60 Fun Facts About Border Collie

The Border Collie takes its name from the frontier between which two countries?

The breed descends from the landrace sheepdogs once found all over the British Isles, but the border hill farms shaped the modern type.

Border Collies are kept predominantly for what job?

They also compete with great success in sheepdog trials, the sport built around that job.

The word 'collie' is thought to come from an old Celtic word meaning what?

The word itself has its roots in the Scots language, and is older than the breed name.

Who first used the term 'border collie' in 1915 to distinguish working dogs from show collies?

The show collies had come from the same working stock but had changed after entering the show ring in 1860.

Which dog, born in Northumberland in 1893, is regarded as the founding sire of the Border Collie breed?

Every purebred Border Collie alive today can trace a line back to him.

Who bred and owned Old Hemp?

Telfer said Hemp 'flashed like a meteor across the sheepdog horizon'.

What made Old Hemp's herding style so different from other sheepdogs of his era?

Within a few generations his quiet, intense style had become the Border Collie style.

Roughly how many pups is Old Hemp believed to have sired?

Shepherds queued for his stud services once they saw how sheep responded to him.

When the International Sheep Dog Society opened its stud book in 1915, what number entry was Old Hemp?

The stud book has since grown to around 300,000 entries.

Which dog is portrayed on the International Sheep Dog Society badge in the classic herding pose?

Born in 1963, he sired three Supreme Champions and his blood runs through most modern lines.

Hindhope Jed, a Scottish bitch exported in the 1890s, became a trials champion in which two countries?

She was described as the 'best to cross the equator' and was already in pup when she left Scotland.

Which breed was developed from Border Collies?

New Zealand's other sheepdog, the Huntaway, was bred to bark and drive rather than to 'eye' the flock.

What is the most common colouring of a Border Collie?

The breed actually turns up in almost every colour and pattern known in dogs, including lilac and 'Australian red'.

Border Collies with two different-coloured eyes have a trait known as what?

It is most often seen in merle-patterned dogs.

Some working handlers avoid dogs with mostly pale coats because of what unfounded belief?

The American Border Collie Association considers appearance irrelevant and judges a working dog by attitude and ability.

Which of these are not counted against a Border Collie in the show ring, in deference to its working roots?

Kennel club standards do insist on a 'keen and intelligent' expression and prefer dark brown eyes.

The height at the withers for a male Border Collie runs roughly from what to what?

Females stand a little lower, at 18 to 21 inches.

A 2024 UK study found what life expectancy for the Border Collie?

That beat both the purebred average of 12.7 and the crossbreed average of 12.

What was the leading cause of death in Border Collies in a 2004 Kennel Club survey?

Cancer accounted for 23.6 per cent of deaths, ahead of old age at 17.9 per cent.

Collie eye anomaly, which affects Border Collies, is caused by a mutation in which gene?

It is an autosomal recessive condition, so a dog needs two copies of the mutation to be affected.

The MDR1 mutation in some Border Collies makes them dangerously sensitive to which parasite drug?

Doses that are safe for other dogs can cause neurotoxicosis; the mutation's frequency runs from 1 to 4.8 per cent depending on the country.

The exercise-induced condition nicknamed 'the wobbles' is formally known as what?

Some affected dogs cannot fetch a tennis ball without symptoms yet can run for miles, because the trigger seems to be excitement rather than distance.

A UK study found Border Collies had which condition at 2.67 times the rate of other breeds?

The formal term is hepatic neoplasia.

The final day of an International sheepdog trial is run over a course of what length?

The qualifying rounds and national trials use a 400-yard course.

In the International 'double fetch', how many of the 20 sheep wear collars and must be shed off?

The 15 uncollared sheep are driven away and the five collared ones are kept in the ring and then penned.

The first recorded sheepdog trials were held in 1873 in which Welsh town?

A handler from Scotland took first prize at that inaugural event.

At the 1883 Hawick trials, William Wallace of Otterburn first controlled his dog with what?

Before that, handling involved a great deal of waving, shouting and barking.

In which year did the American Kennel Club recognise the Border Collie after 50-plus years in its Miscellaneous Class?

Most Border Collie groups protested, fearing show breeding would erode working ability.

In 2003 the American Border Collie Association voted to delist any dog that did what?

It was a deliberate stand for breeding to a working standard rather than to looks.

Roughly how many Border Collies does the American Border Collie Association register each year?

That dwarfs AKC registrations, which stood at 2,378 in 2005.

Besides sheep and cattle, Border Collies are used to clear unwanted wild birds from which places?

