El border collie It is a canine variety that stands out for having great training potential in several areas such as; the competition of obstacles, obedience that goes from the simplest to the most complex, skills, herding among others. Read on to learn more about this great breed.
Border Collie Origin
The origin of the dog was in the limits of Scotland and England, recognized in the British Isles, it is believed that the border collie reaches the Celtic tribes and that language used by these collie communities; Helpful means border collie in Gaelic. From the beginning it is presented as a herding dog to work above all, with flocks of sheep, today this breed is the most outstanding thanks to its intelligence and obedience; main qualities that this dog possesses.
The Border Collie descend from a dog called Old Hemp originally from England born in 1893 and died in 1901 with the original tricolor white black and brown color was a cross between a traditional shepherd as a greyhound shepherd, was very popular in grazing with sheep that It is one of its main characteristics that the Border Collie breed is recognized by the International Association of Shepherd Dogs in the United Kingdom.
The border collie is qualified for its intelligence and its character as a sheepdog and stands out among the Domestic animals he Border Collie is listed at number one on Stanley Coren's Smartest Dogs. It should be noted that this breed of dog has the ability to identify, search for and bring different toys that its owner asks for.
The border collie is qualified as an extremely astute dog full of athletic energetic will, due to its impetus, it competes with great victory in dog competitions, both in competition with obstacles and herding. breed of dog smartest home ever.
The Border Collie, due to its great intelligence, is very versatile and can be used for any type of training, it can perform any type of task, from a companion dog for disabled people, as a police dog in drug detection or search. The border collie can develop all its qualities and characteristics to the maximum, you will have a good reward from your pet for the bond that is created with it.
The Border Collie is not an apartment dog, it is a dog that needs a lot of space to be able to exercise, play, run and one of the activities that it likes a lot is swimming. It is the best company that can be chosen among all breeds of dogs because it is extremely passive.
Border Collie Characteristics
They are very similar to the Australian Shepherd, but there are characteristics that stand out in this breed, such as:
- The ability it has to run, jump, perform exercises is thanks to the shape of its elongated body, with curved ribs, wide chest and muscular back.
- The size of the males is from fifty (50) to sixty (60) cm at the withers and the females from forty-eight (48) to fifty-six (56) cm, the females are a little smaller as it happens with all the Dog breeds.
- Their weight in males varies from twenty (20) to twenty-eight (28) kg and in females from fifteen (15) to twenty (20) kg, they are generally medium-sized dogs.
- The coat is thick and abundant, they have a double layer of hair, sometimes there are specimens where the hair is curly. Two exists types of dogs border collie one with long hair and one with short hair, but both have the same density and the double layer of hair that protects them from low temperatures.
- The eyes are oval in shape and medium in size. Eye color is sometimes presented in dogs of this breed with one eye blue and the other brown, but usually they are both blue or both brown.
- The most outstanding features of the border collie dog it is the look of this breed, pleasant and always active.
- The ears vary between falls, semi-straight and straight. They are medium-sized and with abundant hair, always alert to any sound.
- The limbs of this breed are very muscular thanks to the exercise it performs while grazing, its body is elongated and very active.
- The original colors are black and white, tricolor between brown black and white, others are brown and white, red, gray but most of the cases when these colors originate is because crosses are made with the Australian shepherd.
- Its head is wide with a small snout, thin towards the nose or nose.
- The nose is usually black, and border collies that are red, chocolate have brown noses. And those of bluish gray color, the nose is like grayish, the nostrils are large and they have a good sense of smell.
- The teeth and molars are hard capable of having a perfect and complete bite.
- His neck is fibrous, muscular with a small curve towards the beginning of the back.
- It is to walk of this race in sight; looks elegant.
border collie character
As previously mentioned, this breed stands out for its great intelligence and energy, a quality that leads it to live in rural environments, however, it can also adapt to the city, having the habit of walking exercises so that it can easily adapt to the life in the city. This breed is recommended for active people who like exercise and sports, they must dedicate time and all the stimulation that the breed needs.
All this work that the owner has with the dog will have very good results, thanks to the qualities that stand out in this breed, such as obedience and order. Dedication and time are needed, they are one of the differences of the breed compared to other breeds of dogs, if you have it confined in a small space.
Without the proper training and time that should be dedicated to this breed, the border collie becomes a dog, unhappy, anxious, nervous, imperative and even destructive, totally the opposite of what is actually the characteristic of this breed. This is generated by feeling without energy and living a sedentary life.
It shows how a pet faithful to its owner is committed to what it understands when the person feels happiness, pain or sadness. Complacent breed of dog, affectionate with people they know and with strangers they will be cautious and withdrawn.
