Border Collie

From Pet Encyclopedia

Border Collie

Border Collie

Origin of Breed

Scotland and Wales

Breed Nick Names

Border Collie

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Origin and History 3 Appearance 4 Temperament 5 Health 5.1 Hip Dysplasia 5.2 Narrow Angle Glaucoma 5.3 Centralised Progressive Retinal Atrophy (cPRA) 5.4 Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA) 5.5 Ceroid Lipofucinosis (CL) 5.6 Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome (TNS) 5.7 Border Collie Care 6 Border Collie Grooming 7 Border Collie Training 8 External Links 9 References

[edit] Introduction

There is no other breed like the border collie, they are dogs which are supremely intelligent, loyal and the pleasure of owning a well-trained collie can not be surpassed

[edit] Origin and History

Border Collie to their name from getting bred alongside the border involving Scotland and England within the 1800s, not as "borderline-insane" (as say some Internet myths). This breed has several names, acknowledged this type of as operating problems and just Colley Collie. they are probably out of your Scottish shepherd descended Cumberland Sheepdog and the Borzoi. The really first was foresire outdated Hemp, thrown in 1893. The name was cemented 1915th You do not need to become an American Kennel Club acknowledged breed 1980th

[edit] Appearance

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Well proportioned, smooth outline showing quality, gracefulness and perfect balance, combined with sufficient substance to give impression of endurance. Any tendency to courseness or weediness undesirable.

CHARACTERISTICS: Tenacious, hardworking sheepdog, of great tractability.

TEMPERAMENT: Keen, alert, responsive and intelligent. Neither nervous nor aggressive.

HEAD & SKULL Skull fairly broad, occiput not pronounced. Cheeks not full or rounded. Muzzle, tapering to nose, moderately short and strong. Skull and foreface approximately equal in length. Stop very distinct. Nose black, except in brown or chocolate colour when it may be brown. In blues nose should be slate colour. Nostrils well developed.

EYES: Set wide apart, oval shaped, of moderate size, brown in colour except in merles where one or both or part of one or both may be blue. Expression mild, keen, alert and intelligent.

EARS: Medium sized and texture, well set apart. Carried erect or semi-erect and sensitive in use.

MOUTH: Teeth and jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

NECK: Of good length, strong and muscular, slightly arched and broadening to shoulders.

FOREQUARTERS: Front legs parallel when viewed from front, pasterns slightly sloping when viewed from side. Bone strong, but not heavy. Shoulders well laid back, elbows close to body.

BODY: Athletic in apperance, ribs well sprung, chest deep and rather broad, loins deep and muscular, but not tucked up. Body slightly longer than height at shoulder.

HINDQUARTERS: Broad, muscular, in profile sloping gracefully to set on of tail. Thighs long, deep and muscular with well turned stifles and strong, well let down hocks. From hock to ground, hindlegs well boned and parallel when viewed from rear.

FEET: Oval in shape, pads deep, strong and sound, toes arched and close together. Nails short and strong.

TAIL: Moderately long, the bone reaching at least to hock, set on low, well furnished and with an upward swirl towards the end, completing graceful contour and balance of dog. Tail may be raised in excitement, never carried over back.

GAIT/MOVEMENT Free, smooth and tireless, with minimum lift of feet, conveying impression of ability to move with great stealth and speed.

COAT: Two varieties: 1) Moderately long. 2) Smooth. In both, topcoat dense and medium textured, undercoat soft and dense giving good weather resistance. In moderately long coated variety, abundant coat forms mane, breeching and brush. On face, ears, forelegs (except for feather), hindlegs from hock to ground, hair should be short and smooth.

COLOUR: Variety of colours permissable. White should never predominate.

SIZE: Ideal height: Dogs 53cms (21ins); Bitches slightly less.

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded be in exact proportion to its degree.

NOTE: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum

[edit] Temperament

Sweet, Loving, Loyal.

The collie is eager to please and as such does not like being told off. they will follow you to the ends of the earth walking by your side

[edit] Health

Hereditary diseases occur in most if not all dog breeds. There are a number of such diseases that occur in border collies but we are fortunate enough to have a variety of DNA tests available and health testing schemes in place that can help breeders, thus making the Border Collie one of the soundest breeds around. As a prospective puppy buyer it is important to do your homework, these health tests are not mandatory and are up to the discretion of each individual breeder.

