Border Collie

Border Collies are, on average, medium-sized dogs with a moderate amount of coat, which is often thick and prone to shedding. They have a double coat that varies from smooth to rough and is occasionally curled. While black and white is the most common colouring of the Border Collie, the breed appears in just about any colour and pattern known to occur in dogs. Some of these include black tricolour (black/tan/white), liver and white, and red tricolour (red/tan/white) which have also been seen regularly, and other colours such as blue, lilac, red merle, blue merle, brindle, and Australian red (also known as ee red, blonde, recessive red, or gold) which is seen less frequently. Some border collies may also have single-colour coats.

Eye colour varies from brown to green, and occasionally eyes of differing colour occur; this is usually seen with merles. This trait is known as heterochromia. The ears of the border collie are also variable — some have fully erect ears, some fully dropped ears, and others semi-erect ears (similar to those of the rough collie). Although working border collie handlers sometimes have superstitions about the appearance of their dogs (handlers may avoid mostly white dogs due to the unfounded idea that sheep will not respect a white or almost all white dog), in general, the American Border Collie Association considers a dog's appearance to be irrelevant. Instead, it is considered more useful to identify a working border collie by its attitude and ability.

Dogs bred for show are more homogeneous in appearance than working border collies since to win in conformation showing they must conform closely to breed club standards that are specific on many points of the structure, coat, and colour. Kennel clubs specify, for example, that the border collie must have a "keen and intelligent" expression, and that the preferred eye colour is dark brown. In deference to the dog's working origin, scars and broken teeth received in the line of duty are not to be counted against a border collie in the show ring. The males' height from withers comes from 48 to 56 centimetres (19 to 22 in), females from 46 to 53 centimetres (18 to 21 in).

It has been claimed to be the most intelligent breed of dog.

Can They Make Good Service Animals?

Since I have a Border Collie for a service dog my answer may be a bit jaded. There is so much to love with this breed their colours, their eagerness to please, their intelligence, but there are some important things to remember about the breed as a whole.

• They are working dogs, meaning they have to have a job, and they put everything into that job.
• They are very high energy. If you don't have an outlet for the energy your furniture will be torn up, and walls will get chewed through. As the handler, you should be active.
• Border Collies tend to read the emotions of their handlers very easily and this can cause problems for the team if the handler does not understand this. Especially for psychiatric service dog teams.
• Atypical colours (non-black and white) can bring a lot of attention when in public. See "Unwanted Attention" in my article The Negative Side of Having a Service Dog

Some of the typical bonuses for having a Border Collie as a service dog.

• Ease of training. They are always ready to learn.
• Eager to please.
• Great size.