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Border Collie

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Outgoing, friendly and affectionate with friends, the Border Collie is reserved with strangers. They are highly intelligent, very motivated, enjoy working, and may become neurotic if not given enough to do. They are not usually nervous or aggressive. They have a very strong herding instinct which they will use to attempt to herd cats or other small animals.

The Border Collie is one of the healthiest of all breeds. They have no known genetic defects, although deafness and allergies may occur in older dogs. Interesting Fact: Border Collies are often cited as the most intelligent of all dogs.They are often trained to compete with great success at dog sports and sheepdog trials. Border Collies also continue to be employed in their traditional work of herding sheep around the world.

In general Border Collies are medium sized dogs and have a moderate amount of coat black and white being the most common. Their eye colour can vary from brown to blue and sometimes with the merles they have eyes of differing colour. Some sheep herders are superstitious about the colour of a sheepdog and won’t use an all white sheepdog as they suspect the sheep won’t respect it. Others think the attitude and ability of the dog is more important than its looks. Border Collies have demanding personalities and need a lot of exercise and stimulation, they have a strong desire to herd and so are not suitable for families with small children or cats or other small dogs.

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