Border Collie

Learns fast and concentrates hard on its handler.
A Border Collie
Photo: Horacio Cambeiro
Adult male
14–25 kg
31–55 lb
Adult female
12–19 kg
26–42 lb
Lifespan
13.1 yrs
Class · Working
also Sport

What it's like

In temperament it learns quickly, concentrates hard and pays close attention to its handler. A Border Collie named Chaser became known through published research for learning the names of a very large number of toys.

Owners who rated their dogs' everyday behaviour found Border Collies much less often among the most independent-minded dogs. With people, with other dogs and on calmness, they were about average. Breed is only a small part of any one dog's personality, so meet the dog before you decide.
Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
Likes its own space
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Keen to work with you
Around the home
Sensitivity
Needs a calm, predictable home
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is a Border Collie right for you?
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Living with one

Bred to herd stock all day, a Border Collie needs plenty of exercise, and owners say it seeks constant activity more often than most. Its coat, long or smooth, moults most as the seasons change. In UK vet records, its risk of heat-related illness was not measurably different from a Labrador's.

Size and growth

A Border Collie is a medium dog, heavier than a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and lighter than a Golden Retriever. Males end up clearly heavier than females.

Its hallmark is 'eye', a low, crouching approach and fixed stare that moves stock quietly, usually without barking. It is a lean, agile dog, slightly longer than it is tall, with an alert expression. The coat is either moderately long and dense or short and smooth. Black and white is the familiar pattern, though red, blue merle, tricolour and other colours also occur.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Border Collie puppy is already as heavy as a grown Pug. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight8
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
01020302m4m6m9m12m18m
01020302m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
3.0–5.4 kg 6.6–11.9 lb
2.9–4.6 kg 6.4–10.1 lb
3 months
4.5–8.0 kg 9.9–17.6 lb
4.1–6.5 kg 9.0–14.3 lb
4 months
6.5–11.6 kg 14.3–25.6 lb
5.8–9.3 kg 12.8–20.5 lb
5 months
8.4–14.9 kg 18.5–32.8 lb
7.4–11.7 kg 16.3–25.8 lb
6 months
10.0–17.8 kg 22.0–39.2 lb
8.7–13.7 kg 19.2–30.2 lb
7 months
11.2–20.0 kg 24.7–44.1 lb
9.6–15.2 kg 21.2–33.5 lb
8 months
12.1–21.6 kg 26.7–47.6 lb
10.3–16.2 kg 22.7–35.7 lb
9 months
12.7–22.7 kg 28.0–50.0 lb
10.7–17.0 kg 23.6–37.5 lb
10 months
13.1–23.4 kg 28.9–51.6 lb
11.1–17.5 kg 24.5–38.6 lb
11 months
13.4–23.9 kg 29.5–52.7 lb
11.3–17.9 kg 24.9–39.5 lb
12 months
13.6–24.2 kg 30.0–53.4 lb
11.5–18.2 kg 25.4–40.1 lb
15 months
13.9–24.8 kg 30.6–54.7 lb
11.8–18.8 kg 26.0–41.4 lb

Health and lifespan

Vets record these more often in Border Collies than in crossbreeds. Balance disorder (moderate) is more likely, and joint wear-and-tear arthritis in the limbs (serious) slightly more likely. These are figures for the breed as a whole, not a prediction for your dog.
Listed by likelihood level, highest first, then by how serious it is, then by name.
  • Balance disorder
    More likely
    Impact: moderate
  • Joint wear-and-tear arthritis in the limbs
    Slightly more likely
    Impact: serious

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical Border Collie lived to about 13 years, about average for a medium breed.

Where it comes from

The Border Collie takes its name from the sheep country along the Scottish-English border. Its breeding was shaped by sheepdog trials, first recorded at Bala in North Wales in 1873, and by the stud book of the International Sheep Dog Society, formed in 1906, which lets breeders trace dogs of known working ability. Old Hemp, Adam Telfer's dog from West Woodburn in Northumberland, is counted its foundation sire13,14,15,16.

The Border Collie spent most of its history as a working dog, judged on the hill and the trial field rather than on looks. The name came into use early in the twentieth century and is generally credited to James Reid of the International Sheep Dog Society, who used it to set these dogs apart from other collie types. The Kennel Club recognised the breed in the nineteen-seventies. It remains a farm dog, has become a show dog, and competes strongly in obedience, agility and flyball. It was bred to gather and drive sheep at a distance on whistled and spoken commands.

Breed standard

The Border Collie is judged against standard no. 297, in group 1, Sheepdogs and Cattledogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Border Collie figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

Australian Shepherd
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Rough Collie
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Miniature American Shepherd
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Small
Golden Retriever
Retrievers & water dogs · Large
Or compare the Border Collie with any breed you choose
Track your own Border Collie
Log a minute a day and watch them sit on these curves. Free.

Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·