[edit] Hip Dysplasia

Hip Dysplasia (HD) is caused by the abnormal formation of the hip ball and socket joint. Normally the ball should fit snugly into the hip socket, forming a pivot point. Some dogs are born with a genetic predisposition for hip dysplasia; at birth their hips are normal but as they grow, the hip joint becomes a malformed structure so that the ball no longer fits snugly into the socket and cannot rotate smoothly.

HD is a relatively common problem in most breeds of dog and can be a very painful and terribly debilitating disease, in bad cases requiring surgery and in the worst euthanasia.

The Kennel Club and BVA have a testing scheme in an attempt to avoid having puppies born with this genetic predisposition. This scheme involves dogs over 12 months of age having their hips x-rayed and sent to the BVA panel of experts for ‘scoring’; they produce a score for the joints and angles on each hip to give a score for left and right. The higher the score, the worse the dogs hips are, the lowest possible score is 0:0 = 0 and the highest 53:53 = 106.

The BVA publish an annual list of all KC breeds with the average score although in many people’s opinion this average is artificially low as many people will not send off poor x-rays and dogs diagnosed with HD will also not be scored. In most other European countries, the breed clubs make it obligatory that a dog be hip scored before it is bred from and only those with acceptable hips are allowed, this is in my view, a much better system.

The current UK average for border collies is 13.

Read More about the BVA Canine Health Scheme for Hip Dysplasia.

[edit] Narrow Angle Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the name given to a group of eye diseases characterised by an increase in intraocular pressure, this causes pathological changes in the optic disk and visual field defects. It’s a very painful condition that leads to varying degrees of blindness and in it’s severest form can result in removal of the affected eye or euthanasia.

Glaucoma can initially be categorised as PRIMARY, where there is an increase in intraocular pressure occurring in an eye without previous disease or injury or SECONDARY where an injury or prior disease/infection leads to the condition.

In the case of Primary Glaucoma we can assume it is congenital and inherited. This is something that has not been seen in border collies until fairly recently so much of what we know has been taken from research in other affected breeds such as the flat coated retriever. This hereditary form of glaucoma in border collies takes the form of narrow-angle glaucoma which is characterised by a shallow anterior chamber and a narrow angle, in which filtration is compromised as a result of the iris blocking the angle and impairment of outflow of aqueous humor leading to a painful build up of pressure within the eye.

There is a physical eye examination that assesses the structure of the eye and these angles. Gonioscopy is not part of the standard eye examination but can be carried out by an opthamologist on it’s own or at the same time as a standard eye exam. It’s quite an awkward test because it involves the dog having a local anaesthetic in the eye and then a large round lens placed on the eyeball for the opthamologist to look through. It’s important that the dog stays as motionless as possible in order that the vet can carry out a full examination. It may be necessary to sedate dogs that won’t sit still.

Because goniodysgenesis it’s not currently on the BVA list of tests for the border collie the examiner will not complete that part of the form but will simply write in the comments section e.g. Normal drainage angles – Unaffected or narrow drainage angles – Affected and anything else they may have noted. As with any test of this nature the result is subjective, and in borderline cases what one examiner may pass another may fail.

It is important to note that gonioscopy is NOT a test for glaucoma, it is simply an examination of the eye to assess any predisposition for narrow angle glaucoma. A dog that tests affected for goniodysgenesis will not necessarily go on to develop glaucoma, indeed many do not. Should a dog test ‘affected’ it is important that it have regular eye examinations in future. Once a dog is tested ‘unaffected’ it need not be tested again.

While it is accepted that the narrow angle glaucoma is hereditary the mode of inheritance is not know. In my opinion, it seems unlikely that we are dealing with an autosomal gene here and much more likely that the cause is polygenic (i.e. involves more than one gene or modifier) so we may well never have a definitive genetic test.

In this way we can draw some similarities to hip dysplasia and use gonioscopy results as a breeding tool in a similar way to hip scores. Selecting unaffected dogs from unaffected lines as best we can. It will still be possible that an affected pup can be produced from two unaffected parents, in the same way that two parents with low hip scores may produce a pup with HD. The selection based on test results will only decrease the odds of this happening and at this time, it’s all we have to go on.

As more dogs get tested and more results are published we will be able to build up a better picture of the extent and heritability of this problem within the breed.

