog park, and he doesn’t really bother with the dogs. He’s always working the humans for butt rubs and things like that. He’s just got a totally different nature, just the sweetest guy.
Emily
So Cody thinks everyone’s there for him. That’s why they came?
Jeff
Yeah, Cody thinks that everybody loves him as much as we do. And I could see why, because he’s never had any interaction with a human that was unpleasant. They always flock to him.
Jeff
He flew with us in the cabin three times. We went to Florida one year and back. Then the flight out here to California, and he flew in the cabin with us. He sat on a seat, in between the two of us when we came here, for six hours and didn’t move a muscle. He just sat. He had water; he had pretzels. If he’s with us, he’s cool. That’s his thing. And everybody made such a fuss over him, as you can imagine. And he loves that. He just loves people – children in particular.
Emily
Wow, he’d be a great therapy dog. You could take him anywhere.
Jeff
He would. You know, I’ve been wanting to get him – I can’t do it now because of Covid – but I’ve been wanting to get him to like, nursing homes with seniors.
Emily
Oh, they would love him! They would eat him up.
Jeff
Exactly. Or even hospices. You know, one of the Collies in the group does that. (Only one that I know of.) And Cody brings such joy to people; they light up when they see him. I thought it would be really nice to bring a little light into their lives. So when we’re able to do that, we will.
Emily
Yeah, it sounds like he would be ideal, and everyone would say, “Lassie!” Then they would probably ask why Lassie’s hair kept growing.
Jeff
They say, “Lassie” all the time. When I had Ricky, the merle, one guy looked at him and he said, “Lassie in camouflage.” I thought that was pretty funny.
Emily
Yeah, that’s a perfect description of a merle. They’re just so unique looking. So did you have any Collies between Ricky and Cody?
Jeff
No. When Ricky died (he got cancer and he died at 11 years old), we were looking at retirement. So we said to ourselves, “I don’t think it makes sense to get another Collie now, because we’re thinking about retiring and suppose we want to travel? Maybe we shouldn’t.”
Jeff
It only took a week without a Collie. The house was so dark, spiritually and emotionally without Ricky, because we just loved Ricky with all of our hearts, obviously. And it was like the light went out, and the house was unbearable. And we said, “No, no, we’ve got to get another one!”
Jeff
But it took a while, because what’s interesting is you never see Collies. I mean, I never see them anywhere. But yet when you go to get one, it’s not that easy. My brother-in-law had a relationship with one of the really good breeders in the area. And after about four weeks, she found a puppy in Pennsylvania, at a breeder that she works with. So Donna and I got in the car on a Saturday, drove to Pennsylvania, and picked up Cody. From the moment he got out of the car at our house, he was just calm and at home – and it was just amazing! I have a video of it on YouTube actually, of the first day, of how we got him.
Emily
Oh, you also have a YouTube channel! We’ll have to put that in a link.
Jeff
I do. I have a couple of them actually.
Emily
So what are your YouTube channels?
Jeff
Well, one is “Jeff Hyman Music,” and the other one is just “Jeff Hyman.” I wish that the content was as easily definable, but I have music on one on the Jeff Hyman channel before I did the Jeff Hyman Music channel, and I think the Cody video – it’s called Cody Comes Home to Stamford” – is on the Jeff Hyman channel. If anybody wants to see it, they could just Google it. I’ve got Ricky videos on there. I did a video of Ricky actually “talking,” and it was about 30 minutes of him telling us what it was like to live with us, what life in the Hyman house was like from his own perspective. “Ricky in His Own Words,” I think that’s what I called it.
Emily
Okay, I like that idea. We’ll definitely put links, because I think people will enjoy that for sure. So how old was Cody when you got him?
Jeff
Ricky was eight months. Cody was eight weeks, and he was just very easy from the beginning. He wasn’t much of a chewer, but we made sure that he had lots of things to chew on. And he was very calm.
Emily
How easy was he to potty train? You were probably answering that next!
