These genes dont all result in different colors. Grooming the different Border Collie colors, Border Collie colors vs temperament and intelligence, Breed distribution of the nt230(del4) MDR1 mutation in dogs, Genes affecting coat color and pattern in domestic dogs: a review, Prevalence in dogs heterozygous or homozygous for the merle allele. Association of an Agouti allele with fawn or sable coat color in domestic dogs. Brindle Border Collies have stripe markings which make them look a little like tigers. The merle Border Collie may also have blue eyes which further contribute to this unique aesthetic. They are known for their ability to work even when their master is not in sight they understand exactly what to do independently. However, most of the ticking occurs on the limbs and face. Gold and white Border Collies are among the most beautiful varieties there are. In Border Collies, merle is a pattern in which darker spots appear on non-white patches of color. Border Collies are not low-maintenance when it comes to grooming. Are you curious about Border Collie colors? Vulcan, our home bred red boy and our home bred red girl- Chocabloc Charlie Kerby. Want to know how to take the best care of your puppy? Wide BayQLD, Australia Its more complex than that! The red and white Border Collie is often mistaken for brown and white Border Collie variations. They may have tan points or brindle points, with ticking on top of that. As with any other dilution, the white fur on the blue and white Border Collie is spared resulting in a brilliant, solid white. It gets complicated. It can appear as a washed out black and white to the untrained eye. Your email address will not be published. As the name suggests, tricolor Border Collies have 3 colors appearing simultaneously on the coat. Merle Border Collie colors are some of the most striking, but they also have health problems attached them. These need brushing at least 2-3 times a week, and more often during shedding season. They will still have white points, chest, collar and blaze. Border Collies may have rough (textured, varies in length) or smooth (short, coarse) in any of these color combinations. Especially if you have a Border Collie with the rough coat, which is generally medium length (3-inch hairs) and feathered, with a bushy tail. As the name suggests, all black Border Collies have a full body coat with solid black fur. Please make sure they have enough activity in their daily routine to keep them from destructive behaviors! Even without this trimming, the sable markings may be missed as they sometimes appear on limited areas of the coat. However, if you take a closer look with good light then you will notice that the apparently black part of the coat has dark, red undertones. The rest of the body will have long, feature fur. Mammalian Genome. There are 19 different variations of this beauty with Border Collies. This has been shown to have no correlation with coat colors. They have been registered with the American Kennel Club since 1995. The ticked markings appear as small, somewhat regular and distinct spots of color on white patches of fur. Our beautiful girl Mia and our lovely home bred puppy Clotilde. Louise Stonehouse Border Collies rule agility and shepherding competitions. The Roman and Viking dogs were crossed to produce working dogs that did well in the hilly, rocky highlands of Scotland and Wales. Despite all the colors and texture combinations they come in, youll recognize their distinct and well-known profile. Thats probably the reason why they come in so many different and wonderful colors! The Border Collie was originally classified as the Scottish Sheep Dog. She's a blue merle tricolour Border Collie. One eye may be one colour and the other may be a different colour. Eye colour can be most colours. The gold part of the coat is essentially a very light shade of brown with yellowish undertones that create the gold effect. The eyes can be dark brown, medium brown, hazel & sky blue although brown is the most accepted colour. They are predisposed for certain conditions such as hip dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy, and epilepsy. And they probably need the same amount of training, if not more, just to keep their minds occupied. Merle Border Collies have a very beautiful and almost exotic-looking aesthetic. This creates a lilac-lavender shade which forms the dark part of the coat. In fact Border Collies come in various coats. While the fur is short over the entire body, there may be feathered spots of longer fur mainly on the ears, face, and paws. This classic combination is known as the black tricolor variation. Border Collies generally have some white on them, especially on their head (as a blaze marking), necks, feet, chest, and tails. The fur in this case is short and lays close to the body. (2009). More often than not, seal and white Border Collies will have a saddleback pattern with the black-red seal coat covering the back like a saddle and parts of the head. TheGoodyPet.