AKC Official Standard of the Border Collie
Preamble: The Border Collie originated in the Border country between Scotland and England where the shepherds' breeding selection was based on biddable stock sense and the ability to work long days on rugged terrain. As a result of this selective breeding, the Border Collie developed the unique working style of gathering and fetching the stock with wide sweeping outruns. The stock is then controlled with an intense gaze known as "eye", coupled with a stalking style of movement. This selective breeding over time developed the Border Collie's intensity, energy and trainability which are features so important that they are equal to physical size and appearance. The Border Collie has extraordinary instinct and an uncanny ability to reason. One of its greatest assets is the ability to work out of sight of its master without commands. Breeding based on this working ability has made this breed the world's premier sheep herding dog, a job the Border Collie is still used for worldwide.
General Appearance: The Border Collie is a well balanced, medium-sized dog of athletic appearance, displaying gracefulness, power and agility in equal measure. Its hard, muscular body conveys the impression of effortless movement and endless endurance. The Border Collie is extremely intelligent, with its keen, alert expression being a very important characteristic of the breed. Those aspects of structure, movement or temperament that enhance the dog's ability to function as a herding dog are virtues that should be strongly rewarded. The Border Collie is, and should always appear as, a natural athlete in hard physical condition.
Size, Proportion, Substance: The height at withers varies from 18 to 22 inches for males, 18 to 21 inches for females. Overall balance is more important than size. Bone must be strong, medium being preferred. The overall proportion of Border Collie is slightly longer than tall, with the length measured from point of shoulder to point of buttocks and height measured at the withers. Body length should be achieved by length of rib and not by length of loin.
Head: Expression is intelligent, alert, eager and full of interest. Eyes are an important feature and should be set wide apart, oval in shape and of moderate size. Eye color varies from brown to blue, with merles sometimes having one or more blue eyes. Ears are medium size and set well apart, carried erect or semi-erect. Skull and muzzle are approximately equal in length. Stop is moderate. Muzzle is strong and tapering slightly to the nose. Nose color corresponds with coat color. Bite is scissors.
Neck, Topline, Body: Neck is of proportional length, strong and muscular, blending smoothly into the shoulders. Topline is level. Body is athletic and deep rather than broad. Chest is moderately broad with well-sprung ribs. Loin is deep, muscular and slightly tucked up. Tail is moderately long, reaching at least to the hock. The ideal tail carriage is low when the dog is concentrating on a given task and may have a slight upward swirl at the end like a shepherd's crook. In excitement it may be raised, but the base of the tail should not curve forward over the back.
Forequarters: Forelegs should be parallel when viewed from front, pasterns slightly sloping when viewed from side. Because sufficient length of leg is crucial for the type of work the breed is required to do, the distance from the wither to the elbow is slightly less than from the elbow to the ground. The shoulder blades are long and well laid back. Shoulder blades and upper arms are equal in length and meet in a right angle as nearly as possible. The prosternum is easily felt but not pronounced. There is sufficient width between the tops of the shoulder blades to allow for the characteristic crouch when approaching and moving stock. The elbows are neither in nor out. Feet are compact, oval in shape; pads deep and strong, toes moderately arched and close together with strong nails of moderate length. Dewclaws may be removed.
Hindquarters: Broad and muscular, in profile sloping gracefully to the low set tail. The thighs are long, broad, deep and muscular. Stifles are well turned with strong well let down hocks. Proper length of hock is approximately one-quarter to one-third the height of the dog. When standing with the hocks perpendicular to the ground the toes of the rear feet should be in line with the point of buttock. Rear feet should be parallel, but may toe out slightly when standing. Rear pasterns are short, strong and parallel when viewed from rear. Feet are compact, oval in shape; pads deep and strong, toes moderately arched and close together with strong nails of moderate length. Dewclaws may be removed.
Coat: Two varieties are recognized, rough and smooth. Both are double coats. In the rough coat, the outer coat is medium length and texture flat to slightly wavy. Hair on face, ears, front of forelegs and hind legs below hocks should be short and smooth. Forelegs may be feathered. Breeching on thighs, tail and chest is desirable. The smooth coat is short over the entire body, usually coarser in texture than the rough coat, and may have minimal feathering on forelegs, chest and breeching. Both coats should be weather resistant, the undercoat soft, short and dense. Excessively long or curly coats are objectionable.
Color: The Border Collie comes in all colors and markings. The traditionally accepted color is black with or without white markings. White should never be the dominant color. Merles, brindles and sable colors may have black nose pigment while colors other than black may have nose pigment matching the body color. Eye color varies according to coat color and is not limited to brown only.
Gait: An effective working gait is smooth, seemingly effortless and tireless, conveying the impression of stealth and speed combined. There should be minimal lift of feet, giving the impression that the dog glides over the ground. Single tracking is not required at a slow gait but becomes more evident as speed increases. The topline remains firm and level. The hindquarters provide powerful drive while the forequarters absorb shock and direct movement. Movement should be balanced and coordinated, with no wasted motion. The legs, both front and rear, tend to converge toward the center line as speed increases. Exaggerated movement is not efficient, and therefore is not useful to the Border Collie.
Temperament: The Border Collie is energetic, intelligent, keen, alert, and responsive. An intense worker of great tractability, it is affectionate towards friends but may be sensibly reserved towards strangers. When approached, the Border Collie should stand its ground. It should be alert and interested, never showing shyness, fear, dullness or resentment.
Faults: Any deviation from the foregoing should be considered a fault, the seriousness of the fault depending upon the extent of the deviation, and the degree to which working ability would be impacted.
Approved: April 21, 2015
Effective: July 1, 2015