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This page including all
graphics and text provided courtesy of
THE BORDER COLLIE MUSEUM
Because Border Collies
are bred for intelligence and working ability and not for looks, there
is a great deal of diversity in appearance. They can have
smooth (short) or rough (long) coats, or anything in between. The
coat is double with a longer, coarser outer coat, and a shorter softer
undercoat which sheds out completely in summer, so that they
definitely need grooming. A very long coat could be a hazard to a
working dog. Coats may be straight to curly--this is not a standard,
but a fact. The Border Collie comes in a remarkable variety of colors.
Black (black-and-white) is the most common color and often
preferred by shepherds, along with
tri-colored (black, white and tan). Red
(red-and-white, and red-tri--red, white and tan) is not uncommon. Red
in a Border Collie (which is called chocolate in Australia), is
actually liver or brown (as in the Springer Spaniel).
Saddle-patterned (a variant of tricolor), and
Blue (or grey) is less common, as is
blue merle,
red merle,
sable, tan,
black-and-tan, and
brindle. All of these colors usually come with varying amounts of
white, the traditional "collie markings", usually a white blaze on the
face, a white collar, feet, chest and tail tip. Some dogs are
speckled or ticked. These dogs are usually born with their white
areas completely white and as they grow varying amounts of spots begin
to appear in the white areas. Ticking can come in all colors--black
and white dogs will have black spots, red and white dogs will have red
spots, etc. Others are born all white with small amounts of black,
often on the ears, and their white areas will remain white all their
lives. These dogs are often referred to as "patterned
whites".
Half-white faces are also very common. Eventually we hope to have
examples of every color and color pattern the Border Collie comes in.
The thumbnails below each
(except rough coat) link to a page that describes
in photos and text a particular color, color pattern,
or coat type of the Border Collie.
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Black & White |
Red & White |
Tan & White |
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Blue & White |
Tri Color |
Speckled |
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Red Merle |
Blue Merle |
Brindled |
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Sable |
Saddle Patterned |
Patterned Whites |
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Split Faced |
Smooth Coat |
Rough Coat |
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