Border Collie Breed Diversity

Think you know what a border collie looks like? 

Try to figure out which of these is a real, purebred border collie.

The answer? All of them!

Border collies are bred for herding, not conformation to a breed standard. Responsible breeders select parent-dogs based on their intelligence, agility, and ability to herd sheep, without any concerns about what the resulting pups might look like. Because of that, the border collie breed is incredibly diverse. Adults can weigh anywhere between 20 and 65 pounds and can be almost any combination of colors. They can have "rough" flowing coats or "smooth" flat coats. They can have floppy or erect ears. Many border collies from true herding stock would not meet the AKC criteria to be considered border collies-- but border collie enthusiasts say that their dogs, bred for work instead of the show-ring, are the only real border collies.

Dogs bred for agility or show are arguably not collies at all, since many consider part of the definition of "collie" to be "herder." This is part of the reason that most border collie enthusiasts are very opposed to the breed's recognition by the AKC. Breeding border collies to fit a specific standard of appearance is antithetical to breeders' goals of improving the dogs' health and herding ability across generations. If you meet a border collie who doesn't look like a border collie to you, odds are that she came from an exceptionally good breeder who is keeping in line with the ultimate goal of creating fast, smart, agile herders.

If a dog is bred from two border collie parents who herded sheep, it is a border collie, regardless of what it looks like.