Tashia and Jason Lund

PO Box 153

Gilby, ND 58235-0153    www.eclipsebordercollies.com

Home: 701-869-2325

Cell: 701-330-3195

Border Collie Breeding

*This is our philosophy and was written by Tashia Lund*

     The Border Collie was bred to herd and in that aspect this breed is not for everyone.  They have been bred for intelligence, working ability, eye, motivation, and quick reactions.  This makes living with most Border Collies a challenge for the family. 

     The Border Collie should be bred first and foremost as working dogs (instinct) taking into consideration structural soundness, genetic health, workmanship, personality, and pedigree.  All of these aspects have created the dogs we see today in the working lines.  But those same qualities make living with them challenging for the unaware owner. 

     The Instinct can take the form of car, bike, or moving object chasing.  This can be deadly at worst or a nuisance at best.  If this is channeled than the dog becomes manageable.  The more intense the instinct is in the breeding the better chance of having more instinct in the puppies.  The other problem with this is kids have a tendency to run erratically, scream, make sudden stops and starts, and just plain act crazy.  If a Border Collie is not socialized to these crazy things the instinct can kick in and the children may be stopped by a grip (bite) on the leg, pant leg or butt. This could mean death for that dog, all because the dog was following its instinct.  The Border Collie has to be well socialized to children to live with them.  Both have to be taught to respect the other.  On the other side, the instinct is what makes this breed so special.  To watch a Border Collie working livestock can bring tears to one’s eyes.  This is the best partnership one can have with a dog – doing what it was bred for. 

     Structural Soundness is very important.  Healthy dogs live long, pain free lives.  The Border Collie should have minimal lift of the feet and have an athletic appearance.  This means not overweight.  The Border Collie is in general a well-balanced, medium-sized dog that should display grace and agility with equal measures of substance and stamina.   This means this breed is very active and needs a job to do; if living in a pet home that would be agility, rally obedience, obedience, tracking, hiking, biking etc.  If living in a breeder’s home it should be working livestock of some kind and some breeders do all of the above.  Only structurally sound dogs should be bred.   

    Likewise, genetic health is also very important.  Our wonderful breed is prone to some genetic diseases.  A breeder should be checking hips and breeding from the best they have. In addition, most breeders will also check elbows too. The Eyes should be cerfed yearly for eye diseases at the least and DNA Collie Eye Anomaly and Choroidal Hypoplasia tested.  The breeder should be using the best dogs to breed to the best dogs.

     The term workmanship, in my opinion, refers to the attitude the dog brings to its job.  A Border Collie should be an intense worker, which means they do not give up easily and walk away.  The breed has been bred to work independently from its shepherd and bring the livestock in.  If the dog gives up and quits than the job is not done.  Good workers need to be bred. 

     The personality of the Border Collie can lead to quite a bit of discussion.  Most Border Collies are reserved with strangers.  This was part of the breed.  One did not want to send the dog out to bring in the livestock and have it see someone, stop and greet the person!  The dog was to keep to its self and work the livestock with its shepherd.  Other Border Collies make awesome herding dogs, have the great workmanship and still love people.  Reserved is fine, but for a pet environment this can be a challenge.  The dogs need to be well socialized, taken to puppy kindergarten and beginner obedience at the least and brought up as a part of the family activities such as going to the park, camping, or others.

     Last but not least is the pedigree.  The pedigree is the family tree of the breed.  It lets a breeder know if the cross will work.  Most breeders take this into consideration after all the other aspects.  One wants to breed working to working, but take into consideration all the other parts of the dog puzzle.  The pedigree gives us the history of the dog. It lets us know what our chances of getting what we want out of the cross could be.

    The Border Collie is a wonderful breed for the right home.  It should be bred from the best of the best taking into consideration instinct, structural soundness, genetic health, workmanship, personality and pedigree.  This is the only way to preserve this wonderful breed.  But these same qualities make living with a Border Collie a challenge.  It needs to be kept active and given a job to do.