The Border Collie is a breed of herding dog that originated along the borders of England, Wales and Scotland. They are widely considered to be the most intelligent breed of dog in the world. These highly energetic dogs are often considered the world's best sheep herding dogs; they can be hyperactive and are frequently used on farms all over the world to assist with the handling of livestock. While originally bred for farm work, they have also become popular as pet and sport dogs. These dogs can be protective of a human family member and are, most of the time, affectionate to those they know. Because of their highly intelligent natures Border Collies must be carefully trained with a lot of physical exercise and mental stimulation included in their daily schedules.

History

The Border Collie is descended from droving and gathering breeds originating on the Scottish - English borders and Welsh - English borders, including the Cumberland Sheepdog. Mention of the "Collie" or "Colley" type first appeared toward the end of the nineteenth century. Many of the best Border Collies today can be traced back to a dog known as Old Hemp. Old Hemp, a tri-color dog, was born September 1893 and died May 1901. He was bred by Adam Telfer from Roy, a black and tan dog, and Meg, a black-coated, strong-eyed bitch. 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.

Appearance and Size

In general, Border Collies are medium-sized dogs without extreme physical characteristics and a moderate amount of coat. 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 or sable and white), red (chocolate) and white, and red tricolour (red/tan/white) also occur regularly, with other colors such as blue, lilac, red merle, blue merle, brindle and "Australian red"/gold seen less frequently. Border Collies may also have single-color coats. Eye color green 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 or sighthounds). Although working Border Collie handlers sometimes have superstitions about the appearance of their dogs (handlers may avoid mostly white dogs due to unfounded idea that sheep will not respect a white or almost all white 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. Height at withers: Males from 19 to 22 in, females from 18 to 21 in.

Personality

Border Collies are an intelligent breed with an instinctive desire to work closely and intensely with a human handler. 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 ample play with humans or other dogs. Border Collies are happiest with a job to do.

Wikipedia and GNU

The content of this entry is from the Wikipedia article "Border Collie" licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.