Smooth Collie Puppies: Adopt or Buy in Australia?

Should you adopt or buy a Smooth Collie?

Either route can work, but be realistic about numbers. Dogs Australia's registration figures show 38 Collies (Smooth) registered in 2025, so a registered Smooth Collie puppy usually means an enquiry list and a wait. A registered breeder who eye tests every puppy and DNA tests the parents gives you the best odds against the breed's known inherited problems. Rescue gives you a dog whose temperament you can see first; a rescue collie may be a Smooth, a Rough or a cross, and numbers change daily.

Reference figures: the RSPCA NSW fee page, read 13 November 2026. They are not quotes. Breeders and rescues set their own prices and change them, so check with them.

How is a Smooth Collie different from a Rough Collie?

Mainly the coat. The two Dogs Australia standards give the same heights, weights and three colours. The Collie (Smooth) standard calls the coat “a very important feature”: a short, flat top coat of harsh texture, with a very dense undercoat. It asks for a dog that should “instantly appeal as gifted with intelligence, alertness and activity” and give “the appearance of a dog capable of working”.

The history is shared. Dogs NSW says the Smooth Collie was adept at driving cattle in the North of England, while the Rough's thick coat protected it on Scottish hill farms, and that both entered the Kennel Club's register as fixed breeds in 1895. The UK Royal Kennel Club says the two could be interbred until 1994, so Smooths and Roughs could be born in the same litter, and lists the Smooth Collie as a vulnerable native breed in the UK.

Sources: Dogs Australia breed standard, Dogs NSW, Collie Club of Victoria and the Royal Kennel Club, read 13 November 2026.

The standard notes that blue merle Collies may have one or both eyes wall or jewelled (blue or blue flecked); our guide to merle and brindle dogs explains the merle pattern. For family life with a Collie, read our Rough Collie temperament and family life guide, written for the Rough Collie.

What are Collie eye anomaly and MDR1?

They are the two Collie health questions to ask about first. Collie eye anomaly (CEA) is an inherited eye condition. Dogs NSW calls the Collie generally a very healthy breed, says responsible breeders are striving to eradicate CEA and that slow progress is being made, and adds that the majority of affected dogs live healthy lives with little or no impairment. The Collie Club of Victoria says all Collie puppies are tested for CEA.

MDR1 is a gene mutation that can cause severe reactions to some common medicines. Washington State University says dogs with it may have severe and life-threatening reactions to some common drugs, that approximately three of every four collies in the United States have the mutant gene, and that the frequency is about the same in France and Australia; its breed table lists an approximate frequency of 70% for the Collie. The only way to know an individual dog's status is to test it. Ask the breeder for the result, or have your own dog tested, and make sure your vet has it on file. Do not change any medicine yourself; your vet will choose what is safe for your dog.

Our Rough Collie health guide (written for the Rough Collie) covers the other conditions Collie owners plan for.

Which health tests should a Smooth Collie breeder show you?

The Australian advice comes first. Dogs NSW says to always buy a Collie through a registered breeder who hip scores breeding dogs and has puppies eye checked by a veterinary ophthalmologist, and says “Hip Dysplasia is a problem to a lesser degree”. The UK Royal Kennel Club's Smooth Collie page adds a list of tests; use it to ask an Australian breeder questions, not as an Australian rule.

Sources: Dogs NSW Collie (Smooth) page, Collie Club of Victoria and the Royal Kennel Club Collie (Smooth) page, read 13 November 2026. This is a buying checklist, not veterinary advice.

Ask to see the certificates for both parents, with names that match the litter, and the puppy's own eye test.

How much is a Smooth Collie puppy from a registered breeder?

We quote no breeder price, because we found none published. In November 2026 we looked for Smooth Collie breeders who show membership of a Dogs Australia state body and publish a current price on their own websites, leaving out listing and classified sites; the member breeder site we could read published no price. The Collie Club of Victoria gives no figure either; its puppy sales page says the purchasing price for a pure-bred Collie puppy with a traceable pedigree, health checks, vaccinations, puppy pack and support from the breeder “is comparable and in many cases less than the price of a mixed breed dog” (read November 2026; the line has been on that page since at least August 2024, per the Wayback Machine). That is the club's comparison, not a price. We cannot speak for every breeder, so ask each one for the price in writing.