Jeff
Yeah, I was just going to say, we crate trained him. He got the idea pretty quickly. I guess he just maybe needed to figure out how to control it, so I’m going to say maybe three weeks.
Emily
That’s actually really good. I mean, some people talk about how easy their Collie puppies were to potty train compared to other breeds. You know, other breeds can take a year or more sometimes. Most people I talked to say that their Collies were potty trained within a few months, definitely under a year. So that is pretty incredible.
Jeff
Maybe four weeks – no more than that.
Emily
I mean, I believe you! Some people have said a week or two. It’s just really remarkable how they can pick it up so quickly sometimes.
Jeff
Yeah, well, after about three or four weeks, what we did was:there were two entrances to the kitchen, so I got a couple of gates and then we would leave him in the kitchen. So he didn’t have to be in the crate, but he couldn’t get out of the kitchen. The kitchen had a tile floor, so if anything happened…
Emily
Oh, that’s perfect!
Jeff
Yeah, and he had an occasional accident, but he was young. For the most part, he did pretty well.
Jeff
But Ricky, on the other hand, pooped on my carpet his whole life. I’m not saying he did it all the time (fortunately, it wasn’t that often), but he did it. I mean, my living room carpet – forget it. We used to call it the old Indian dumping grounds, because he would invariably have a surprise for us every now and then.
Emily
Oh, wow… So would you recommend Cody’s breeder to other people?
Jeff
Unquestionably. Can I say who it is?
Emily
Yeah, yeah – that would be great.
Jeff
Oh, okay. It’s Cando Collies, and the owner, Linda Wooleyhan, is a great breeder. Cody’s mother is one of Linda’s Collies. His father is a Milas Collies:that would be Lynn Butler. She’s got champions all over the world, Lynn does. So Cody came out of Cando, and I would recommend Cando – or Lynn – in a heartbeat. High quality, and they know what they’re doing.
Emily
Well, perfect, because we have a breeder directory on Collie Chatter, and we like to list breeders that have been recommended by other people as having good Collies.
Jeff
That’s a big help. When people are looking for one, that’s an excellent guide to have. Because otherwise, if you don’t know, it’s easy to get involved with a breeder that you shouldn’t be.
Emily
Right, yeah. So it’s definitely a word of mouth, trusted source sort of thing. Like, “We’ve had a good experience, and we think you would too.” I think that helps people, when they’re searching.
Jeff
Oh yeah, definitely.
Emily
So my next question… When Cody was a puppy, was there any indication that fantastic fur would grow in, or did he look normal?
Jeff
You mean on his head? No. If you look at the picture on the album cover – now let’s see, how old would he have been? Maybe he was a year old at the time when that picture was taken.
Emily
Oh, so he was still a baby!
Jeff
Yeah, maybe a little more:it’s possible. But his hair in that picture is spiked, and it wasn’t that long. That’s why it was at a length where it just stood up. It was pretty cute, actually, where it stood up.
Jeff
But as he got older, it grew and grew and grew until finally it is what it is now. It’s very long and very unique. It’s also very fine. People say to me, “Well, can you style it, you know, put a little gel in it?” I’ve tried to braid it, because I thought that would be cool; but it’s too fine. It won’t hold the braid.
Jeff
I have one picture… A friend of mine came over and put a rubber band in it down by the base of his head, so that it stood up. And he looked like a Japanese samurai in that picture!
Emily
Oh, perfect!
Jeff
But there’s really not much you can do with it, you know. It is what it is.
Emily
Well, if you can find that picture and if you want to send in a few more… I’d really like for people to see a sampling of Cody’s hair in different phases, or moods, or static electricity.
Jeff
Alright. I only have, I don’t know, 3,000 pictures, so I should be able to find…
Emily
A few that’ll do?
Jeff
Yeah, you don’t need all 3,000.
Emily
Probably not, but, you know, a good sampling of your favorites or his finest moments.
