The Border collie is one of the smartest dogs in the world. They originated on the border between England and Scotland thus the name Border collie. They have been used as a working dog for more than 200 years and two of their most outstanding characteristics are their eyes and their style. There is a myth that the intensity of the eyes of a Border collie has a hypnotic effect on sheep and other livestock allowing the Border collie to be a very effective herder.

They are a high energy dog requiring a great deal of exercise and stimulation. They are low maintenance when it comes to grooming because their coats actually shed dirt very nicely. They are a medium sized dog. The male stands approximately 19 to 22 inches while the female stands 18 to 21 inches tall and both weigh between 35 and 40 pounds. They have a double coat which can be slick to lush and can come in many colours. The most common colour is black and white. Other colours can be black with tan, red and white, red-tri, red merle, blue merle and blue and white.

The Border collie is not a good pet for everyone. They do not make good pets around young children. Although they are not naturally aggressive because of their energetic nature and their strong herding instinct, they may nip at small children trying to round them up.

They require a lot of attention and they need activities to keep them busy. They do really well in many canine sports. The border collie, like so many other dogs, when left to entertain themselves will often engage in destructive behaviour -couch chewing, barking etc.

Border collies love to play fetch, love to hike, and love to run. Any high level of exercise on a daily basis will keep your border collie out of mischief. Of course the best exercise of all would be what they are bred for and that is herding a flock of sheep. Al though we all don't live on farms and own sheep we can still have our dog participate in this event. There are many dog clubs that offer this type of activity for you and your dog. Some competitions will use ducks for the dogs to herd up and into pens.

Although very easy to train, the Border collie is often referred to as a "soft" dog. All that means is they are very sensitive to rough treatment and corrections and respond much better to motivational type of training that involves treats and play for rewards. Also they need consistency in their training. This is very important with this breed. Any variation in a body movement or a word being used for training they will perceive as a new and different command. As I said earlier this dog is not for everyone. Many believe the Border collie is way more dog than most people can handle.

Border collies are also bred not to hurt wildlife, including birds. This enables them to protect endangered species of birds or mammals. Some border collies have been trained to chase birds away at airports thus protecting them from injury from planes.

Border collies have also been trained as therapy dogs, guide dogs, hearing dogs and drug detection dogs. There is not much this breed can't be trained for. Many call them workaholics since they are happiest when they have a job.

Border collies like many other breeds have some health issues. The most prominent of these are hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, epilepsy and hypothyroidism. Males with the merle gene may also be prone to eye problems or hearing problems or both.

Although easy to train and a dog with a good temperament the Border collie is not for everyone. The Border collie needs a high energy individual that is willing to get involved in different canine sports that they will both enjoy together.