Border Collies

 You might think that you know what a Border Collie looks like.   I have been looking at the breed for a couple of years now and there is such a huge range of colours, shapes, sizes and coats that it is amazing that they are all considered the same breed.

 Until 1915 it did not have a name, it was just known as a Collie which may be an old Anglo-Saxon word for the colour black, or the Gaelic word for 'useful'.

 A formidable working dog with strong herding instincts, found on working farms all over the world now.  Originally black and white, but as you see from the pictures here it now comes in such a wide range of forms.

 Grey Merle, Tricolour Merle, Brown Merle.. the list goes on...

 Tri Colour long coats,

 Black and white long coats.. the list is extensive. Because this has always been a working dog it is no surprise to learn that it did not aquire a Kennel Club breed standard until 1976.

 Even some golden colours appear from time to time.  This golden Collie appeared in a litter of all sorts of different colours.

 Sable collies are another colour form within the breed. (I like this one the most!)

The Kennel Club breed standard states that a variety of colours are permissable but white should never predominate. Coats can be either moderately long or smooth.  What wonderful variety!