Emily
Have you ever seen another Collie like him, as far as the facial fur, the bangs, or whatever you want to call it? Or is he really in a class by himself?
Jeff
I think that everybody who knows him or sees him would say he’s in a class by himself. I’ve never seen a Collie with hair like that (at that length in the way it is), although others probably do exist. But there are Collies in the group that have similar hair. One of them that comes to mind is this Collie Izzy who’s owned by Carolyn G. Izzy is a girl, she’s beautiful, and she has hair very similar to Cody’s; but it’s not quite as full or long.
Emily
The male Collies always seem to just have a little more majestic flow to their fur in general.
Jeff
Yeah, and the other thing is that Cody also has an amazingly full coat. Ricky didn’t. Ricky’s coat was was flatter, but Cody is like thick and lush. So the combination of that coat and his hair kind of make him very special. People have to see him to understand, because I’m sure that most people that will be listening have never seen anything like it. I mean, every time I post a picture of him or a video or anything, there’s always, always a lot of comments about his hair – even from people who have commented ten times about his hair already. It’s just something that people notice.
Emily
It is incredible. Every time I see a photo, I laugh. Like, “There’s Cody again.” Just his existence brings joy to people who see the photos, I think.
Jeff
That’s so sweet. You know, people tell me that all the time. He also has an infectious smile. You can see how happy and joyful he is in his pictures, and I think people pick up on that. And when people say to me, “Oh, you made my day; I’m so happy right now.” Or, “I really feel better…” It really, really makes me feel good. It does. I’m happy that they react that way to him.
Emily
I guess that’s one of the the beauties of the Internet now. In the Rough Collies international Facebook group, you know, 16,500 people all over the world just loving their Collies together… It is pretty amazing.
Jeff
It is, and that’s only one group! There are other groups. But I’ve been a member of the Collie group since 2009. I was in a pet store one day – I had Ricky then – and this woman comes up to me. She has a Collie, and we get talking, and she tells me about this group. So I said, “Oh, wow, that sounds pretty good. I think I’ll join it.” And I did. I’ve just been an addicted member, I guess, for the last 11 years. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t scroll through and interact with what I call my “Collie family.”
Jeff
I did, I think about 11 Collie videos that are also available on YouTube. Those videos have pictures (sometimes a little bit of video, but it’s mostly pictures) of Collies in the group from all over the world. Each video has a different theme to it. One video shows a plane flying from point A to point B on a globe, and say it lands in Texas. Then the next thing you’ll see are Collies from Texas, and each picture has the name of the Collie. Then the plane flies to the next state, which is Alabama, and the Alabama pictures play.
International travel video featuring photos of Collies worldwide
Jeff
So every video has a different theme and a different way of exploring the geography of where these amazing Collies are from. And the music is good, you know, there’s music underneath the video and all of that. I have a section in there which I called “In Memoriam,” and those are the dogs that passed. It’s a lot of work, because I have to extract all of these pictures from Facebook and then organize them. So I haven’t done one in a couple of years:I’m just kind of a little burnt out on them. But they’re there, if anybody is interested in seeing them. There’s about 10 or 11 of them on YouTube.
Emily
Yeah, I’ll check it out. The guy who actually designed Collie Chatter – I just write the content, he makes it pretty – can probably relate more to the work that goes into those videos, because he likes to do stuff like that. But we’ll go through and put some links so people can view the archives.
Jeff
Yeah, I really think that your listeners, being Collie people, would enjoy these because everybody does. I got a great reaction to them. And what could be so bad about 30 minutes of beautiful Collies with some good music?
Emily
Yeah, that’s fantastic. It’s just so great to me that Rough Collies in particular (I know, Smooth Collies too), but Rough Collies in particular are so associated with Lassie that people know what they are worldwide. And not every breed has that. So it’s very much a uniting factor.
