Appearance

In general, Border Collies are medium-sized dogs with a moderate amount of coat, which is often thick and sheds without proper grooming.. Their double coats vary from smooth to rough, and come in many colours, although black and white is the most common. Black tricolour (black/tan/white or sable and white), red, white, and red tricolour (red/tan/white) have also been seen regularly, with other colours such as blue, lilac, red merle, blue merle, brindles, and "Australian red/gold" seen less frequently. Some Border Collies may also have single-colour coats.

Eye colour varies from brown to blue, and occasionally eyes of different colors occur; this is usually seen with merles. The ears of the Border Collie are also variable — some have fully erect ears, some fully dropped ears, and others semi-erect ears (similar to those of the Rough Collie. Although working Border Collie handlers sometimes have superstitions about the appearance of their dogs (handlers may avoid mostly white dogs due to the unfounded idea that sheep will not respect a white or almost all white dog), in general a dog's appearance is considered by the American Border Collie Association to be irrelevant its considered much more useful to identify a working Border Collie by its attitude and ability than by its looks.

 

Temperament

Border Collies require considerable daily physical exercise and mental stimulation.  The  Border Collie is an intelligent  dog breed; in fact, it is widely considered to be the most intelligent dog breed. Although the primary role of the Border Collie is being a livestock herding dog, this type of breed is becoming increasingly popular as a pet. In January 2011, a Border Collie was reported to have learned 1,022 words and acts consequently to human citation of those words.

Due to their working heritage, Border Collies are very demanding, playful, and energetic that they are better off in households that can provide them with plenty of play and exercise with humans or other dogs.

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 Collies 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 the 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.