They have also been put to work herding free-range poultry, pigs and even ostriches.

What does ABC stand for in the 'ABC' classes at English dog agility competitions?

The breed's speed at the higher jump heights makes open classes a near-monopoly.

Which mountaineer believed dark-coated Border Collies are less prone to snow blindness?

The dogs are especially valuable for sweeping large hillsides and avalanche debris.

Georgia Tech's FIDO project fitted a Border Collie named Sky with a sensor that let her do what?

The idea was to let service dogs warn of danger or summon help if their handler collapsed.

How many toys could the Border Collie Chaser identify and retrieve by name?

That gave her the largest tested memory of any non-human animal.

Chaser was trained by which retired psychology professor at his home in Spartanburg, South Carolina?

His wife gave him the puppy as a 76th birthday present, and she was named after chasing a red Jeep.

In 2021 Chaser was named the first-ever official mascot of which institution?

The honour came two years after her death at the age of 15.

How did Chaser get her name?

The Pilleys were playing with her in the front yard when the Jeep flew past.

Rico, the Border Collie studied by the Max Planck Institute, reportedly understood how many words?

In tests he fetched 37 of 40 requested items correctly and could remember new names for four weeks.

Rico learned words from one exposure using a canine form of which human learning mechanism?

Placed among seven familiar toys, he fetched the unfamiliar one when he heard an unfamiliar name.

Which breed topped Stanley Coren's ranking for working and obedience intelligence?

Poodles, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers and Dobermanns filled out the top five; Afghan Hounds came last.

In the film Babe, the piglet is taken in by a Border Collie mother named what?

Her irascible mate is Rex, and the film earned seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

Which Dick King-Smith novel was adapted into the 1995 film Babe?

It was published in the US as Babe: The Gallant Pig.

Which Border Collie won the Palm Dog award at Cannes in 2023 for playing Snoop in Anatomy of a Fall?

He later attended the Oscars with his own seat, and 'clapped' during Jimmy Kimmel's monologue.

At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the Border Collie actor Messi was hired to do what?

French comedian Raphaël Mezrahi supplied his voice.

Which BBC sheepdog-trials series, first aired in 1976, drew audiences of over eight million at its peak?

Phil Drabble presented and Eric Halsall commentated; since 2013 it has survived as an annual segment inside Countryfile.

The Border Collie Shep was the long-time companion of which Blue Peter presenter?

A later presenter, Matt Baker, had a Border Collie called Meg on the same show.

Jean, the 'Vitagraph Dog' regarded as the first canine movie star, was owned and trained by whom?

Trimble later took Jean to England to work with Florence Turner's independent film company.

The 2024 flyball world-record team had one purebred sighthound and three dogs mixing which three breeds?

The Roadrunners set it outdoors at Zonhoven over 27.5 cm jumps.

Pavol Vakonič won 2015 agility world gold and silver with two Border Collies named what?

It was the first double victory by one handler in the championship's history.

Working Border Collies take direction at long range by voice and by what?

A distinct set of whistles for 'come by', 'away' and 'lie down' can carry across a whole hillside.

The Border Collie's coat is described as double and often what?

It ranges from smooth to rough and is occasionally curled.

The Border Collie is a British herding dog of what size?

Males stand about 19 to 22 inches at the shoulder.

Which registry recognises the Border Collie as the 'prime sheepdog' from its base in Piccadilly, London?

The UK's working registry, the International Sheep Dog Society, registers only dogs with proven herding ability.

What were the names of Old Hemp's parents?

Roy was black and tan, Meg a black-coated, strong-eyed bitch; every purebred Border Collie alive today traces a line back to their son.

Which Christchurch man imported Hindhope Jed and other British working dogs in the 1890s?

Collies had been listed as imports to New Zealand as early as 1858, but of unspecified type.

Where was the mutation behind neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis in show Border Collies identified?

Scott Melville identified it in Alan Wilton's laboratory; there is no cure, but a DNA test now lets breeders avoid it.

In Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome, what does the bone marrow fail to do?

Affected puppies cannot fight infections; the mutation turns up in working and show lines from Britain, Australia and New Zealand alike.

How long did the Border Collie Shep wait at a station in the 1930s for his dead master?

He had watched the body loaded onto a train in 1936; a different Shep later became John Noakes's Blue Peter companion.

In which coat pattern is heterochromia, or odd-coloured eyes, most often seen in Border Collies?

Eye colour otherwise ranges from brown to green, and ears can be fully erect, dropped or semi-erect.