Jeff
Oh, yeah, there’s no question. What’s interesting to me is the fact that I never see any. The only time I see a Collie is every October. There’s a rescue group here, Southland Collie Rescue, and they run an event at one of the dog parks. You know, everybody comes with Collies. I always go (I take Cody, obviously) and there’s maybe 25 Collies there. And that’s the only time I ever see a Collie.
Jeff
People always tell me when I meet ’em 0n the street… (Cody is like a magnet:everybody wants to touch him and chat.) And they say to me, “Oh you know, when I was a kid I had a Collie.” And I think to myself, If you had a Collie when you were a kid, how could you possibly not have one now?
Emily
Yeah, those of us who are breed addicts… (Uh, ME.) I will always have a Collie. I had ’em when I was a kid, and I can’t imagine not having a Collie now.
Jeff
Yeah, exactly. So it’s a mystery to me that I just never see them. Back East was the same thing. I never saw a Collie. I could go anywhere, and occasionally maybe I’d see one. Actually when we came out to visit here in California the first time… We didn’t have Cody with us; we were just visiting our kids for a week. We went into Fashion Island, which is a big mall out here. We come out of one of the stores, and lo and behold, right in front of us is this beautiful Collie. We couldn’t believe it. I think it’s the only one I’ve ever seen, outside of the get-together. I don’t get it.
Emily
Now I’m in Jacksonville, Florida, so I have met a few Collies at dog parks. It’s a city of about one million people, but I’ve only seen a few. I see lots of other breeds, but Collies are just not that common anymore. I was just looking this up the other day. Collies are ranked 38th in popularity, according to how many get registered with the AKC (the American Kennel Club) every year. When you think about it… There’s *200 breeds, I wanna say, that are recognized by the AKC. So 38th in popularity is actually closer to the top.
Jeff
Well, I’d like to see the other 37!
Emily
I think they’re probably in the show ring prancing around, maybe not as much with the general public. I think the fur kind of puts people off.
Jeff
I was just going to say, a very common question when I’m out with Cody is people will say to me, “Oh, he’s probably a lot of work, right? Does he shed a lot? Collies shed a lot, right?”
Jeff
And then I have to explain to them that they have topcoats and undercoats. Cody – and Ricky didn’t either – is not a big shedder. I mean, my Labs used to shed a lot more, because they’ve got short hair and the hairs fall out. They grow to a certain length; they fall out. But with the Collies, it’s always the undercoat where the the big growth is. When you brush them, all of that comes out. But I don’t get a lot of topcoat shedding, do you?
Emily
No, I tell people other than the big pre-summer blowout (once a year with my male and twice a year with my female), Collie shedding is not that bad. If you devote 10 to 20 minutes once a week and you keep up on it, it’s very manageable. A Collie friend of mine told me that when she needs to clean up the hair, she just turns on her ceiling fan, all the little fur tumbleweeds blow into the corners, and she collects it that way. I thought, That’s very ingenious .
Jeff
It is. There’s no question.
Emily
And you can kind of ball it up between your fingers. It’s not spiky. I know what you mean, because I had Labs growing up, too. Collie fur doesn’t really poke you. It’s soft, so it’s different.
Jeff
Exactly. We take Cody once a week for a 15 minute brush. It used to be (when PetSmart was doing it pre-Covid) it was $8 for a 15 minute brush. Our backs can’t do it anymore:if we try to brush him, we suffer. So we would take him over to PetSmart. We had a great guy over there, and after 15 minutes he’d come out all puffy and clump-free. Then they stopped doing it because the Covid. Now they’ll do baths and brushes, but they won’t do just brushes. The vet has a groomer, and we take Cody there. He gets his 15 minute brush every Monday. It keeps him good, you know, clump-free for the most part. That’s all it takes. It’s not hard.
Jeff
The other thing I always like to talk about when we talk about our Collies – this is for all dogs – I’m a very big believer and advocate for brushing their teeth. I did a video on what I do with Cody. Now Cody is six years old, and if you look at his teeth, they’re pearly white and there’s no redness at all around his gums.
