THE BORDER COLLIE MUSEUM

Three Border Collies belonging to Bob Hogg of Witney, Oxfordshire, England.
Bob and his dogs travel around the country giving herding demonstrations at shows and festivals.

Looks--Diversity is the Key Word

It is incorrect to state that shepherd[']s [dogs] have been bred solely for work[ing] ability with no care for looks or conformation. Seldom does one see an ugly working collie, and even more seldom, one of poor conformation. Hard working farm dogs would never cope with years of stock work if they were ill-made.

...[S]howing has not developed these beautiful dogs; they are the product of many, many years of careful breeding by practical shepherds, most of whom have carefully studied the pedigrees of the animals involved...Show enthusiasts are now reaping the benefit of all this past experience...

The renowned quality of the Border Collie must continue to be judged on its work[ing] ability, as it has been judged for over 100 years...not solely on its good looks, or by its show ring successes...

The Border Collie has achieved the high esteem in which it is held, by sheer merit of accomplishing its herding tasks to the highest standards in the pastoral...world.

--Mrs. E. B. (Barbara) Carpenter
Brocken Border Collies
Pasters Hill House, Gloucestershire
April 1986

BLACK-AND-WHITE

BLUE

BLUE MERLE

BRINDLE

HALF-WHITE FACE (SPLIT FACE) & ALL-WHITE FACE

LILAC

PATTERNED WHITE & COLOR-HEADED WHITE

RED (CHOCOLATE/BROWN)

RED MERLE

SABLE

SADDLE PATTERNED

SMOOTH COATED

TAN (AUSTRALIAN RED)

TICKED

TRICOLOR & BLACK-AND-TAN

EYE COLOR

Because Border Collies are bred for intelligence and working ability and not just for looks, there is a great deal of diversity in appearance. They can have smooth (short) or rough (long) coats, or anything in between. The coat, even in smooth-coats, is double with a longer, coarser outer coat, and a shorter softer undercoat which sheds out completely by summer, so that they definitely need grooming. A very long coat could be a hazard to a working dog. Coats may be straight to curly--this is not a standard, but a fact. The Border Collie comes in a remarkable variety of colors. Black (black-and-white) is the most common color and often preferred by shepherds, along with tri-colored (black, white and tan). Red (red-and-white, and red-tri--red, white and tan) is not uncommon. Red in a Border Collie (which is called chocolate in Australia), is actually liver or brown (as in the Springer Spaniel). Saddle-patterned (a variant of tricolor), and Blue (or grey) is less common, as is blue merle, red merle, sable, tan, black-and-tan, and brindle. All of these colors usually come with varying amounts of white, the traditional "collie markings", usually a white blaze on the face, a white collar, feet, chest and tail tip. Some dogs are speckled or ticked. These dogs are usually born with their white areas completely white and as they grow varying amounts of spots begin to appear in the white areas. Ticking can come in all colors--black and white dogs will have black ticking, red and white dogs will have red ticking, etc. Others are born all white with small amounts of black, often on the ears, and their white areas will remain white all their lives. These dogs are oftened referred to as "patterned whites", but can also be solid white with a colored head, or "colored-headed white". Half-white faces or all-white faces with just black ears, are also common. Really rare is lilac, and we will talk more about it on the lilac page.

We will not go into the actual genetics of color here, but if you are interested in canine genetics, visit Sue Ann Bowling's excellent website, "Animal Genetics". She covers basic genetics, and has many articles on color genetics with photographic examples, particularly pertaining to the Shetland Sheepdog, but which could be applied to the Border Collie as well. The colors mentioned above, are the same as may be found in other breeds of dog, but every breed seems to have different nomenclature for the same colors, and of course the particular genes for producing a color may not be present in a breed due to selection, which is why some breeds come in only one or two colors, while other breeds, like the Border Collie, come in a variety of colors in different combinations. If you are interested in seeing what nomenclature is used for other breeds, or in seeing examples of color combinations that may also be possible in the Border Collie but we don't have examples of them (yet), we will continue to add links to websites that we think you will find interesting:

There is a Yahoo Group list for people interested in an ongoing discussion of color and color genetics in the herding breeds, with particular emphasis on the collie breeds. If you have an interest in such a narrow discussion topic:

Since there is no complete agreement yet among everyone concerned with the breed, the herding breeders, the sports breeder, the show breeders, the registries, and even the vets, if the Border Collie as a breed is indeed subject to certain hereditary diseases, responsibility is unfortunately still with the individual owner. Among these hereditary diseases is Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA), Hip Dysplasia (CHD), epilepsy and endocrine diseases. Allergies and skin conditions, and sensitivity to fleas or foods are also known.

Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)

A dog with PRA gradually loses its vision with age, and may appear normal until middle age. Therefore, there is a possibility the dog may be used in a breeding program before it becomes symptomatic. ISDS testing has reduced the incidence of PRA in Great Britain. According to the ABCA (American Border Collie Association, one of the three American Border Collie registries, and the most active and largest today) PRA does not exist in the United States, at least not in the Border Collie. Here is what the ABCA "eye committee" (which consists of Sally Lacy, chair, C. Denise Wall, PhD, Mellissa DeMille, PhD, and Amy Coapman, MS) has to say on the matter:

What was causing dogs to go blind 25 years ago was cPRA, or Central Progressive Atrophy. That disease simply collapsed of its own accord in the 1970's and 1980's. The geneticists who are at the cutting edge of retinal diseases are at Cornell and they have no proven scientific explanation, only speculation as to why. Because the disease disappeared relatively quickly, first in the USA and Australia, then the Continent and finally in the UK, they suspect it was an environmental problem, probably ending with the widespread use of commercial dog food which was fed to Border Collies in the UK some years after it was common in the US.

There is a condition that appears not to be genetic that affects working dogs, hard working dogs such as the field dogs and sheep dogs, which can be confused in the later stages with the retinas of breeds that are affected by PRA. Speculation here is that the retinal lesions are stress related and most commonly are seen in gung-ho young males that live and work where they can overheat. It is distinguishable from PRA in early phases by the fact that it is not bilateral, did not start as night blindness, and does not progress evenly and rapidly. Dr. Gregory Acland, who is doing the research on CEA, has followed up on the four young males he has seen (out of thousands) that exhibit all the symptoms of PRA. He examined close relatives (up to 30) to see if any others had similar degenerative retinal disease and found no possible genetic link. All those dogs listed by CERF as being PRA Suspicious are probably suffering from focal/multifocal retinal degeneration, and subsequent ophthalmic examinations show no progression, or at least not the progression PRA would take.

Despite the persisting impression that this genetic disease [PRA] is prevalent in the breed, extensive investigation has shown the incidence of PRA in Border Collies in North America to be extremely low to non existent. Therefore, the ABCA does not currently consider it a major health concern. Should true PRA be a problem in the future, the required examination of the eyes of all dogs which run in the National Finals Nursery and Open trials will catch it early on.

Since in most cases, PRA can be detected by the time a dog is two years old, why take the chance? Breeder responsibility and buyer vigilance can insure that lines are free from the disease. It is recommended that breeding be delayed until then. Breeding stock should be checked every year after that to be safe.

Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA)

Because CEA is recessive, parents that both have good vision can pass it on to their puppies. The lesions produced by CEA can be detected as early as six weeks old, so an entire litter of puppies may be tested, and eliminated from a breeding program if positive. If missed at six weeks, a dog can be tested, as with PRA, at two years old. There is now a simple genetic test being offered by Optigen which screens potential breeding stock for CEA. Go to Optigen and read more. There is also a good explanation of the effects of the disease on their website.

Hip Dysplasia (CHD)

CHD is on the rise in American Border Collies. It is a common misconception, even among some veterinarians, that a dog who is able to work must have good hips. Border Collies are often so engrossed in their work they can ignore pain. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) reports 16.9 percent hip dysplasia in the Border Collie, but since we can assume that in serious cases the X-rays were not sent to OFA, this percentage is slanted towards normal. X-rays may be taken of a Border Collie at two years old and sent to OFA for evaluation. Only dogs receiving OFA excellent or good should be considered for breeding.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy, also known as seizure disorder, is a disease that cannot yet be tested for prior to breeding or in offspring prior to becoming outwardly symptomatic, and its inheritance has not even been currently proven. However, incidences of epilepsy are being encountered more and more frequently in the Border Collie, and, although the causes are not yet completely understood, it appears to run in certain lines. Breeding a dog with epilepsy is not recommended.

For more information on canine epilepsy

visit EPILEPSY GUARDIAN ANGELS,

CANINE EPILEPSY NETWORK,


or stop by and read the webpage of WOOLGATHER MOSS, the editor's own epileptic Border Collie.

Deafness

As with many breeds, sometimes an all-white or mostly white Border Collie can be born deaf, since hearing is somehow linked to the presence of pigment in the skin. This most often occurs with merle to merle breeding, which is why this breeding is discouraged. Usually dogs with some amount of color will not be deaf. Deaf dogs can make wonderful pets, and can even be taught to excel in sports such as agility and flyball. Visit deafdogs.org and familiarize yourself with living with and training a deaf dog.

Other diseases that may have a genetic component are skeletal problems, like Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), and endocrine and immune system diseases. There are enough good working dogs available to breed from in the United States today, that it would not be responsible to the future of the breed, to the consumer, or to the reputation of the breeder to use a dog in a breeding program that is at all questionable, no matter what other stellar characteristics you think it has.

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