Alaunt vs Australian Collie - Breed Comparison | PetzLover

The Koolie, as a breed we know today, originates from Australia. But, before they were breed and imported, they were the mix made of Britain smooth coated blue merle Collie and the Black and Tan Collie from the Highlands of Scotland. The Koolie came to Australia to work as a kennel dog since they are known as the working, farm dog that can adapt to any weather condition. They were bred to be agile and non-aggressive quiet herding dogs, and they have kept most of those good characteristics until today.

Alaunt is an extinct breed that existed 3000 years ago since 300 years ago. They were very popular dogs and people used them for many different tasks. They were a perfect working dog, but also they were used for wars and many other situations. Since the migrating was very common through the history, there were many different Alaunt breeds all over the Europe and Asia. Alaunt originated from central Asia, probably Afghanistan.

Koolie is a medium bred. Their head is small, with a pointy jaw. Ears are pricked, semi-dropped or dropped. Their coat can be smooth or rough, short or medium length, always with the undercoat. The colours can be Red or Blue Merle, solid Red or Black, sometimes with minimal white or cream speckles. They are usually two-coloured or tricoloured, but some of them are actually one-coloured.

Some Koolie have one or two blue, green or yellow eyes. Eye colour is, of course, affected by the gene that creates the coat pattern and eye colour as well.

They are athletic dogs, with fine bone structure but great stamina. Actually, they were breed to be like that – to work hard, be noticeable among the sheep, eat little and be loyal to one person.

Weight of the Alaunt variates and it depended from dog to dog. The average weight of this breed was 20-68kg. While their height was 56-85cm. Females were slightly smaller with an average weight of 16-60kg, with a height of 50-80cm.

A lifespan of Alaunt was 10-12 years. Litter Size of an average Alaunt was 6-10 puppies.

Other Names for Alaunt are White Kazbegi, White Balkan dogs, Alaunt Gentil, Alaunt de Boucherie, Boucherie

Around children

Koolie is naturally energetic, playful and affectionate so they are naturally very good to raise with children.

Special talents

They are known as great obedience dog. They are very famous as the tracking dogs.

Some of them are successful as the rescue dogs, therapy dogs or educators for school children.

Adaptability

This is not a type of dog that will be alone in the house, wait for you and then be quiet while you rest. They need a great deal of activity and they are not such great choice for indoor life anyways. The best thing for them would be the large yard, with somebody home most of the time. They are great if raised in a family, with children and active owners. They will be great for a loner at the farm as well since that is in their blood. They need enough place to run, chase, play, rest on the sun and be active as they please. They get affectionate towards their families, but they will be accepting their new home when they are older just fine.

Learning ability

They are very good at learning. Intelligent, yes, but yet very silly and playful to do what is told all the time. They will surprise you with how quickly they will pick up the new trick but not feeling like doing it every time you would like them to. Everything is a play for them, so it would be best if you know how to play, be affectionate and friendly to become a good owner of this breed.

This breed was very powerful. They could adjust to any climate without any problems. Alaunt needed a lot of exercises because they were very strong and active dogs. They were also very intelligent dogs who knew what it wanted. People loved this breed because they were very smart, but also the perfect companion in every situation. Very protective but kind breed was loved in many countries.

If you are careful enough, you will choose your Koolie form patiently chosen breeders, after checking the health history of the pup and the pup’s family. Advisable is to do these things in person and never to buy a Koolie from a pet shop.

Sometimes, pups can be born blind or deaf pups. They have the great chance of joint problems because of their extreme activity. Their need to run, jump and play all the time may result in damage to cartilage and ligaments, especially since they are not aware of their age most of the time.

There is a chance that pup has skin allergies or immune system issues if they are growing on a farm near the chemicals used for plants, so be careful what kind of herbicide you use if you have a Collie.

In some rare cases, they suffer from seizers. If untreated, they can cause death. If you decide to take him to a regular vet check, you will have a happy and playful life together.

Alaunt was considered as a very healthy dog without any major issues. As every other breed they probably had some health problems, but overall this breed was very healthy and strong breed. Because of their health, they lived over 3000 years through many difficulties in the history of humankind.

Feeding the puppy and adult

Whether you choose canned food or dry food, treats as biscuits or left-overs, the quantity is the safest way of keeping the balanced diet for your Collie. They like raw meat and raw bones. Make sure not to feed them with cooked bones because they can do more harm than good.

Grooming

Since Koolie coat can be very short with the undercoat or a bit longer with undercoat, bristle brushing every 3 or 4 days will be enough for them. Some of them like the water and some of them don’t and that is perfectly fine since there is no need for a regular bath.

Points for Good Health

Lots of activities and lots of love. They express their love all the time and you can learn a lot from them actually. They like raw bones and from-the-table delicious treats but make sure not to overfeed them.

The best type of activity

Games that need them to be fast and think quickly. Running with them, driving a bike with them (but not on the leash!) would be a great fun for them. Why not leash? They are so playful and happy and they tend to jump and run to the side to chase a butterfly or catch the falling leaf.

Feeding the Alaunt

Since this breed extinct 300 years ago they probably eat leftovers from their owners.

Grooming Alaunt

Grooming Alaunt was a very easy job, they had short and smooth hair so they did not require a lot of grooming.