Border Collie
History of the breed
The Border Collie is a breed of herding dog that originated in the border country of England and Scotland. Border Collies are widely regarded as the most intelligent dog breed. Border Collies are highly energetic. Border Collies are still frequently used on farms all over the world for assisting with the handling of livestock, and they have also become popular as pet and sport dogs. Though known to be reserved with strangers, Border Collies can also be protective of a human family member and affectionate to those they know.
The Border Collie is descended from droving and gathering breeds originating on the Scottish and English border. Mention of the "Collie" or "Colley" type first appeared toward the end of the nineteenth century, with every current Border Collie tracing back to a dog known as Old Hemp. Old Hemp, a tri-color dog, was born September 1893 and died May 1901. Hemp was a quiet, powerful dog that sheep responded to easily. Many shepherds used him for stud and Hemp's working style became the Border Collie style.
Border Collies were traditionally known simply as "collies," but terms like working collie, old-fashioned collie, and farm collie have also been applied to them.
Working border collies can take direction by voice and whistle at long distances when herding. Their great energy and herding instinct are still used to herd all kinds of animals, from the traditional sheep and cattle, free range poultry, and pigs, and ostriches. They are also used to remove unwanted wild birds from airport runways, golf courses, and other public and private areas.
The use of dogs for herding sheep makes good economic sense. In a typical pasture environment each trained sheepdog will do the work that it would take about three human individuals to do if there were no dogs available. In vast arid areas like the Australian Outback or the Karoo Escarpment, the number increases to five or more. Attempts to replace them with mechanical approaches to herding have only achieved a limited amount of success. In general stock handlers find dogs more reliable and more economical to run.
Appearance of the breed
In general, Border Collies are medium-sized dogs without extreme physical characteristics and a moderate amount of coat. Height at withers: Males from 19" to 22", females from 18" to 21". Their double coats can be anywhere from slick to lush, and can come in many colors, although black and white is by far the most common. Black tricolor (black/tan/white), red and white, and red tricolour (red/tan/white) also occur regularly, with other colors such as blue creme and yellow white, red merle, blue merle, "Australian red"/gold, and sable seen less frequently. Solid Black is also seen.
Eye color varies from deep brown to amber or blue with occasionally one eye of each color, usually seen with merles. The ears of the Border Collie are also highly variable — some have fully erect ears, some fully dropped ears, and others semi-erect ears (similar to that of the Rough Collie). Although working Border Collie handlers sometimes have superstitions about the appearance of their dogs (handlers avoid mostly white dogs due to the fact that sheep are also white and are less frightened, this makes the sheep less obedient to the dog.)In general a dog's appearance is considered to be irrelevant. It is considered much more useful to identify a working Border Collie by its attitude and ability than by its looks.
Those dogs bred for the conformation ring are more homogeneous in appearance than working Border Collies, since to win in conformation showing they must conform closely to breed club standards that are specific on many points of the structure, coat and color. Kennel clubs specify, for example, that the Border Collie must have a "keen and intelligent" expression, and that the preferred eye color is dark brown. In deference to the dog's working origin, scars and broken teeth received in the line of duty are not to be counted against a Border Collie in the show ring.
Temperament of the breed
Border Collies are an intelligent, biddable breed with an instinctive desire to work closely and intensely with a human handler. They are very well behaved and can be very excitable dogs. Although the primary role of the Border Collie is that of the working stock dog, dogs of this breed are becoming increasingly popular as pets. True to their working heritage, Border Collies make very demanding, energetic pets that are better off in households that can provide them with plenty of exercise and a job to do. Border Collies are now also being used in showing, especially agility, where their speed and agility comes to good use. However, in an appropriate home, with a dedicated, active owner, a Border Collie can be an excellent companion. Participating in dog sports is popular with Border Collie owners.
Border Collies are not perfect pets for all people. They can be a wonderful choice for some households. For example, as with many working breeds, Border Collies can be motion-sensitive and may attempt to control the movements of family members, cats, squirrels, bicycles, cars, or anything else that moves if not given enough mental and physical stimulation. These dogs are also generally suitable for households with small children. Many Border Collies who end up in shelters or rescue groups are there because owners, who may have been attracted by their appearance and intelligence, were not prepared to meet their dog's needs.
Dog sports
They dominate the higher jump heights at dog agility competitions, so much so that in England competitions often include classes for ABC dogs, "Anything But Collies". You will also see many Border Collies competing in Flyball.
The Border Collie's speed, agility, stamina have allowed them to dominate in up-and-coming dog activities like flyball and disc dog competitions. Their trainability has also given them a berth in dog dancing competitions.
Border Collies have a highly developed sense of smell and with their high drive make excellent and easily motivated tracking dogs for Tracking trials. These trials simulate the finding of a lost person in a controlled situation where the performance of the dog can be evaluated with titles awarded for successful dogs. Because of this skill, Border Collies make excellent Search and rescue dogs in Lowland, Mountain, and Urban areas.
Health Concerns of the breed
Hip dysplasia, Collie eye anomaly (CEA), and epilepsy are considered the primary genetic diseases of concern in the breed at this time.[8] CEA is a congenital, inherited eye disease involving the retina, choroid, and sclera—which resembles conjunctivitis—that sometimes affects Border Collies. In Border Collies, it is generally a mild disease and rarely significantly impairs vision. There is now a DNA test available for CEA[9] and, through its use, breeders can ensure that they will not produce affected pups. There are different types of hip testing available including OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) and PennHip. X-rays are taken and sent to these organizations to determine a dog's hip and elbow quality.
Elbow dysplasia or osteochondritis, deafness, and hypothyroidism may also occur in the breed. Dogs homozygous for the merle gene are likely to have eye and/or hearing problems.
Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) is a rare but serious disease that is limited to show Border Collies. NCL results in severe neurological impairment and early death; afflicted dogs rarely survive beyond two years of age. The mutation causing the form of the disease found in Border Collies was identified by Scott Melville in the laboratory of Dr. Alan Wilton of the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales. There is no treatment or cure, but a DNA test is now available to detect carriers as well as affected dogs.
Trapped neutrophil syndrome (TNS) is an inherited autosomal recessive disease which results in mature neutrophils being unable to migrate from the bone marrow into the blood stream. Puppies affected with this disease usually succumb to infection. Because Trapped neutrophil syndrome is an immune deficiency, the puppies can present a variety of symptoms depending upon the type of opportunistic infections they contract; as a result, Trapped neutrophil syndrome has largely gone undiagnosed in the past. Once thought to be rare, TNS is now believed to be responsible for many cases of "fading puppies". The mutation responsible for Trapped neutrophil syndrome is also only found in show dogs, and was identified by Jeremy Shearman in the laboratory of Dr. Alan Wilton of the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales. There is no cure, but a DNA test is now available to detect carriers as well as affected dogs.
