In a nutshell: A shaggy happy-go-lucky dog of high intelligence.

Also known as: Beardie

Description: A medium-sized shaggy dog which moves with athletic grace. Colours range from various shades of grey through black, blue and sandy with white on head and lower limbs and little beard from which they get their name.

Temperament: Variable. In general Beardies are happy dogs that are very willing to please, tolerant of people and dogs. Some guarding instinct and the working strains generally have very strong hunting instincts.

A lot of Beardies have a strong stubborn streak and a canny trainer will find a way round the problem, rather than confront the dog. Very little is to be gained confrontation as in general Beardies have far greater reserves of patience than mere mortals do and simply dig their toes in! Find a way to reward the dog for what he has done right rather than tell him about what he has done wrong.

Some lines have extreme sensitivity to noise that seems to appear at the age of 3-4, perhaps just as the dog is maturing. Be very careful how you handle this - sympathy can be disastrous as it simply tells the dog that there is something to be worried about. Try using the noise as a cue for a well known behaviour (such as a trick, EVERY Beardie should know a trick or two!) and then reward the dog for his performance.

Advantages as an agility dog:

• The main difference between a BC and a Bearded Collie lies in its instincts. The Beardie is an independent worker, thinking his way around problems and working with a minimum of commands, often at great distances from his handler.

• Its immense power and grace make most aspects of the sport easy. The active nature of the sport and the enthusiasm it requires also makes it ideally suited to this breed.

Disadvantages as an agility dog:

• The pounds and pounds of mud that can be collected at those wet shows! Also has a tendency to be long striding, which gives rise to turning difficulties and the need for careful jump training - many Beardies will have to bounce where other dogs can comfortably put in extra strides.

• You also get to know well which judges only watch the front feet when judging contacts!

• Some lines have extreme sensitivity to noise that seems to appear at the age of 3 or 4.

• Oh and the Beardie sense of humour can be tiresome at times!

Examples of dogs that have done well in agility: Andy Dury with Shadow & Jester, Joan Hart with Cailzie & Sky, Jo Joyce with Zest, June McKinnon with Honey, Suzie & Mysty, Chris and Caroline Park with Jess, Jo Sermon with Yogi and Jester, Heather Smith with Skye, Colin Skeaping with Bobbie, Wurzel & Finn, Jan Wheeler with Becky, Bailey & Megan, Mike Wyatt with Misty..

What's it like to live with as a pet: Enjoy your Beardie! Be proud of him and NEVER run him down. Any faults are entirely due to poor handling on your part or a lack of training in the first place! They may not win every class that you enter, but at the end of the day, you do take the BEST dogs home with you!