[edit] Centralised Progressive Retinal Atrophy (cPRA)

As the name suggests, cPRA is a form of blindness affecting the light sensitive portion of the eye, this blindness becomes gradually worse over time (hence progressive).

Due to the progressive nature of the disease, PRA cannot be diagnosed until a dog is around 18 months old which is when they usually have their first adult eye test, dogs used for breeding should be tested regularly thereafter.

Puppies registered with the ISDS cannot be ‘pink papered’ until both their parents have successfully passed their 2 year eye test, the society then issues a pink coloured registration paper, indicating that the pup is from fully eye tested stock.

cPRA has been something of a success story in border collies and is now EXTREMELY rare; much of this is thought to be down to the improvement in dogs nutrition with the introduction of complete foods, since cPRA is thought to be mainly down to a defeciency in Vitamin A.

[edit] Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA)

Very briefly, CEA is a condition that affects the normal anatomy of the retina and other deeper structures of the eye, this can be irregularity in structure or even holes/pockets. In it's mildest form it will not affect the dog, in it's severest it will cause detached retina's/complete blindness.

CEA is caused by a recessive gene which both parents must carry to produce affected pups.

An animal will have 2 copies of every gene, one coming from the sire and one from the dam.

If an animal has two normal copies of the gene, it is classed as 'normal' and cannot ever produce affected pups.

If an animal has one normal gene and one defective gene it is classed as a 'carrier', mated to another animal with the defective gene it could produce affected pups. If mated to a 'normal' animal it will at worst produce more carriers but may also produce some 'normals' (Note: A carrier DOES NOT have the disease)

If an animal had two copies of the defective gene it is classed as 'Affected' and will actually have the disease. If bred from, this animal can only produce carrier and/or affected pups.

Prior to the introduction of a DNA test; eye testing was first carried out on pups at around the age of 6 weeks by one of only 30 BVA approved veterinarians around the country. This initial test is for CEA only and this period between 5 and 8 weeks of age is the best time for diagnosis of this condition. If a puppy is affected it is an indication that both of it’s parents are carriers of the CEA gene. While the Kennel club does not impose any breeding restrictions from affected dogs or carriers the International Sheepdog Society (ISDS) does not allow the registration of affected pups or their progeny and does not allow the registration of puppies by parents that have produced a CEA/PRA affected pup on more than one occasion (they allow one due to the possibility of a mis-mating). The ISDS is striving to eradicate this disease from the breed. Puppies that successfully pass this eye test are issued with a litter certificate.

Passing an eye examinination at 6 weeks indicates the puppy is not AFFECTED by the disease but the physical examination cannot tell you which puppies are carriers of the gene. The recent introduction of DNA testing for the CEA gene by American laboratory, OptiGen has revolutionised breeding of border collies to a certain extent...although it can be quite expensive, we can now DNA test all breeding stock to see which animals are affected, which are carriers of the gene and which are DNA 'normal'. This means there need never be any more affected puppies produced...we can ensure that by breeding carrier/affected animals to 'normal' animals the puppies cannot ever be affected by the disease. Since this test first became available in January 2005, ALL our dogs used for breeding are DNA tested in this way.

[edit] Ceroid Lipofucinosis (CL)

Also known as 'Storage Disease' (or 'Battens Disease' when it occurs in humans)

CL is a fatal congenital disease which affects the nerve cells of the body, it has been found in a number of dog breeds and is fortunately rare in border collies.

Symptoms do not usually occur until the affected animal reaches around 12-18 months old but the disease progresses rapidly once the initial signs appear and euthanisia is usually the kindest option, there have been no reported cases surviving past 2 half years of age.

The clinical signs of the disease are:

Unreasonable apprehension or fear of familar objects/surroundings or slight disturbances. An abnormal gait, the animal may be unsteady on it's feet and have difficulty jumping, climbing or placing feet correctly. Dementend behaviour, characterised by manic hyperactivity and outburts of rage.

Prior to the recent introduction of a DNA test, cases could only be confirmed by a brain biopsy during post mortem examination to give an accurate diagnosis. Thankfully this is no longer the case and DNA testing is available via OptiGen or Dr Alan Wilton at the University of New South Wales.

As with CEA and TNS, the genetic inheritence of CL is via a recessive gene so animals will fall into three categories of genetic status:

CLEAR has not inherited a defective gene. CARRIER has inherited the defective gene from a parent. AFFECTED has inherited the defective gene from both parents and has, or will develop, the disease

Using the DNA test, it is now therefore possible to ensure that no more affected puppies are born.