It is a good companion for children thanks to its mental balance, it understands the limits of playing with children, it is a suitable breed to play with them. The most common games are like looking for the ball, it can be trained by making circuits where the child can have creativity to stimulate the dog. Educating the child on how to treat the animal, what can and must not be done, is important in order to create an unlimited bond between the child and the dog.
The advantage with this breed is how obedient it is and it will be easy to train. In the same way, the same results are obtained in training as a sheepdog that they learn not to injure any of the sheep, behavior with other dogs is respectful, most of the time it behaves like an alpha dog thanks to the qualities that characterize.
Border Collie Care
It is known to be a very dynamic dog, for this reason we recommend walking three (3) to four (4) times a day as a habit, combining rest, tracking, and body training. Together, brain motivation cannot be neglected in its daily practice, through intelligence or smell toys.
We can carry out these activities about three (3) times a week, in this way we will ensure that it will have an adequate and mentally balanced behavior, lively and stimulated, which are important for the well-being of the dog.
The feeding of the Border Collie is so important and must be in accordance with the physical activity that the dog performs, a good complete diet where all the necessary nutrients are found will keep the dog in a good state of health, with a lot of energy, its coat will be beautiful and brilliant. It is advisable to consult with the veterinarian or specialized people to have knowledge of the food menu and even raw foods that can be consumed more conveniently for this breed of dog.
When it comes to caring for your coat, it is important that it is clean and brushed, since it is very dense and with a double layer, both long-haired and short-haired Border Collies need to maintain a brushing routine at least three times a week. to clean dead hair and reveal a shiny and radiant coat. In turn, it helps blood circulation.
As for the bath, it should be done every month and a half so that it does not lose its original protection cover. The infestation of ticks, fleas or any other parasite that may be lodged in the animal must be prevented, after bathing all moisture must be removed from the fur to avoid bad odor or skin diseases.
Border Collie Education
The research carried out by Stanley Coren has been very helpful, in it he indicates that the border collie is the most intelligent dog on the planet, it has been shown that this breed of dog takes an average of five exercises to be instructed to receive a new mandate, while that the frequent average of the dogs is in the thirty and forty repetitions. Clearly this length of command is associated with each individual, not all border collies learn in the same way.
According to studies, this breed has a brain similar to that of a 2-year-old child. This intelligence allows you to learn very quickly what you have its pros and cons, because if it is not educated correctly, it quickly learns the wrong behavior and then correcting it is not so easy.
To achieve the results of training and intelligence and enjoy a whole dog, it is essential to achieve the appropriate training methods. It is essential to get them used correctly from a young age to prevent distrust of strangers, and they must include submissive training, which can help stop biting and their instinct to flee or chase cars.
Although it is a raza nice with the other dogs, the border collie must be taught from puppy to the presence of other animals and new environments. This education should begin in the first months of edad, ya may undertake a exercise with the border collie basic commands instruction and one time carefully assimilated, Get Started with the advanced ones to stimulate him mentally and prevent let him sit failed.
Another way, to a large degree recommended for to inspire la mind of this raza de dog It is through special skills and competitions for dogs such as Agility, which are competitions with obstacles. Learning to motivate him is . valuable, rewards with varieties of snacks or dog treats, take him to new places where he can run, jump, exercise or have different toys.
Border Collie Health
Thanks to how popular this breed of dog has become, illegal crosses have been made and people who illegally breed this breed who have no knowledge about it have caused an increase in genetic diseases related to aggressive behaviors and fears, below, we name you some diseases that the border collie presents:
Hip dysplasia
The poor formation of the hip and femur joint, which gradually degenerates, causes a lot of pain, weakness and inflammation in this bone to the point of becoming inconstant. This disease can be diagnosed only by observing the dog walking, how it supports its hind limbs and plates that the veterinarian will indicate.
Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis
This disease produces degenerative brain and eye cells in the older dog, as an adult this breed presents motor disability, blindness and even epileptic seizures; This disease is usually mostly fatal as there is no treatment for it.
ataxia
It is also a disease that neurologically alters the dog, causing lesions in the sensitivity of space/time; it is the one that informs the brain in which position it is, there are dogs that recover from this disease, while others have lifelong consequences.
microphthalmia
They are ocular anomalies where the eye does not grow structurally.
Chronic Superficial Keratitis
It is a disease where progressive inflammatory tissue manifests, causing permanent blindness in the dog.
These are some of the diseases that the Border Collie presents, but having a veterinary control where it is placed in the respective vaccines and their respective consultation, these types of diseases can be detected in time, where the veterinarian will indicate what care is due. have with this reason these affections already known in this breed.
Most of these diseases can be acquired by the dog in breeders where there is no responsibility for the crosses and they have no knowledge about the breed, so it is important to look for associations specialized in them, in order to avoid acquiring a genetically ill dog.