Pointollie

The Pointollie is a designer dog, a combination between the Collie, a large agile herding dog from the British Isles, and the Pointer, an active and athletic hunting companion that is also known as the English Pointer. The Collie is a very old breed with a foundation that is obscured by history, but we do know that they were used as sheepdogs in the highland areas of Scotland for centuries, in both the rough and smooth coated varieties. Before they caught the fancy of English dog show enthusiasts, they were developed to both herd and guard the flock, and they did so quite effectively. Queen Victoria took an interest in this breed during a visit to Scotland in the mid 1800s, causing a large increase in the popularity of this breed in England, particularly through the 1860s and 1870s. The breed standard for the Collie in England was drawn up in 1886, the same year that the Collie Club of America, Inc became one of the first American specialty clubs. The Pointer is often referred to as the English Pointer as it was refined and popularized in England, but most historians believe that the first ancestors of these dogs were actually from Spain. Although there is currently no way to know their full ancestry, some of the dog breeds that are believed to have contributed to the Pointer as we know it today include Spanish Setters, Foxhound, Bloodhound, Italian Pointers, Bull Terriers, and even Greyhounds. They were mainly used to hunt and point for hare, allowing the Greyhounds to catch and kill the quarry, although today they are better known for their exceptional skills in the field as bird dogs. It is important to note that although the name Pointerollie is usually referring to a mix between the Pointer breed and the Collie, some breeders are using this label for Pointers crossed with Border Collie, or even for Collies crossed with German Shorthaired Pointers, which obviously would result in a very different hybrid.