Shes Bald!

I've read that female collies have less of a coat than males...

Female Collies have less coat yes, but still a good deal of coat for their size.  Less coat because of less dog xD

Where di you get lizzie from?  You can only use what genetics gave you, and I'm sorry to say, but honestly, your girl is unlikely to have that big poofy coat that the collies bred for show have.

The way sh e's patterned is that of a pet/byb Collie.  The hair is just thinner.  I don't mean to sound negative, but genetics gave her what it gave her, and there's really not much you can do to make the coat "fuller".  It is what it is.
 
[linkhttp://users.aol.com/dunrobinco/Somebeautifulcollies.html]http://users.aol.com/dunrobinco/Somebeautifulcollies.html[/link] <--Dunrobin Collies.
 
I worked with these people for awhile, and know all the dogs.  They're selling Ty :-(  He's my absolute FAVORITE.  I remember when hewas 6 months old, and I just adore him.
 
Brett and Harm are wonderfully sweet, and ALL of them have huge coats.  Not always fun to groom xD

The way sh e's patterned is that of a pet/byb Collie. The hair is just thinner. I don't mean to sound negative, but genetics gave her what it gave her, and there's really not much you can do to make the coat "fuller". It is what it is.

 
You will excuse me but I did NOT get her from a BYB. What do you mean the way she is patterned makes her look like a BYB Collie? PLease explain yourself because I feel like you are offending me.
 
Her parents were agility dogs and her breeders dont really breed for show dogs rather for dogs that do well in the agility ring and they do have herders. So I know genetics wont help very much but I just wanted to know if there was something to make her coat a bit fuller. If theres not then oh well I love her anyway, Im just glad I got her from a breeder and not a BYB.
 
 

Oh yeah, I had also heard that female Collies had less coat than males and that temperature is a big factor. That people who show their dogs keep them under A/C all the time so they get nice thick coats and dont blow their coats too much. This could be a BIG factor because over here even when it is raining and windy the temperature never drops past 70 degrees

Xeph is right... my dog is from a BYB and he doesn't have the coat show cockers have, nothing I can do about it, it's genetics. I once met a cocker just a few months older than him - he was 6mo she was 9mo - but she was a pet dog from show parents. She had an amazing coat, nothing like the wispy fur my puppy had. The difference was shocking to me at the time.
 
Generally, breeders whose breeding dogs are not proven champions (show dogs) are considered BYBs. There are many, many discussions about this all over the board. One happening right now in General Q&A I believe. It's not an insult to say your dog looks like a pet quality or BYB dog... it is what it is. I have a BYB dog. I know better than to buy one again but I love him to death and he's a wonderful dog.

I believe one of my first posts on this forum was on this topic. Alot of people seem to think that because a dog is not shown in a conformation ring that it makes the breeder a BYB. I strongly disagree here. Collies, Cockers, GSD's, Goldens etc. were not bred to run in circles in a show ring. They were meant to hunt, herd, protect etc. If you have working stoc and breed your dogs it doesnt make you a BYB for breeding dogs so that they can do what they were meant to do. Just my thoughts

ORIGINAL: LizzieCollie

I believe one of my first posts on this forum was on this topic. Alot of people seem to think that because a dog is not shown in a conformation ring that it makes the breeder a BYB. I strongly disagree here. Collies, Cockers, GSD's, Goldens etc. were not bred to run in circles in a show ring. They were meant to hunt, herd, protect etc. If you have working stoc and breed your dogs it doesnt make you a BYB for breeding dogs so that they can do what they were meant to do. Just my thoughts

You're right, a collie doesn't herd on it's hair, but you keep obsessing about the fact that your dog doesn't have as full a coat as other collies.  Well gee, it's because she's not from showlines!

And believe me, a Ch in front of a dog's name doesn't mean quality to me.  I'd rather breed to a dog that has MACH 3 OTCH HT PT TC TT UDX MXJ
than a dog that is BIS BISS Am/Can/Int'l/Mex/Bra Ch.

Performance work is extremely important to maintain a breed, but what you're not getting is that your dog doesn't have a poofy coat and isn't a ball of fluff, because it's from working lines!  Breeders of working lines don't see the need for all the coat, showline breeders do.

Lizzie's a nice little girl, but a show coat she will never have.  If you're offended, fine, be offended.  I had no idea what your location was until you PMed me.  Puerto Rican working lines look almost exactly like American BYB/Pet lines.
 
My Strauss comes from Showlines (German) that are VERY well known for having thick plushy coats!  Guess what?  Strauss has the hair type of a working line dog! Drives me absolutely batty, I wanted a nice thick haired plush dog, like my veteran, Ranger (he oozes coat!), but Strauss's coat is what it is.
 
He doesn't have all the coat I want, no, but holy CRAP he is an AWESOME working dog!  Agility, tracking, schutzhund, herding, obedience, rally....there isn't much this dog DOESN'T do!  He doesn't herd on his teeth or run agility on his hair follicles, but I would like more coat.

Puerto Rican working lines look almost exactly like American BYB/Pet lines.

 
No need to insult the islands breeders.

I just love that puppy pic of lizzy!

I don't know if it helps much but there are really good shampoos and conditioners out there for dog that need that extra help in perfecting ther coat. Not all of us have a show dogs but it's still nice to know your dog can at least look good for being the dog she is.

I also think the fur has a lot to do with the food the dog eats, dogs on a very poor diet seem to show it in ther fur having dull almost brittle fur. Very good diets give dog amazing shining fur. My Gizmo is far off from being close to a show dogs standards but her fur is so very glossy and shins just the way a healthy dog will look, I belive it's the food. Even if the dogs fur is no where close to a show dog I still think it's important to be concerned about the fur.

"Generally, breeders whose breeding dogs are not proven champions (show dogs) are considered BYBs."

 
 
I thought that the parents were supposed to be titled, not necessarily confo dogs.  To me, if I want a dog that excells in obedience and agility, I go for a breeder whose dogs are titled in obedience and agility, no?

Also, I don't think the the OP was obcessing about the coat, just wondering about it.

Lizze is still young, right?  Maybe that has something to do with it.  I do agree that the diet makes a difference.  Sally's coat changes with her diet.

Personally, if I were to purchase a puppy, it would be from duel titled parents. I think it's important that the dogs have proper conformation AND working ability. What use is conformation if the dog can't work?

Anyhow, I've been thinking about different ways to fluff a coat all day, LOL. Backbrushing works, but... Lizzie probably won't like it. Biotin helps human hair grow, so you might try a raw egg every day, or even a human biotin supplement. MSM is also great for the hair and nails. I feed Emma skin and coat enhancing stuff, every day, to ward off demodex (healthy skin means the mites are kept at bay). She gets fish, flax, or coconut oil, vit e, vit a, msm, and an egg. Every day. It makes a big difference.

Jennie- whats backbrushing?

Lizzie,
 
Give it time.  I know that Xerxes (at 15 months) is still transitioning into his adult coat.  Since he has so little fur, I'm sure it will be a while before your girl gets her full coat.  And by the way...she is absolutely stunning!

Brushing, backwards

There's a little more to it than that.... Essentially, you line brush, starting at the butt, in wrong-way strokes. Fluffs it up nice. The dogs hate it.