Border Collie Dog Specs

Border Collie Dog Specifications/Characteristic

TEMPERAMENT: Keen, alert, intelligent and responsive. Neither aggressive nor nervous.

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

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

CHARACTERISTICS: Tenacious, hardworking sheepdog, of great tractability.

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.

Muzzle, tapering to nose, strong and moderately short. Skull and foreface approximately equal in length. Nostrils well developed.

FEET: Oval in shape, pads deep, sound and strong, toes arched and close together. Nails strong and short.

MOUTH: Teeth and jaws strong with a perfect, complete and regular scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

FOREQUARTERS: Front legs parallel when viewed from front, pasterns slightly sloping when viewed from side. Bone strong, but not heavy. Shoulders well laid back, elbows close to body.

EARS: Medium sized and texture, well set apart. Carried semi-erect or erect and sensitive in use.

COAT: Two varieties: 1) Moderately long. In moderately long coated variety, abundant coat forms mane, breeching and brush.

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.

HINDQUARTERS: Broad, muscular, in profile sloping gracefully to set on of tail. Thighs long, muscular and deep with well-turned stifles and strong, well let down hocks. From hock to ground, hindlegs well boned and parallel when viewed from rear.

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, intelligent and alert.

BODY: Athletic in appearance, ribs well sprung, chest rather broad and deep, loins muscular and deep, but not tucked up. Body slightly longer than height at shoulder.

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

Border Collie Breed Standard

Preamble – The Border Collie originated in the border country between Scotland and England where the shepherds’ breeding selection was based on biddable stock sense and the ability to work long days on rugged terrain. As a result of this selective breeding, the Border Collie developed the unique working style of gathering and fetching the stock with wide sweeping outruns. Breeding based on this working ability has made this breed the world’s premier sheep herding dog, a job the Border Collie is still used for worldwide.

General Appearance

Hindquarters
Stifles are well turned with strong hocks that may be either parallel or very slightly turned in. Feet, although slightly smaller, are the same as front.

Forequarters
Because sufficient length of leg is crucial for the type of work the breed is required to do, the distance from the wither to the elbow is slightly less than from the elbow to the ground and legs that are too short in proportion to the rest of the body are a serious fault. The shoulder blades are long, well laid back and well-angulated to the upper arm. Feet are compact, oval in shape; pads strong and deep, toes close and moderately arched together with strong nails of moderate length.

Color
The Border Collie appears in all colors or combination of markings and/or colors. Solid color, bi-color, tri-color, merle and sable dogs are to be judged equally with no one color or pattern preferred over another.

Shoulders well laid back, elbows close to body.

Coat
The smooth variety is short over entire body, is usually coarser in texture than the rough variety and may have slight feathering on forelegs, haunches, chest and ruff. The Border Collie’s purpose as an actively working herding dog shall be clearly evident in its presentation. Dogs that are overly groomed (trimmed and/or sculpted) should be penalized according to the extent.

Neck, Topline, Body
Neck is of proportional length to the body, muscular and strong, slightly arched and blending smoothly into the shoulders. The rib cage is moderately long with well-sprung ribs. The ideal tail carriage is low when the dog is concentrating on a given task and may have a slight upward swirl at the end like a shepherd’s crook.

Head
Eyes are set well apart, of moderate size, oval in shape. Ears are of medium size, set well apart, one or both carried semi-erect and/or erect (varying from 1/4 to 3/4 of the ear erect). The underjaw is strong and well developed.

Size, Proportion, Substance
The body, from prosternum to point of buttocks, is slightly longer than the height at the withers with the length to height ratio being approximately 10:9. Bone must be strong, medium being correct but lighter bone is preferred over heavy. Dogs must be presented in hard working condition.

The Border Collie is a well-balanced, medium-sized dog of athletic appearance, displaying style and agility in equal measure with soundness and strength. The Border Collie is extremely intelligent, with its keen, alert expression being a very important characteristic of the breed. The Border Collie should remain an unspoiled and natural true working sheep dog whose conformation is described herein.

Thighs long, muscular and deep with well-turned stifles and strong, well let down hocks. The Border Collie is a well-balanced, medium-sized dog of athletic appearance, displaying style and agility in equal measure with soundness and strength. The underjaw is strong and well developed. Stifles are well turned with strong hocks that may be either parallel or very slightly turned in.

Temperament
The Border Collie is energetic, intelligent, keen, alert, and responsive. When approached, the Border Collie should stand its ground. Collect some books to read and purchase it here click here!.

Gait
The Border Collie is an agile dog, able to suddenly change speed and direction while maintaining balance and grace. The Border Collie’s most used working gaits are the gallop and a moving crouch (stealth) which convert to a free and balanced trot, with minimum lift of the feet. Exaggerated reach and drive at the trot are not useful to the Border Collie.

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