Collie rescue dogs and puppies for adoption and rehoming in the UK

As of 14 November 2026, no Rough and Smooth Collies are listed for adoption in the UK on LocalPetFinder. Rescues add animals all the time, so this page fills as they list them.

Mainly the coat. The Royal Kennel Club says the two breeds today look almost identical apart from the coat, and until 1994 they could be interbred. The Rough needs grooming every day, the Smooth about once a week. Their breed standards give the same height range.

The Royal Kennel Club lists the Smooth Collie as a vulnerable native breed, while the Rough Collie is not on that list. If you are hoping for one, an alert is the easiest way to hear when one is listed.

No. The Royal Kennel Club lists the Border Collie as a separate breed, a medium-sized herding dog needing more than two hours of exercise a day, against up to an hour for the Rough Collie. Dogs listed just as "collie" may be Border Collies, which have their own page.

Up to an hour a day, according to The Royal Kennel Club, which gives the same figure for the Smooth Collie. It lists both as large dogs that suit a small house with a large garden. Ask the rescue what this dog is used to.

Both breeds shed. The Royal Kennel Club says the Rough Collie's medium length coat needs grooming every day, while the Smooth Collie needs grooming about once a week. Both have a dense undercoat, according to their breed standards.

The breed standard colours are sable and white, tricolour, and blue merle. The Royal Kennel Club does not register puppies from merle to merle matings, because of the risk of impaired vision and hearing linked to the merle gene. Colour tells you nothing about a rescue dog's character.

The Royal Kennel Club gives the Rough Collie's lifespan as over 12 years and the Smooth Collie's as over 10 years.

The Royal Kennel Club asks breeders of both breeds for eye testing and hip scoring, and DNA tests for Collie eye anomaly, degenerative myelopathy, multi-drug resistance (MDR1) and progressive retinal atrophy. A rescue dog's parents may not have been tested, so ask the rescue what vet checks this dog has had, and ask your vet about anything you are unsure of.

We only list dogs with rescues, so there is nothing to buy here: every Collie on this page is adopted for the rescue's fee. If you decide to buy, The Royal Kennel Club runs a Find a Puppy service, and Dogs Trust's breed guides suggest talking to your vet, and say some practices offer pre-purchase consultations covering likely health conditions and rough costs. With an adult rescue Collie, the rescue can tell you about its personality and vet history.

Each rescue sets its own adoption fee. Battersea charges £230 for a dog over six months and £275 for a puppy under six months, Dogs Trust charges £300 for a puppy or adult dog in England, Wales and Scotland, and Blue Cross fees start from £235 for dogs aged 8 or over and £335 for dogs aged 1 to 7. The fee usually covers neutering, microchipping and first vaccinations, and each rescue confirms its own fee.

No. We don't list animals for sale. Every Collie on this page is with a rescue or rehoming centre. Rescues rehome animals rather than selling them, usually for an adoption fee: for example, Battersea charges £230 for a dog over six months and £275 for a puppy under six months, and Dogs Trust £300. The fee usually goes towards vet work already done, such as neutering, microchipping and first vaccinations. If you searched "collie puppies for sale", the Rough and Smooth Collies here are the rescue route: you apply to the rescue and pay its adoption fee, not a sale price.

Usually not. UK rescues normally ask for an adoption fee, which pays towards neutering, microchipping and vaccinations. Many rescue fees are under £500: Battersea charges £230 for a dog over six months, Dogs Trust £300, and Blue Cross from £235 for dogs aged 8 or over. An animal offered "free to a good home" is usually a private advert rather than a rescue. All dogs in the UK must be microchipped by 8 weeks old, and in England, Wales and Scotland a dog can't pass to a new keeper until it is chipped, so ask to see the microchip details.

Not right now. Puppies do get listed, and rescues can tell you much more about an adult's character, so check back.

This page lists every Collie with the rescues we list across the UK, each with its town. For a city, see Rough and Smooth Collies in Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Brecon, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cardiff, Carlisle, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Ipswich, Kendal, Kingston upon Hull, Leeds, Lincoln, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Wales, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Perth, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Stoke-on-Trent, Swansea, Taunton, Truro and Worcester. You can also search by postcode with the pet finder on our home page to see what is closest to you.