Fun Gollie Facts For Kids

The Gollie is a hybrid or mixed breed. Its parent breeds are the Golden Retriever and the Collie.

Collies are intelligent and very easy to train as watchdogs and for herding sheep. The Golden Retriever started out as a hunting dog breed. Over time, Golden Retrievers have become known as playful, eager to please family dogs. Their offspring, the Gollie, also called the golden Collie, is a designer dog breed.

In temperament, golden Collies are very friendly dogs. They don’t like being left alone for a long duration. Gentle and patient, they are a good choice for a family with children.

Like its parents, this mixed breed is also very intelligent. Gollies are energetic, active dogs, not suited to apartment life.

Besides their daily walks, they need play sessions, training, and other activities like jogging and swimming mixed in. They require at least one hour of daily exercise to maintain their health and prevent weight gain.

Because it is a mix of two breeds, the Gollie is not recognized by American Kennel Club (AKC). But it is recognized by Designer Dogs Kennel Club (DDKC), American Canine Hybrid Club (ACHC), International Designer Canine Registry (IDCR) and other registries.

You may also check out the fact files on Victorian bulldog facts and Jack Chi facts from Kidadl.
 

Gollie Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a Gollie?

The Gollie or golden Collie is a breed of dog. It is a hybrid breed, a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Collie.

What class of animal does a Gollie belong to?

The Gollie belongs to the class Mammalia.

How many Gollie are there in the world?

An accurate count not available.

Where does a Gollie live?

Most Gollies live in a house with people. The Gollie is better suited to big houses with fenced yards to roam in rather than apartments.

What is a Gollie's habitat?

The Gollie dog breed is able to adapt to different climates. But they need access to shade and fresh water in the heat, and a protective warm coat in the winter.

Who do Gollies live with?

Gollies usually live with people.

How long does a Gollie live?

Gollies generally have an average life span of 12 to 15 years. This is similar to the life span of their parent dog breeds, the Golden Retriever and the Collie.

How do they reproduce?

Like other canine family members, the Gollie reproduces through sexual intercourse. The gestation period for pregnant females is 62-64 days. Gollie puppies are born in litters of 6-10.

What is their conservation status?

Since it is a breed of domesticated dog, the Gollie is not considered to be under active threat of extinction.

Gollie Fun Facts

What do Gollies look like?

The Gollie is a medium-sized dog breed. It is a little bit thinner than the Golden Retriever and has a more athletic look. Gold, black, brown, and white are the common coat colors for the Gollie dog breed.

The Gollie’s coat can be uniformly one color like the Golden Retriever, or a mix of two or three colors. Their fur is dense, straight, and long. Gollies have thicker fur on the face, neck, legs, and tail.

The Gollie can be bred from the rough collie or the smooth collie. The rough collie has longer fur while the smooth collie has a short coat. The Gollie’s muzzle is long, like the collie. It has oval eyes that are usually hazel or brown.

The nose is brown or black. Ears may be semi-erect or hanging. The Gollie’s tail is medium-length with a lot of fur.

The Gollie is known for shedding quite a lot. They need to have their coat brushed several times a week to prevent matting. Grooming them is relatively easy. Grooming should be done out of doors to prevent hair from flying all over the place!

How cute are they?

Gollies are very cute. A Gollie puppy will have some of the characteristics of both its parents, including big brown eyes and cute, floppy ears. They are curious and intelligent, but also silly and playful! This makes them very adorable creatures to be around just like Miki dogs.

How do they communicate?

Gollies are trusting dogs, happy to make friends with everyone. They don’t bark too much at strangers or other dogs.

They have a loving temperament and express their love through licks, a wagging tail, and smiling ear and eye movements. They may indicate playfulness by jumping around or bowing in front of the person or toy they want to play with.

On the other hand, scared Gollies will tremble, carry their tails low, or move their ears back. If they feel threatened, they may show aggression by growling, snapping, showing their teeth, or wrinkling their nose.

As a breed, the Gollie enjoys being trained to follow commands and perform tricks for its owners. These are clever dogs, able to understand human signals without a lot of repetitive training.

How big is a Gollie?

With an average height of 24 in (60 cm), the Gollie is twice as tall as an anteater and half as tall as a stag.

How fast can a Gollie run?

Not much information is available regarding the average running speed of Gollie dogs and puppies. However, they are believed to have a pretty good speed. They love exercise and running even in their owners’ homes.

How much does a Gollie weigh?

On average, a male Gollie weighs 60-75 lb (27.2-34 kg) while a female Gollie weighs 55-65 lb (24.9-29.4 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

Males are called dogs and females are called bitches.

