Border Collie

border collie, breed of herding dog, typically an outstanding sheepdog, which has been used along the English-Scottish border for about 300 years. The product of crossing ancient Roman-era and Viking-era herding dogs, the Border Collie is considered to be among the most intelligent dog breeds, and it excels in agility competitions. It stands about 18–22 inches (46–58 cm) tall at the withers and weighs 30–55 pounds (14–25 kg). It usually has long hair, which is often black-and-white but sometimes red-and-white or tricolour. Some individuals display a merle, or dappled, coat pattern, in which darker-pigmented patches of colour overlay lighter-pigmented patches of the same colour. For years, many breeders resisted official recognition of the Border Collie from such groups as the American Kennel Club (AKC) for fear of encouraging the breeding of dogs that conformed physically to type but were unsuited to the breed’s traditional work. In 1995 the Border Collie became eligible to be registered with the AKC in the regular dog-show classes.

Border Collies compete in trials under the auspices of a number of groups, the oldest being the International Sheepdog Society, which held its first international trial, in Scotland, in 1906. At a trial, a dog is expected to perform such tasks as bringing sheep to a handler and rounding sheep into a pen. Each trial has a time limit, which varies by venue and competition, and each fault or error leads to a deduction from the point total that a dog and its handler have at the start of the trial (points can only be subtracted, not added). The handler uses verbal commands with the dog, such as “Come bye” (move clockwise around the flock), “Away” or “Away to me” (move counterclockwise around the flock), “Look back” (shift your attention to another part of the flock), and “That’ll do” (come to me; the task is finished). Border Collies are known for glaring at sheep in order to intimidate them into doing what the dogs want. This behaviour, known as “eye,” may come from the breed’s wolf ancestors, which stared down a victim to help establish their dominance over it before attacking it.