Detailed description of Border Collie
Border Collie is a medium-sized dog breed with a moderate amount of thick coat that in most cases is coloured black and white. Border Collies are well balanced in build with a hard and muscular body and an overall athletic appearance.
Genesis
During the Roman Empire’s glory, emperors made plans to conquer Britain. The Roman occupation influenced almost every aspect of British life, including dog breeding. As the occupant’s legions brought their livestock with them, with livestock came herding dogs. The fall of the Roman Empire opened British lands to another invader - Vikings. They brought along their smaller, quicker, spitz-type herders. Viking began crossing their dogs with the old Roman dogs, which eventually led to the creation of compact and agile herders known today as Border Collie. Once Border Collies dominated competitive sheepdog trials in the British Isles for more than a hundred years, the breed has been recognised as the world’s greatest herder.
Appearance
Border Collies are medium-sized and covered with a double coat varying from rough to smooth, occasionally curled. Though there are some most popular colour combinations, this dog breed can come in virtually any colour and pattern known to occur in dogs. Some of the most commonly seen include black and white, black with white and tan, liver and white and red with tan and white. Some Border Collies may even have a single-colour coat. These dogs have almond-shaped eyes with a particularly intelligent expression. There is no specific eye colour for Border Collies - they may range from brown to blue or even eyes that differ in colour. Even Border Collies ears may vary in shape - some dogs have them fully erect, some fully dropped, others have semi-erect ears.
Behaviour
There is not as much variation regarding Border Collie’s temperament as there is with their coat colours and patterns. Dogs of this breed are highly intelligent and very active. As an energetic and playful breed Border Collies will not stand sitting in one place for too long - you can expect nipping, barking, biting and many other behavioural problems from an under-exercised Border Collie. This dog breed is considered to be hyperactive and always have the need to do something. Border Collies require both physical and mental activity, otherwise can become frustrated and irritable. Border Collies are very routine-oriented and any changes may lead to overall bad behaviour.
Requirements
Border Collies have a high demand for both physical and mental stimulation. As this breed thrives when given a job to do and space to run, you have to provide a not working Border Collie with vigorous exercise every day. Despite some genetic diseases including Collie eye anomaly and epilepsy occurring in this breed, Border Collies make a rather healthy and very hardy breed. It is worth noting that due to their tendency to herd animals and people, they do best with older, well-behaved children.
Daily care
Border Collies have two types of coat. There is a rough, medium-length and feathered coat and a smooth, but shorter and coarser coath. Both are water-resistant and dense. Both require the same grooming - one or twice a week to keep the coat mat-free, tangle-free and get rid of any dirt. During shedding season daily brushing is required. Trim your dog’s nails if necessary. Bathe your Border Collie rather infrequently, especially if dog gets dirty or smelly. Frequent bathing may strip natural oils from Border Collie’s coat, which will result in the coat losing its water-repellent properties.
