Border Collie
The Border Collie is the sheepdog of the Anglo-Scottish borders and, by most measures, the most intelligent working breed in the world. It was bred for a single purpose, moving…
About the Border Collie
The Border Collie is the sheepdog of the Anglo-Scottish borders and, by most measures, the most intelligent working breed in the world. It was bred for a single purpose, moving sheep across hill country under a shepherd's whistle, and a Border Collie without a job will invent one.
The breed exists in two registration worlds. Working dogs are registered with the International Sheep Dog Society, and an ISDS-registered collie can be transferred onto the Royal Kennel Club Breed Register; show-bred dogs are registered with the Royal Kennel Club from birth. The two have diverged in coat, build and drive, so ask a stud owner which the dog is. Dogs stand around 53 cm, in rough or smooth coat, most often black and white but in many other colours. Merle to merle matings should never be made.
The Border Collie has an unusually full set of DNA tests, and a serious stud owner will have them: collie eye anomaly, trapped neutrophil syndrome, Imerslund-Gräsbeck syndrome and the MDR1 drug-sensitivity gene. Add hip scores, a current eye certificate, and a BAER hearing test. Ask, too, about epilepsy in the line, which no test can find.
Health & breeding
We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Breed Right’s summary — under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard
Health tests for the Border Collie
This panel is Breed Right’s summary of the testing that matters for the breed under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard. The Health Standard is the Royal Kennel Club’s guidance for breeders, not a registration rule. It describes tests to ask about — it is not a report on any individual dog. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Good Practice — the Royal Kennel Club’s minimum before breeding
The tests the Royal Kennel Club says breeders should, at a minimum, complete before breeding.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eye testing (BVA/KC/ISDS) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC/ISDS | Result printed on the eye certificate. |
| Gonioscopy (BVA/KC/ISDS) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC/ISDS | Grade 1–3 on the certificate; 1 is normal or mild. |
Best Practice — further tests it recommends
Completing these as well as the Good Practice tests is what the Royal Kennel Club calls Best Practice.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| DNA test — CEA/CH (Collie Eye Anomaly / Choroidal Hypoplasia) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — CL/NCL5 (Ceroid Lipofuscinosis) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — GGD (Severe Goniodysgenesis and Glaucoma Risk) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — IGS (Imerslund-Gräsbeck Syndrome) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — MDR1 (Multi-Drug Resistance) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — Raine (Raine’s Syndrome) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — SN (Sensory Neuropathy) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — TNS (Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| Hip score (BVA/KC) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC | Total of both hips, 0–106. Lower is better. |
| Elbow grading (BVA/KC) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC | Grade 0–3. The dog is graded on the worse of the two elbows. |
| Hearing test — BAER (RKC BAER Scheme) | Screening scheme | RKC | Per ear: hearing or deaf, as certified. |
Breed hip median
Breed median 10 (BVA Hip Dysplasia Scheme breed statistics 2025 — 5 years, 1,150 dogs scored). Lower is better. Source · How hip scores work
At stud now
Border Collie stud dogs
No Border Collie studs are listed right now
When a Border Collie on the Royal Kennel Club Breed Register is listed at stud, it will appear here.
Also available
Border Collie litters
No Border Collie litters are listed right now
Litters appear here as breeders list them. Check back soon, or browse other breeds.
