THE AMAZING BORDER COLLIE

BORDER COLLIES

Mark Pelley - The Snake Hunter, Director of Canine Snake Avoidance currently owns a border collie cross named "Star". She is featured in a lot of videos about dogs and dog training. As such, at Canine Snake Avoidance, we have extensive experience with border collies and are very familiar with the border collie breed. Learn more about border collies below:

Official Classification: ANKC - Working Dog

Country of Origin: Scotland (Anglo - Scottish Border Region)

Size: Males (48 - 53cm at withers), Females 46 - 51cm

Weight: Males between 14 - 28kg, Females 12 - 19kg.

Border Collie Canine Snake Avoidance

Border Collies are highly intelligent dogs that do well in almost all types of training. They respond extremely well to Canine Snake Avoidance Training and quickly progress to advanced levels. The Snake Avoidance Training has to be specifically tailored for Border Collies due to their high drive, herding instinct and tendency towards anxiety.

This video shows a 7 month old Border Collie Puppy progressing through Canine Snake Avoidance training both around the home and in a public setting. Training includes both non venomous and venomous snakes and is inclusive of both snake visualisation and scent training for border collies.

About Border Collies

The border collie, is found on the England-Scotland border region of the UK. Its origins developed from the Roman invasion of Britain. Roman influence in Britain included dog breeding whereby livestock and herding dogs were utilized.

These large dogs remained for several centuries and interbred with local dogs. Later, the Vikings from Scandinavia brought along Scandinavian dogs that were smaller, quicker and spitz-type herders. The cross between the older established Romano-British dogs and the Viking Spitzes produced these now more compact and agile herders capable of working in rocky and hill regions of the area and today, we have the ever popular border collie.

The name “Collie” first appeared at the end of the 19th century but the name’s origin is in the Scot’s language which is thought to derive from the old Celtic word for “useful”. Border collies were first introduced to Australia in early earliest 20th century and have developed into one of the most popular dogs in Australia since.

Description of Border Collies

Border collies are a sheepdog that can appear as a well proportioned dog with long hair, often dual colour (often black and white or brown and white) or tri colour dog. They are a well balanced medium sized dog that show grace, and quality. Border collies have a hard, muscular body and convey effortless agility, movement and endless endurance.

Border collies display smooth outlines, graceful, quality, perfect balance. Border collies are sometimes known as creepers from their style of working which is due to their ability to drop to the ground instantly and creep low to the ground.

Border Collie Appearance

Coat: Long haired double coat. Dual or tri colour. Long dense and medium textured. Can white with a mixture of chocolate, black, red and tan.

Head: Muzzle and skull are equal length on parallel planes, with the skull broad and flat, large open nose, with a strong jaw and keen alert expression.

Ears: The ears are medium size and texture, set well apart,carried semi-erect.

Eyes: Border Collies have Oval shaped eyes

Body: Border collies are Medium sized dog, athletic, muscular. Ribs are well sprung, loins are deep are slightly arched.

Gait: The gait of the border collie is free, tireless and smooth. There is minimal lift of the feet giving the impression of great stealth.

Legs: Forelegs are well boned, straight and parallel. Hindquarters broad and muscular. Oval shaped pads on the feet.

Tail: The tail of the border collie is moderately long, set low, upward swirl towards the end.

Border Collie Care

Health & Lifespan

Border collies typically live between 12 – 15 years. The leading causes of death are cancer, old age and cerebral vascular afflictions. Common health problems can include “collie eye anomaly” which is a congenital inherited eye disease, and epilepsy. Other health conditions can include glaucoma, hip dysplasia, progressive renal atrophy, deafness and elbow dysplasia amongst others. Typically, border collies are a very hardy breed of dog

Grooming

There are two types of coats in border collies. The rough coat is medium-length and feathered while the smooth coat is shorter and coarser. Border collie coats are all dense, weather-resistent. Grooming as a result needs to be extensive. They need to be brushed thoroughly at least twice a week (more often preferred) to keep free from tangle, dirt, matting and debris. During shedding time, daily brushing is required. Nails need to be trimmed regularly. Professional grooming is recommended on a regular basis depending upon your dogs needs.

Border Collie Character

TEMPERAMENT

Border collies have extremely high intelligence and are considered to be the most or one of the most intelligent breeds of dog in the world. They have a strong herding instinct and are prone to anxiety if not sufficiently mentally stimulated. They generally have a friendly temperament, but can bite at the heels of running children and people. Overall border collies demonstrate a fantastic dogs as pets for the right kind of active family. They are a gentle or good natured animal.

USES: Herding, Agility and Family Pet.

FUTURE PROSPECTS: Border collies are a very popular breed and the future of this breed in Australia seems to continue to grow.

VIDEO: This is a video of "Star" when she was a puppy. It has nothing to do with canine snake avoidance, but like all dog owners, we're showing off our dog when she was a pup.

Exercise & Training Considerations

Border collies have a very high drive and are an athletic, high energy breed of dog. They require regular intense exercise daily much beyond a short walk. Border collies need space to run and need to run daily. Treadmills can assist in helping address the energy levels of border collies but cannot be used as a substitute for intense regular exercise daily. Border collies are suitable for active owners and not for people who prefer to stay indoors or leave their dogs at kennels for extended periods. Training your border collie to run beside you when on a bicycle can help meet their exercise needs. Without proper mental and physical stimulation, border collies can develop neurosis, behavioural issues, and develop severe issues with anxiety. Included in the problematic behaviours are chewing holes in walls and furniture, and scraping, digging or tearing up gardens due to boredom.

With regards to training, border collies are highly intelligent and active so thrive in obedience, agility, rally and tracking competitions, herding, as well as sporting competitions such as flyball/disc. Like all dogs, border collies require early socialisation which entails positive exposure to as many animals, people and circumstances as possible. Border collies require ongoing training that stimulates their mind. Border collies have a tendency to herd animals and children, so this needs to be a factor of training.