Jeff
When we had Ricky, he got to a point where I wasn’t doing that, and I had to have his teeth done (dental cleaning). They have to anesthetize them for that. Donna and I went to the diner [while we were waiting], and we were nervous wrecks. We just swore that was never going to happen again. After that, I started being very vigorous with his teeth brushing.
Jeff
And I do that with Cody every night after he eats. He gets fed once a day in the evening, then I brush his teeth with a manual brush, then with an electric brush. Then I have this antiseptic gel that I put onto his gums. He doesn’t get anything to eat after that so that his mouth is clean for 24 hours. (Actually, he gets a treat in the morning when I walk him when he comes back.) And that has really worked wonders on his oral health and his mouth. A lot of Collies – any dogs – just like people can have a lot of trouble if they have bad gums. So I always advocate that.
Emily
Yeah, and that’s excellent advice, especially with so many Collies having the MdR1 gene concern. So for them to get anesthetized can be… I mean, you were talking about the the anxiety that went with that.
Jeff
Oh, it’s awful!
Emily
For sure, because we know that so many of them do have sensitivities to those drugs. So, yeah, the tooth care is excellent advice, really. And that’s a good idea to do it after the meal. I don’t always do the daily brushing after each meal, and I should.
Jeff
If you skip a day or two, it’s not the end of the world; but really it needs to be done as frequently as possible. And the timing is key, because if you brush their teeth and then they eat, you know, what’s the point?
Jeff
It’s always best after the last meal of the day, and then to hold off on treats. Because anything in their mouth [like food particles] is probably better not being in there. I just am maniacal about that. The thought of him having to be anesthetized just – I don’t like that.
Emily
Yeah, that’s definitely a nerve-wracking thing. Great advice, thank you. You said it’s some sort of gel… Do you have any particular brand that you recommend?
Jeff
Yes, it’s called [Virbac] C.E.T. Enzymatic Toothpaste. I use the poultry flavor. Cody likes it. I think they make a beef, then there’s a clear one. The gel is called Oratene Enzymatic Brushless Oral Care. You just put a little on your finger, and you rub it on the upper gums. That’s like an anti-bacterial, so the brushing and the gel does a good job.
Jeff
I mean, I’m very lucky because my Collies were cooperative. They let me put electric toothbrushes in their mouth. A lot of dogs don’t even let you put a toothbrush in their mouth. And if you can’t get a brush into the mouth, you know, you try to do it a little slowly. They have these finger brushes, which can work pretty effectively. It just slips over your index finger and you can try to do it that way.
Emily
Yeah, I’ve noticed one of my Collies seems to prefer the finger brush and one of them prefers more of the traditional dog toothbrush. One of them likes the peanut butter toothpaste. One likes – it’s almost flavorless, I think – like a clear gel toothpaste. So they definitely have their preferences, and it’s taken a bit of work to get them used to that.
Emily
I used to be a veterinary technician. My first job when I was 16 was working at a vet clinic. There were some dogs, I mean – good luck getting anything in their mouth without having puncture wounds in your hand. So I’m really grateful that Collies – they might not like it, but they’re not going to put a hole in your fingers either. They’re very tolerant and gentle and just safe .
Jeff
They are. That’s what makes them so amazing. Their spirit, their gentle nature. I always say they’re humans in a Collie’s body. I really believe that. They have this elegant majesty to them, and that’s the physical beauty. People constantly say to me, “Oh, he’s so beautiful!” I always tell them that he’s more beautiful on the inside. Because Collies have sweet, loving, loyal, gentle natures to them. They’re just the most amazing creatures.
Emily
Yeah, the substance matches the outside. I’d say their exterior really reflects their interior. Just beautiful inside and out; you put it really well. And that’s actually something that gets Googled a lot, because we’ve been looking at what questions people are asking Google on a monthly basis.
Jeff
About Collies?
