De Border Collie
The history of the breed
The Border Collie descends from Landrace Collies, a type commonly found in the British Isles. The name of the breed originated from its presumed place of origin along the English and Scottish border (the Border), Great Britain. Mention of the type 'Collie' first appeared in the late 19th century, although the word 'collie' predates this and has its origins in the Scottish language. It is also believed that the word 'collie' comes from the ancient Celtic word for useful. Many of today's best Border Collies can be traced back to a dog known as Old Hemp (McCulloch, John Herries, 1952).
Character
This breed is always ready to go to work. He is attentive, lively and alert. He has a very close relationship with his owner and generally sees a boss within the family that the dog would go through fire for. The Border Collie is a fantastic breed and certainly not a suitable beginner dog. The Border Collie is known to be in the top 3 smartest dog breeds, meaning they are quite ''easy'' to train provided they receive proper and consistent guidance from their owner. Precisely because they are so smart and think independently, this can also develop into a negative thing. If these dogs do not get the mental and physical challenge they need, this can lead to unwanted behavior and this is something that can be difficult to turn into positive behavior, such as driving cars, snapping at people and animals, flight behavior, shade hunt and so on. So it is a great breed if you give them enough mental and physical challenge.
Health
Unfortunately, the Border Collie suffers from some hereditary defects within the breed, which makes it very important for breeders to take this into account when making a combination. For example, there are a number of hereditary defects for which parent animals must be tested, according to the board of directors (organization that takes care of the pedigrees) it is mandatory to test for hip dysplasia and the eyes are tested annually by means of an ECVO eye examination. However, in addition to this test, there is much more possible in terms of research. This is something that a decent breeder is only too happy to investigate before making a combination with two future parents, Unfortunately, there are also a number of hereditary defects within our breed that cannot be tested for, such as Epilepsy, Border Collie Collapse,...
Life expectancy: 12–15 years. An adult male is about 53cm high and weighs on average around 20kg.
An adult female is slightly smaller than a male and weighs around 16 kg on average.
Care
In general, the Border Collie is an easy breed to care for. In addition to his activities and mental stimulation, it is also important to pay attention to the coat. The coat of a Border Collie is self-cleaning, so it is not necessary to comb the dog weekly. Nevertheless, it is important to brush and comb through the coat every now and then to prevent tangles from forming. It is also important to check the dog's nails regularly and to trim them if necessary. We are lucky that Kayleigh has its own grooming salon, all our dogs can be found regularly in the grooming salon and are groomed every 3 to 4 months by means of a washing and blowing method that ensures that the coat of the dogs is always in top condition is. It is always nice if a professional can lend a hand in the coat care of the dog, so we also recommend that you pay a visit to the grooming salon, see it as a check-up appointment at the vet. Kayleigh has made a video about the coat care of our Border Collies, this video can be found under the heading coat care.