It was considered less weatherproof for field work like sheep herding, so the standard favored more practical coats.

From the early days of the breed, when dogs were more “Collie-coated.”

Yes - dogs with near-normal body coats but ear tufting are still genetically long coats.

Easier—breeders often find they’re the first to sell and the ones everyone wants to cuddle.

A long coat is a recessive coat type that can range in length; some dogs look nearly normal but show tell-tale ear tufting—genetically they’re still long coats.

Because long coats often turn out to be the best pups in the litter, yet they carry a recessive gene that breeders must manage carefully in future pairings.

Recessive.

Yes—both parents must carry the long coat gene for long-coated puppies to appear.