Bred around the borders between England and Scotland, the Border collie is well known in this area as a herd dog that helps farmers in herding their cattle. These dogs are extremely intelligent and have an intuitive mind that goes beyond basic instincts. With a medium length body that is lean, these dogs have a wide skull, an all black nose, oval eyes that are of dark brown shade and half perked ears. However, there are some breeds that have blue eyes instead of dark brown ones. This breed has a flag tail that is over its back whenever the dog is excited.

These are medium sized dogs with a medium sized coat, which results in minimal shedding of hair. They have a double coat, consisting of a smooth upper coat of a medium length, and a water resistant and thick undercoat. Border collies have coats of all colors except pure white. Coat colors include black and white, tricolor, black and grey, yellow and white, yellow, sable, red and white and all black. Although most Border collies have medium length hair, there are some long haired ones, which have a mane and tail brush. However, all Border collies have sleek and short hair around their ears, face and front legs. Ears of a Border collie are usually half perked but there are some varieties that have fully erect ears, half drooped ears and fully drooped ears.

These are extremely active breeds that require constant movement and exercise to keep them active and happy. In fact, Border collies have been known to participate in various dog sporting events. Given their active nature, they are extremely demanding and love activities, which is why it’s advisable that only those families that can provide this kind of activity level in their households should go for these dogs. Apart from physical stimulation, these dogs also require high levels of mental stimulation and often end up neurotic, when not provided with the correct level of physical and mental stimulations.

They have high levels of stamina and endurance, which is the reason why they are excellent as cattle herders. In fact, these dogs can run for miles together and yet want to keep running. These dogs are known to dig holes in boredom, reiterating the fact that they must be kept mentally and physically occupied at all times. Although extremely intelligent, these dogs mature slowly, and gain complete maturity only at the age of 3 or 4 years. Therefore, if you are planning to get a Border collie puppy, be prepared for a clownish dog till it reaches maturity.

These dogs require large amounts of both affection and attention. However, when it comes to socializing, they need to be trained right from the puppy stage. If this is not done, they can be aloof when it comes to strangers as well as unknown dogs, and even get aggressive sometimes towards the latter.

Although fairly low in maintenance, these dogs require to be brushed at least once a week, given their medium or long length of coats. With regard to exercise, it is important to schedule proper time and extent of exercise for these dogs as they will cause havoc if left on their own.