Emily
Mm-hmm. Collie-specific questions. “What’s the Collie personality type?” “What are the Collie personality quirks?” “What are the Collie personality characteristics?” And it’s just funny to see that getting searched so much.
Emily
One of the things that gets asked, like you said – the hair care. “I want a Collie, but I don’t know if I could keep up with the grooming.” I think it reflects what people are thinking. Like, “Oh, I think I could handle the grooming, if I know what their temperament is like.” And to me, it’s absolutely worth it – every minute of tooth brushing or coat brushing – absolutely worth it for the kind of dog that you get.
Jeff
There’s no question. I always say that Cody has ‘two and help’ (me and Donna), because we exist to take care of him and service him. When we make dinner at night, say I’m in the kitchen or Donna’s in the kitchen making his dinner, he lies just outside of the kitchen and waits for his service. And then he’s served, and that’s it. You know, when we’re not with him, we’re talking about him. It’s Cody 24/7, and anything he needs –
Emily
The Cody Show!
Jeff
Yeah. We trip over ourselves to give it to him, but he deserves it because he’s such a beautiful soul and loves us so much. Anything I ask of him – anything – he does. I take him out – he’s off leash in the park, let’s say. We’re walking around and I say to him, “Cody, this way.” And he just turns around, follows me. And he understands everything.
Emily
Isn’t that beautiful? I tell people, their fur is the hardest thing about them, and that to me isn’t even that hard. And I have a profusely-coated male Rough Collie. So sometimes the brushing…
Jeff
Is it a sable?
Emily
Yeah, he’s a tri-factor – the dark mahogany sable. So maybe once a year in that summer blowout, I think, Why do I have a dog with such thick fur? But that’s once a year, and every other time they’re so easy to me.
Jeff
There’s no question.
Emily
You know, some people say, “Oh, my dog can do 20 tricks.” Yeah, but… Do you have to chase them down the street? Do they come when you call them? Can you let them off leash and have them stay right with you? And to me, that’s what I value more.
Jeff
Of course!
Emily
I don’t care how many tricks [a dog can do] or if they have all their toys named. I love that they’re so responsive, and the bond… I could talk about that all day. I love it.
Jeff
Well, me too. But you know, there is one other thing about a Collie that I guess is a downside. You have to be very careful. Their stomachs – Collies have very sensitive stomachs. And I find with Cody, if we – well, how can I put this? I mean, he has his normal dinner, which is kibble, pumpkin, sweet potato, and we’ll give him some fresh salmon.
Emily
Oh, he’s spoiled!
Jeff
He needs an “accelerant” every now and then – because I don’t know about your guys or gals – but frequently he’ll go to his dinner, poke his nose around, and walk away. And he won’t eat it. So we give them what we call accelerants. So we put like some salmon in there, and then he’ll eat it and he’s fine. We don’t ever give him anything else. Not because we think it’s wrong to give him chicken or beef or sausage. I know some people give their Collies fried chicken, believe it or not. If they can tolerate it, that’s great. But Collies have a tendency – if you vary their diets or whatever, they can have diarrhea for days.
Emily
Mm-hmm. Yeah, that’s one thing. My female is a farm Collie who came from South Carolina, and she can have just about anything. She’s not quite Lab level when it comes to gut strength, but not much bothers her. And then Gus, you know, he’s from a show line and actually from a breeder. So I don’t know if that makes any difference at all; but I can’t switch his food unless I’m very carefully adjusting the portions as I go. He does great on Purina One or the Purina Pro Plans. We’ve tried several others, but – pardon me for saying this – but it is literally a shit show!
Jeff
No it is! That’s exactly what it is!
Emily
So I have learned not to do that. And I’ve also had to be very careful, even with the chews that I give him. A lot of Collies, they’re just not chewers like other breeds of dogs are.