Compare what each price includes. The Collie Club of Victoria lists what a registered breeder's puppy comes with, including a vet check, microchip, worming, vaccination, a health check with an eye examination, registration with its pedigree and a puppy pack. It says registered breeders keep enquiry lists and will contact you when a litter is expected, and points buyers to the Dogs Victoria breeder directory. The Collie Club of NSW lists a puppy registrar for puppy and adult enquiries.

Rescue fees are published. RSPCA NSW listed $620 for a puppy under 12 months and $500 for a dog over 12 months when we read its fee page on 13 November 2026. The dog cost calculator gives a first-year budget beyond the purchase.

Survey of member breeders' own websites, November 2026. Any price a breeder or rescue gives you is theirs to set; fees change, so check with them. Nothing here is a quote.

What do Smooth Collies in rescue look like?

It varies. A rescue may list a dog simply as a “collie” or a collie cross, so read the description and photos, and ask the rescue about coat and size. Numbers change daily, so check the live listings above and set an alert on the collie breed page, which covers Smooth Collies and other collie types; the Rough Collie page lists long-coated Collies. The Collie Club of NSW lists a rescue officer on its Looking for a Collie page. If you adopt, ask whether the dog's MDR1 status is known, and if not, ask your vet about testing.

If you are flexible on breed, browse large dogs listed by rescues: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide. Read our guides to adopting a dog in Australia and adopting a senior dog.

How do Smooth Collie puppy scams work?

Scamwatch warns that scammers set up fake websites, and fake profiles on social media and online marketplaces, for pets that do not exist, and that a very cheap pet is likely a scam. Dogs Victoria's puppy scam fact sheet adds that fake ads may display microchip, source or membership numbers lifted from legitimate breeders, and that scam sites often use photos downloaded from other websites. Checks to make before you pay:

• Eye test. Ask for the puppy's eye examination certificate from a veterinary ophthalmologist, which Dogs NSW advises.
• Colour. The standard recognises three colours: sable and white, tricolour and blue merle, and calls all white or predominantly white “most undesirable”. Ask why if a puppy is sold in another colour.
• “Short-haired collie” ads. A Smooth Collie is a registered breed. A puppy sold under that label without registration papers you can check may be a cross; ask what the parents are registered as.
• Borrowed numbers. Dogs Victoria says to contact the organisation a seller claims membership of and check the number matches the breeder's name, location and breed.

Our guide to puppies for sale in Australia has the state-by-state table of breeder numbers and what to do if you have already paid.

When is a registered breeder the better choice?

Rescue is not right for everyone, and if you want a Smooth Collie puppy specifically, waiting for a registered breeder is reasonable. Check these before you pay:

1. Registration. Ask for the breeder's prefix and membership number and check them through Dogs Australia's breeder search or your state body.
2. The puppy's eye test by a veterinary ophthalmologist.
3. DNA results for both parents, including CEA and MDR1.
4. Hip scores for both parents.
5. A written contract covering health problems, register type, desexing and whether the breeder will take the dog back.

Is a Smooth Collie the right dog for you?

The appeal is real: Dogs NSW says Collies thrive on human company and are well suited to families, and that despite being a medium to large breed the Collie does not need a lot of exercise. Be honest about three things before you apply: it is a sensitive dog that wants to be with its people and must be trained gently, it is a medium to large dog, and the coat sheds (the Royal Kennel Club lists the Smooth as a shedding breed). Not sure? Try the what dog breed is right for me quiz and the adoption readiness check, and compare with our guides to family dogs and calm dog breeds.

Find a Smooth Collie near you

Collies and collie crosses listed by rescues, by city:

• Collies for adoption in Sydney
• Collies for adoption in Melbourne
• Collies for adoption in Brisbane
• Collies for adoption in Perth
• Collies for adoption in Adelaide

Local guides to adopting a Collie, written for the Rough Collie and covering the rescues that serve each city: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast.

More adopt-or-buy guides: Rough Collie, Shetland Sheepdog, Border Collie, Puppies for sale: adopt or buy?.