About Border Collies

Health

Border Collies are generally fairly healthy dogs and usual yearly health care includes visit to veterinarian for vaccination and systematic exam. Every couple of months, deworming is needed as with other dog breeds and seasonally protection from external parasites is required as well. Border Collies are subject to some genetic diseases. For some of them genetic test exists. Below is the brief list of most common health problems.

CEA
Collie eye anomaly (CEA) is a congenital, inherited, bilateral eye disease of dogs, which affects the retina, choroid, and sclera. It can be a mild disease or cause blindness. CEA is caused by a simple autosomal recessive gene defect. There is no treatment.

CL
Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (CL) is an inherited disease, which is not contagious, but it is fatal and cannot be treated. It affects the nervous system including the brain. Frequency of occurrence in Border Collies is around 3%.

TNS
TNS stands for Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome. It is an immune deficiency in Border collies. It is an inherited disorder that is very common in all populations of Border collies with more than 10% of both working and show dogs carrying the defective gene and capable of having affected puppies.

HD
Hip dysplasia (HD) develops due to a combination of genetically inherited traits and external environmental factors. Hip dysplasia means that the hip joints don't develop properly, leading to a degree of malformation that varies from dog to dog. It generally begins to develop while the dog is still young, and leads to a gradual deterioration of the joins and associated loss of full functionality.

ED
Elbow dysplasia (ED) is similar to HD but affects elbows.

All our dogs come clear of TNS, CL and CEA either by parentage or tested.
HD and ED test (x-ray) of our dogs is performed after dog is at least one year old.

FCI Standard No 297.

ORIGIN:

Great Britain

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICAL VALID STANDARD:

24.06.1987.

UTILIZATION:

Sheepdog.

FCI-CLASSIFICATION:

Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs).
Section 1 Sheepdogs. With working trial.

GENERAL APPEARANCE:

Well proportioned, smooth outline showing quality, gracefulness and perfect balance, combined with sufficient substance to give impression of endurance. Any tendency to coarseness or weediness undesirable.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:

Skull and foreface approximately equal in length. Body slightly longer than height at shoulder.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT:

Tenacious, hard-working, of great tractability. Keen, alert, responsive and intelligent. Neither nervous nor aggressive.

HEAD

CRANIAL REGION:
Skull : Fairly broad, occiput not pronounced.
Stop : Very distinct.

FACIAL REGION:
Nose : Black, except in brown or chocolate colour when it may be brown. In blues nose should be slate colour. Nostrils well developed.
Muzzle : Tapering to nose, moderately short and strong.
Jaws/teeth : Teeth and jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Cheeks : Not full or rounded.
Eyes : Set wide apart, oval shaped, of moderate size, brown in colour except in merles where one or both or part of one or both may be blue. Expression mild, keen, alert and intelligent.
Ears : Medium size and texture, set well apart. Carried erect or semierect and sensitive in use.

NECK:

Of good length, strong and muscular, slightly arched and broadening to shoulders.

BODY:

Athletic in appearance. Slightly longer than height at withers.
Loins : Deep and muscular but not tucked up.
Chest : Deep and rather broad, ribs well sprung.

TAIL:

Moderately long, the bone reaching at least to hock, set on low, well furnished and with an upward swirl towards the end, completing graceful contour and balance of dog.

Tail may be raised in excitement, never carried over back.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS: Front legs parallel when viewed from front. Bone strong but not heavy.
Shoulder : Well laid back.
Elbow : Close to body.
Metacarpus (Pastern) : Slightly sloping when viewed from side.
Forefeet : Oval, pads deep, strong and sound, toes arched and close together. Nails short and strong.

HINDQUARTERS: Broad, muscular, in profile sloping gracefully to set on of tail.
Thigh : Long, deep and muscular.
Stifle : Well turned.
Hock joint: Strong, well let down.
Metatarsus (Rear pastern) : From hock to ground, hindlegs well boned and parallel when viewed from rear.
Hind feet : Oval, pads deep, strong and sound, toes arched and close together. Nails short and strong.

GAIT/MOVEMENT:

Free, smooth and tireless, with minimum lift of feet, conveying impression of ability to move with great stealth and speed.

COAT

HAIR: Two varieties : Moderately long or Smooth.
In both, topcoat dense and medium textured, undercoat soft and dense giving good weather resistance. In the moderately long-coated variety, abundant coat forms mane, breeching and brush. On face, ears, forelegs (except for feather), hindlegs from hock to ground, hair should be short and smooth.

COLOUR: Variety of colours permissible. White should never predominate.

SIZE AND WEIGHT :

Ideal height at withers: Males: 53 cm (21 ins), Females: slightly less.

FAULTS:

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness, with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on its ability to perform its traditional work.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS :

Aggressive or overly shy.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B:

Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation, should be used for breeding.

History

The Border Collie is descended from landrace collies, a type found widely in the British Isles. The name for the breed came from its probable place of origin along the Anglo-Scottish border. Mention of the "Collie" or "Colley" type first appeared toward the end of the 19th century, although the word "collie" is older than this and has its origin in the Scots language. It is also thought that the word 'collie' comes from the old Celtic word for useful. Many of the best Border Collies today can be traced back to a dog known as Old Hemp. In 1915, James Reid, Secretary of the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS) in the United Kingdom first used the term "Border Collie" to distinguish those dogs registered by the ISDS from the Kennel Club's Collie (or Scotch Collie, including the Rough Collie and Smooth Collie) which originally came from the same working stock but had developed a different, standardised appearance following introduction to the show ring in 1860 and mixture with different types breeds.

Old Hemp
Old Hemp, a tricolor dog, was born in Northumberland in September 1893 and died in May 1901. He was bred by Adam Telfer from Roy, a black and tan dog, and Meg, a black-coated, strong-eyed dog. Hemp was a quiet, powerful dog to which sheep responded easily. Many shepherds used him for stud and Hemp's working style became the Border Collie style. All pure Border Collies alive today can trace an ancestral line back to Old Hemp

Wiston Cap
Wiston Cap (b. 28 Sep. 1963) is the dog that the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS) badge portrays in the characteristic Border Collie herding pose. He was a popular stud dog in the history of the breed, and his bloodline can be seen in most bloodlines of the modern day Collie. Bred by W. S. Hetherington and trained and handled by John Richardson, Cap was a biddable and good-natured dog. His bloodlines all trace back to the early registered dogs of the stud book, and to J. M. Wilson's Cap, whose name occurs sixteen times within seven generations in his pedigree. Wiston Cap sired three Supreme Champions and is grand-sire of three others, one of whom was E. W. Edwards' Bill, who won the championship twice.