Emily
One of our Labs – we lived out in the country growing up – and she would run into the farmer’s field, yank out an entire stalk of corn, bring it back into our yard, shuck the corn, and eat it cob and all. I mean, she would eat whatever happened to be in the field, because the farmer rotated the fields. She would dig up sugar beets and eat them. You know, we tried to discourage that…
Jeff
Well, but if she could handle it.
Emily
Oh yeah. That dog ate an entire sponge once. We were washing the car, and we made the mistake of setting a sponge down. And whatever cleaner or wax was on that sponge – not a problem, not an issue! I’m glad that Collies don’t eat whatever is laying on the ground. They wouldn’t be able to handle it, if they did.
Jeff
Cody would. As you know, all dogs – and Collies have this long snout with the nose at the end of it – they always have their nose to the ground when you’re walking with them, and they need to smell everything. Cody has to smell every leaf. And I never know when he’s got his nose down for a period of time, whether something’s down there that he would eat. But he would. I mean, I have seen him find an old chicken bone or something. I was able to catch it. So I always have to keep my eye on him, because if he gets anything that he shouldn’t… Well, you know what that’s all about.
Emily
Like a toddler, they’ve got to experience it mouth first.
Jeff
Exactly. He does it nose first, but you’re right, the toddlers, the kids, they’re all about mouth first.
Jeff
So the stomach thing is always, I feel, like the sword of Damocles hanging over our head. We never know. (I mean, in my life, if anybody would have told me that I was going to inspect my dog’s poop every day, I would have told them they were crazy. But I do have to pick it up, so I obviously look at it. But I look at it, and if it’s the way it’s supposed to be:then I’m happy. It’s a good day. If it’s not, then I start worrying.
Jeff
Now, the funny thing about the Labs… I was talking about how Cody could be picky. Back in the day, I would give them (the Labs) a can of wet food. And the way I would do it is:I would open one side of the can and punch a hole in the other side, so that I could hold it upside down over the bowl. Then it would just come out and fall into the bowl. Those dogs would eat half of it before it hit the bowl!
Jeff
Cody is like a cat. He goes and he smells. He wants it; he doesn’t want it. I’m not going to have it; maybe I’ll have it now. Nah, I don’t think I’ll have it… And he walks away from it. And frequently I’ll say, “Okay, Cody, have your dinner. I’ll sit with you.” And if I sit with him, he will eat it. So it’s like, he likes the company. Are yours like that?
Emily
Well, Sir Gustav was an only dog for a while, and yes, sometimes I would have to practically beg him to eat and mix enticing things in. And for a while I was going to the butcher shop and getting some ground meat to mix in with his food. I’ve heard of some people feeding their Collies by hand. I’ve never had to go quite that far. But when he was an only dog, he would leave his bowl. He got dinner, but he would graze on it throughout the night. And it might take him all night to decide that he was going to finish it off.
Jeff
Cody will do that.
Emily
Yeah. I ended up adopting a rescue mix (half Australian Shepherd, half Great Pyrenees), and Gus cannot leave food in his bowl:because she will eat it. It will become hers. My female Collie, the farm Collie, she’s pretty food-motivated, too. So Gus has learned not to leave it just sitting there, because it won’t be there.
Jeff
Well, yeah. So maybe that’s an encouragement or an incentive for him to to eat it. Cody doesn’t have that problem. But, you know, Donna gets upset if he doesn’t eat. I just tell her, “Look, you know what? Look at him. Does he look like he’s starving? If he’s hungry, he’ll eat.” And he does. I mean, if he doesn’t eat one night, he’ll probably eat the next.
Emily
Yeah. And I’m glad that they don’t tend to get fat like some other breeds that just naturally lean towards thickness. We were regularly having to put our Labs on diets growing up because they like to get chunky.
Jeff
Yeah they can get heavy.
Emily
Yeah, and to me that’s sort of a perk with Collies. You usually don’t have to worry about them getting fat. They kind of self regulate their eating, and that’s fine with me.