What would you call a baby Gollie?

A baby Gollie is called a puppy.

What do they eat?

The Gollie generally eats dry dog food or meals prepared at home by its humans. Dry dog food or kibble should be appropriate for a medium-sized, active dog with high energy.

The Gollie needs properly regulated meal times to prevent weight gain and the resulting health issues. Food requirements for the Gollie also change from its puppy days to its adult and senior days.

Are they slobbery?

Unlike some other large dog breeds, the Gollie is not very slobbery. However, because of its energy and active nature, this dog will try to explore the outdoors, roll around in the dirt, or take a swim when possible.

This means that they can get a bit smelly. But a bath once a month is enough to keep them smelling nice. Also, the Gollie is prone to a high degree of shedding and will need regular grooming to maintain the health of its coat.

Would they make a good pet?

The Gollie has a very calm and relaxed temperament similar to Labrador Retrievers. It is a very loving and open-hearted dog breed, a good choice for first-time dog owners. It is among the gentlest dog breeds.

Gollies are patient and playful. They make good pets even for families with young children.

Adult Gollies are understanding of babies and toddlers even when they unintentionally play rough. This dog is also unlikely to hurt a puppy or child because of its soft mouth. Very small Gollie puppies should be supervised in their interactions with children so that they don’t get hurt by accident.

The Golden Retriever Collie is also a very loyal dog breed. This dog wants to be a close part of the family. The Gollie also gets along well with other pets as long as it is socialized well early in life.

Do make sure you allow your Gollie puppy to play in a group with other puppies and adult dogs. Early play sessions should be supervised. Gollies are friendly dogs, eager to meet and play with strangers.

This makes them a good choice for houses with many visitors. But you should keep in mind that they have a lot of energy and don’t adapt well to living in an apartment. A Golden Retriever Collie costs between $600-$1000 USD.

Did you know...

Both parent breeds of this hybrid were bred in Scotland.

The Collie was primarily a sheepdog, herding sheep on farms. The collie became a favorite of Queen Victoria of England on a visit to Scotland in 1860.

Collies were also made famous because of Lassie, a short story featuring a collie that inspired many films and TV shows over the decades. Today, the collie has made its way to North America. Collies are adopted as companion dogs as well as service dogs, serving the police and working with people with disabilities.

Golden retrievers were hunting dogs in the 1800s. They have soft mouths, ideal for retrieving and holding small animals without doing them any damage.

The Golden Retriever can even retrieve from water; its coat is water repellant. The Golden Retriever also works well as a service dog because of its obedient nature. Over time, this has become a very popular dog breed seen all over the world.

Gollies are a designer breed. A designer breed is created by mating two purebred dog breeds to create a mix. Like other designer dogs, the Gollie probably came into existence around the 1980s. Despite its Scottish parents, the Gollie is believed to have been bred not in Scotland but in the US.

Do Gollies need exercise?

The Gollie is an athletic, high-energy dog that doesn’t adapt well to living in an apartment. Owners of the Gollie should ideally have a large home. A home with a yard where the Gollie can be taken off the leash and let loose to explore is ideal.

The Gollie is very playful and has a great need for exercise. A minimum of one hour’s exercise a day is necessary to keep them healthy and prevent weight gain. Exercise for a Gollie needs to offer some mental stimulation. Gollies enjoy learning new tricks and commands.

They love games of fetch, agility training, and obstacle courses. They also love swimming and will happily run into the water if they find it! Well-socialized dogs also have a lot of fun at the dog park with other dogs.

They’re generally healthy dogs apart from a tendency to gain weight without proper exercise or diet. They’re affected by the same group of conditions that their parents, the Golden Retriever and Collie, suffer from. These include cataracts, epilepsy, elbow dysplasia, and hip dysplasia. Regular vet visits can help to keep them in good health.

Are Gollies easy to train?

Gollies are food motivated. This makes them generally easy to train with treats and other rewards.

Gollies are intelligent pets that want to make their owners happy, like the collie. Even if you have no experience training a dog before, the Gollie will watch carefully and quickly understand your commands. They don’t need a lot of repeat training sessions to learn new tricks.

The Gollie can be sensitive to harsh treatment. You should avoid punishing your Gollie. Instead, focus on positive reinforcement with lots of treats, petting, and verbal praise. Like the Golden Retriever, Gollies also make good service dogs for seniors and people with disabilities. Their high trainability means they can assist with opening doors, fetching items, etc.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Pomapoo facts and black-maned lion facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our Gollie coloring pages.