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Border Collie information
The Border
Collie is a medium sized, energetic working dog. The body is
slightly longer than it is tall. The relatively flat skull is
moderate in width. The skull and muzzle are about the same
length, with a moderate stop. The strong teeth meet in a
scissors bite. The oval eyes are set well apart and brown in
colour, except in merles where one or more eyes may be blue. The
medium sized ears are set well apart, either carried erect or
semi erect. The front legs are straight when viewed from the
front but slightly sloping when viewed from the side. The medium
sized tail is set low reaching at least to the hock, raising
somewhat when the dog is excited. Dewclaws are usually removed.
The double coat is weather resistant, dense and close-fitting.
There are two coat varieties: a short, sleek coat (about 1 inch
(2.5 cm.) long) and a coarse, rough coat (about 3 inches (7.6
cm.) long).
The coat colours
come in black and white, tri-colour, red & white, black &
grey,
yellow, yellow & white, sable, and all black. The longer haired
variety should have a mane and tail brush. The hair on the face,
ears and front legs is always short and sleek. Since Border
Collies are bred for working ability and intelligence rather
than for physical beauty, conformation varies widely.
Temperament
The
Border Collie is very intelligent and aware of their
surroundings. They are able to be trained to a high degree. This
is one of the hardest working dogs thriving on praise. Border
Collies are represented among the leaders in competitive levels
in various sports, excelling in agility skills, obedience,
sheepdog trials and Frisbee (TM). These competitions are right
up their alley, and they are commonly used and often win. For
those who wish to reach high levels in dog sports, the Border
Collie is a gift from heaven. Farmers are also happy with them,
as they were originally bred as a farm hand. The Border Collie
is highly energetic with great stamina. Provided they gets
sufficient activity to keep them occupied and ample exercise,
the Border Collie will get along quite happily with other dogs,
and children, however they may be aggressive with other dogs of
the same sex if you are not showing 100% leadership with them.
They should not be trusted with small non-canine pets, however
there are plenty of Border Collies that live and get along with
family cats. This breed can be sensitive and should be very well
socialized as a puppy to prevent shyness. To be truly happy,
they need a lot of consistent leadership, extensive daily
exercise, and a job to occupy their minds. Border Collies will
often challenge their owners authority when they are
adolescents. Dominance levels vary greatly even within the same
litter. You need to be this dogs firm, confident, consistent
pack leader, or he may try and take over. If you allow them to
take over, without enough socialization and mental and physical
exercise, they can be highly reactive and sound sensitive,
making them a poor choice for families with young children. They
are perfectionist with a permanent will to please. This breed
lives for serving you day in and day out. They are not ideal
pets for people who have no plans to spend a lot of time with
them. These dogs are too intelligent to lie around the house all
day with nothing to do. If you are not willing to put many hours
a day into keeping these dogs well exercised in both mind and
body, than it is recommended you do not adopt a Border Collie.
There are other breeds whom are similar yet not as demanding. If
there is insufficient activity then it will find its own work to
do, and that may not be what YOU had in mind when we
say the word WORK. When not challenged daily they can
and will become destructive. They cannot be left alone for too
long with nothing to do if they have not been exercised to the
point where they are both mentally and physically tired. A bored
Border Collie will not make a good pet, as they can become
neurotic and may start using their escape artist talents, among
other
behaviour
problems.
They have strong herding
instincts and may try to herd children and strangers and must be
told this is not acceptable.
Size
Height: Dogs 19-22 inches
(48-56 cm.) Bitches 18-21 inches (46-53 cm.)
Weight: Dogs 30-45 pounds (14-20 kg.) Bitches 27-42 pounds
(12-19 kg.)
Needs
Physical
exercise alone is not sufficient for this very intelligent and
highly energetic dog. They want to work and must do so with body
and mind as one, carrying out different tasks. Fast and agile,
these lively little dogs have boundless energy and thrive on
hard work and play. They should also be taken on a long, brisk
daily walk. They are a delight to see streaking after a ball or
bringing straying sheep back to the fold.
The Border Collie is not
recommended for apartment life. They are very active indoors and
do best with acreage. This breed will do fine in a kennel
provided it has daily activity and sees plenty of its handler.
This breed is not suited to life chained up in the back yard all
day.
Grooming
The Border Collie needs regular
combing and brushing to keep the coat gleaming. Extra care is
needed when the soft, dense undercoat is shedding. Bathe or dry
shampoo only when necessary. Check the ears and coat regularly
for ticks. This breed is an average shedder.
Collie Origins
The Border Collie was originally called the "Scotch Sheep Dog"
and originated in Northumberland along the borders of Scotland
and England. It is a descendant from dogs used by the Vikings to
herd reindeer, the old British droving breeds, with spaniel
added. Named a "workaholic" for its shear drive and love for
working, the Border Collie has an eye that can hypnotize cattle.
It can master any type of herd by crouching down and mesmerizing
the animals with its intense stare. One of the most trainable
breeds, the Border Collie also serves well as a narcotics and
bomb detection dog and is a frequent high performer in
obedience, agility, Frisbee(TM) trials, police work, search &
rescue, Flyball, performing tricks and competitive obedience.
Some Border Collies have been trained very successfully as blind
guide dogs. Currently very good results are obtained with them
for general assistance to the handicapped in The Netherlands.
The Border Collie was first recognized by the AKC in 1995.
Training your dog
How to Groom your dog