[edit] Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome (TNS)

TNS is an inherited fatal immune disorder found in border collies. the Disease was first recognised by veterinarians, Frazer Allen and Boyd Jones in New Zealand, through assistance from breeder Judy Vos (Clan Abby). Although thought to have been around for a long time it is only recently that scientists have started to get a greater understanding of the way it works, it’s affects on the animal and mode of inheritance. The majority of this research has been done by Dr Alan Wilton and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Neutrophils are the precursors to white blood cells, produced in the bone marrow and, in a normal animal, released into the blood to fight infections. In a TNS affected animal these neutrophils cannot be released from the bone marrow so the animal is unable to mount an effective immune response to infection.

Symptoms can vary greatly, depending on which infections the pup happens to contract; it is because of this that the disease has been difficult to recognise in the past. There are still very few vets in the UK aware of this condition. Symptoms can be seen from as early as 2 weeks old. Affected pups are usually smaller than their siblings with slower growth rates and often appear to have a ‘weedy’ head and poorly conditioned coat. Other symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea, inappetence, high temperatures/fever, swollen and painful joints and lameness.

Onset of symptoms frequently coincides with first vaccination since this is often the first challenge to a pups’ immune system. Live vaccines are designed to ‘mimic’ certain infections so that the pups’ immune system can produce antibodies against it and recognise it should it encounter the infection again in future. In a TNS affected pup of course this does not happen and the puppy will quickly develop the infection. It is important therefore that if a puppy is suspected of having the disease it does not receive any form of vaccination.

Up until recently diagnosis was difficult and involved invasive techniques. A pup displaying the clinical symptoms described above will usually be blood tested, a low neutrophil count would point to TNS but is not conclusive since other factors such as viral or bacterial infections may also cause this. A bone marrow biopsy is the best way to detect the disease, if the neutrophil levels in the bone marrow are higher than those in the blood it is an indication that these are trapped hence ‘trapped neutrophil syndrome’

Recently Dr Wilton and his team at UNSW announced a chromosome marker test for this disease; this test is able to detect the chromosome ‘carrying’ TNS in affected and carrier animals so it is now possible to obtain a diagnosis without using the invasive bone marrow biopsy technique. Research has shown that the mode of inheritance is recessive, so both parents must carry the gene to produce an affected pup. Initially the marker test was only useful in suspected cases and close relatives of known affected/carrier animals. Recent research and results have shown that the test is also reliable in those dogs that are not related to known affecteds/carriers. While many at first thought the disease might be limited to the Australasian bloodlines, carriers have been identified in all British and ISDS bred dogs too. The test is now available for ALL border collies so we can test all breeding stock and eradicate this disease from the gene pool.

[edit] Border Collie Care

The healthy life of the Border Collie is 10 to 17 years, with an common life of twelve years.The median longevities of breeds of equivalent dimension are commonly 12-13 years.Leading cancer malignancy prospects to of dying (23.6%) were outdated grow older (17.9%) and cerebral vascular disease (9.4%). The Border Collie demands weekly brushing. particular awareness should undoubtedly be supplied to lose the coat while. Bathing or dried up shampooing should undoubtedly only be accomplished if it undoubtedly is required. This breed is prone to PRA, stylish dysplasia, epilepsy, deafness, Collie eyesight Anomaly, and allergies to fleas.

[edit] Border Collie Grooming

The Border Collie needs usual combing and brushing to sustain the coat shiny. additional treatment is important when shedding the soft, dense undercoat. Bathe or dried up shampoo only when necessary. confirm the ears and coat frequently for ticks. This breed is undoubtedly an common shedder.

[edit] Border Collie Training

Early socialization and obedience are recommended. The Border collie is fast to increase and does most beneficial with praise, consistency, fairness, respect and determination. due to the very sensitive nature with this breed should undoubtedly by no signifies be addressed in a tough or crude manner. you may be really talented in herding, law enforcement work, competitive obedience, lookup and rescue, flyball and Frisbee studies. Border Collies may also be really popular as treatment k9s and guide book k9s to the blind.

[edit] External Links

Border Collie Border Collie Care Border Collie Grooming Border Collie Training

[edit] References

Bryning Border Collies - Border Collie Health