Emily
So we’ve pretty much naturally stumbled into all the questions that I was going to ask you anyway, which is kind of nice. We have hit an hour, and this is great. I’d rather have more to sort through than not enough. One other thing I did want to circle back to:you mentioned Southland Collie Rescue having a Collie gathering. Where is that exactly? I’ll put a link to that.
Jeff
Southland Collies has the event at a dog park in Irvine. You could find their website, actually, and it’ll give you information. It’s usually August or October; it may be coming up soon. It gets a pretty good turnout. A lot of the people from the Collie [Facebook] group that live out here come to it. So it’s really nice because we get an opportunity to actually meet each other.
Jeff
Because we’re all pretty much virtual, most of it. But it’s always good to meet people and see their Collies, and it’s just wonderful. You’re immersed in Collies. How bad can that be?
Emily
Yeah, sounds like heaven on earth, actually.
Jeff
It is.
Emily
We talked about the Collie personality type. If you were trying to explain Collies to someone who didn’t know anything about them and was maybe considering getting one, is there anything else you would tell them that we didn’t already cover?
Jeff
No, I always say that they’re humans trapped inside of a Collie body. They’re extremely smart, very loyal. The level of communication that you can have with them, you have to live with them to experience. I just think that, generally speaking, there’s nothing about Collies that strikes a negative note with me. It’s impossible to describe them, because you have to live with them in order to really experience it. Anything anybody tells you may sound good, but you’ve never experienced anything until you’ve actually lived with a Collie. There’s nothing else I could say about it.
Emily
It’s kind of hard to describe, isn’t it, to put into words? I did a story on a Collie in training to become a Psychiatric Service Dog. So it’s Stephanie’s first Collie and she said, “You know, I heard about it, but I didn’t quite understand the level of vocal range and vocal ability that a Collie has.” Like you said, you have to live with it.
Jeff
To me, the most amazing thing is how they absolutely know what you’re saying and what you mean and what you want. I mean, Cody even knows the pronoun “he.” So if Donna and I say “he” this or “he” that, he knows we’re talking about him. And he’s able to communicate with us. We know what he wants; we know how he’s feeling; we know what’s going on inside his head, just by the way he behaves and looks at us. His eyes tell everything. And it’s actually like having another human that you can talk to that understands your language, understands, you know – everything. I think I’ve had about 11 or 12 dogs in my life, something like that. And I’ve never had anything that comes close to a Collie.
Jeff
And with that, I’m going to have to leave. My grandkids are coming. They’re three and five; I have to get ready!
Emily
Yes, definitely get ready!
Jeff
I’m going to also send the link to Cody’s Toothbrushing Video, because that’s something I feel very strongly about. I really want people to do that.
Emily
Yeah, I’m realizing I need to put more on Collie Chatter for Collie-specific care, because they are such a unique breed in some ways.
Jeff
Exactly. I had a great time talking with you. I really did. You know, it’s interesting being on this side of everything. When I do my radio show I’m the host, and I’m interviewing somebody else and having that conversation. So this was a lot of fun for me, and I could talk about Collies all day.
Emily
Yeah, me too!
Jeff
Thank you for having me.
Emily
Thank you. Have fun with your grandkids, Jeff.
Jeff
I will, Emily. Thank you so much.
* Edit and footnote:The AKC currently registers 197 dog breeds, which means they recognize nearly half of the approximately 400 dog breeds recorded with other breed clubs worldwide. There are also 82 purebreeds under consideration for breed registration with the AKC’s Foundation Stock Service (FSS) program.
Jeff Hyman was a member of the popular Gaslight Singers in the 1960s. He now has a solo career, having released solo albums Old Dogs New Tricks in 2017 and Pick Yourself Up in 2019. Both are available for purchase and streaming on Amazon. Currently, Jeff also hosts the international radio program Somewhere in Time, on which he introduces his listeners to other interesting indie artists and discusses great music of the past. Check out his website and listening options here.
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