Border Collie

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Border Collie comes from Northumberland in Scotland. The breed is a descendant from spaniel and some old British driving breeds. This is an outstanding herder and excels in agility.

Considered as the most trainable of all breeds, the Border Collie is also used as a bomb and drug detector, a police worker, for search and rescue, all types of agility and as guide dog for the blind.

Color

The Border Collie can come in any color or combination of colors. They can have one or two or three colors with any pattern. It can also have a white marking or random patches on the body.

Coat

There are two varieties of coats for the Border Collie. Both varieties have a dense, weather resistant and tight double coat with a straight or wavy and coarse outer coat. The undercoat is always short, dense and soft. The first variety's hairs are medium in length and rough. The chest, the back of the forelegs, the haunches, the tail and undersides are fringed with long hair. The hairs on the face, the feet, the ears and the front of the legs are short and silky. The second variety has a smooth and short coat all over the body. It is coarser and slightly fringed on the forelegs, the chest and the haunches.

Personality

The best words to describe a Border Collie are intelligence, alertness, energy and work. This breed is considered as the most trainable of all breeds. This energetic dog is born to work; it can't just lay around all day with nothing to do. It constantly needs a job or it will get bored and probably become destructive. If the owner wants to reach high levels in sports, the Border Collie is the right choice. This breed excels at sports, obedience, agility and Frisbee. With its great stamina, this dog is an intense worker, perfect for active people that will bring their dog everywhere. Keen and responsive, it lives to please its master. Some can be very reactive, sensitive and a little reserved towards strangers, however, extremely affectionate with friends and family. This dog should never show fear, viciousness, nervousness or shyness. Because of its strong herding instinct, it might tend to be snappish with little children or strangers.

Care

The Border Collie is generally a healthy breed, however, some can be prone to hip dysplasia, PRA and to Collie Eye Anomaly. Sometimes, cases of epilepsy and deafness are also seen. The Border Collie needs to be regularly brushed and combed, an extra care should be taken when the dog is shedding. Bathing should be made only when necessary and the ears regularly checked for ticks. This breed is an average shedder.

Training

The Border Collie was born to please and serve its master; it is extremely easy to train. This breed doesn't need a repeating training, it always needs to learn new things or it will get bored. This is a dog that needs to be stimulated mentally to be happy, so it needs an owner that has a lot of time for its dog. The Border Collie has to be socialize as a young puppy to prevent shyness.

Activity

The Border Collie is a very active dog and is very demanding toward exercise. It constantly needs to be stimulated physically and mentally; it can't lie all day with nothing to do because it will be unhappy and bored. They are not made for apartment life and will do great in herding, agility or any working tasks.