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Sable Merle Border Collies are very unique variations not only within the Border Collie dog breed but among dog breeds in general. A chromosome also contains alleles variant genes that can affect coat color at each loci. Additional alleles determine shading (dilution) and white markings, such as merle or spotting. Its really all about the care you give! Less common Border Collie color variations include saddle-patterned (tricolor), and blue. This white part of the coat may either exist as markings or covers majority of the coat. With Border Collies, researchers think they lack certain agouti alleles, even though they cause black and tan coloring. They can have brown eyes and a pinkish nose leather. According to professor of canine psychology Stanley Coren, Border Collies are themost intelligent of all dog breeds. The rest of the coat including the limbs, belly area, chest, and neck will more often than not have white fur but it may also be brown fur with tricolor Border Collies. There shouldnt be any markings in any other color anywhere on the coat itself. Their ancestors arrived in Europe with the Roman occupation of Britain. The spots can be any color from black to brown. They also need plenty of mental as well as physical exercise. Merle markings are also commonly found on slate gray Border Collies especially with selective breeding for the two unique aesthetics. Nose leather will be brown or black depending on its individual genetic makeup. The most common colors for this breed are Border Collie colors black and white and tri-color (black, white, and tan). Typically each hair will be black at the root and a sandy brown colour at the tip. The sable pattern can act on any base colour that the Border Collie comes in so sable can affect black, chocolate, blue and lilac. Here are all the variations of Border Collies you should know about. They tend to usually occupy very small parts of the dogs coat and have a somewhat predictable pattern of distribution. Required fields are marked *. Areas where ticking appear most commonly is on the legs and around the muzzle area although some dogs may have ticking over their entire body. In Slate gray Border Collies in particular, it is black fur that is diluted to give a powdery-gray. The short-haired Border Collie is another acceptable coat variation of this dog breed according to theAmerican Kennel Clubs standards for the Border Collie. The rest of the parts will be a pure white shade. Puppies may also be available in Border Collie colors red merle and blue merle, or Border Collie colors blue or gray, sable, and tan. The dog may or may not have pure white markings usually on the face, neck, and chest. Border Collies are generally fairly healthy, no matter the color. Powered by Dogz Online. Some have full body coverage with the spots and others having the spots only around the face and neck areas. Berryere et al. Slate gray Border Collies will usually have other markings on their bodies. The tan markings can be light creamthrough to a dark golden colour and can be small or very predominant. Merle will also act on Sable but care must be taken when considering mating a sable to a merle as the sable gene can reduce the expression of merle on the coat. This combination in Border Collies is what is known as the red tricolor. Every dog breed has variable traits caused by different genotypes (their genetic makeup). Judges will even accept scars and broken teeth on purebred Border Collies if they were incurred during work. I have added descriptionsof a few different coat colours below but these are by no means all of the colours of the Border Collie. For example, some of these genes do control the expression of particular pigments, but some instead control the switching on of other color genes. These dogs have a height at the withers of 18-22 inches, and they weigh 30-55 lbs. This is known as lethal merle. Other common tricolor combinations within the Border Collie dog breed include red, tan and white. At first glance, the seal and white Border Collie looks like your regular black and white variety especially in poor lighting. Contrary to popular misconception, the texture of the long, rough coated Border Collie is what matters the most and not the length itself. Border Collie pink noses eventually turn black in most of these dogs. The brownbase can vary from dark to light chocolate brown. This includes herding family members. Active, intelligent and all around awesome, Border Collie colors are still one of the most impressive things about this unique herding dog breed. All black Border Collies are not really as rare as most people assume them to be. Another common misconceptionis that a Border Collie only comes with a long, thick coat. They have almond brown eyes and wide-set, medium sized ears that are carried either erect or semi-erect. Miss Retro at 5 weeks of age. Lets check out some of the top Border Collie colors in photos! Their hair is often shorter on the legs, face, and ears. The most common in this case are white markings that appear mainly on the neck, chest, limbs, and part of the face. They can have a short, sleek coat called a Smooth Coat. Merle is a coat pattern. The main coat colour can appear as a washed out or flat shade of chocolate with white points, chest, collar and blaze. The coat colours of a red and white Border Collie can vary quite a lot. Experts often agree that the Border Collie is one of the most intelligent dogs you will encounter. These dogs, of any color, love working and require space to run. A Border Collie puppy may not show the full colors that will appear when he or she is mature. The eyes will be dark brown, medium brown, greenishor even a golden yellow. They have the temperament of a working dog. They have the perfect combination of features for trainability including obedience, fast learning, and fantastic memory. Border Collies of any color have one of the highest energy levels of any dog. They are affectionate but can be reserved with strangers. From a distance, the black tips may appear as individual patches within the coat. Border Collies have weather-resistant double coats. Border Collies appear in many varieties of colors and combination of colors and show judges accept all colors and markings on purebred Border Collies in dog shows. Will My Border Collie Pink Nose Turn Black? Dogs vary a lot in size and body and color, and scientists are interested in why. So their black and tan coloring is likely caused by something else! Tan points are very common in Border Collies. The sable markings on Border Collies are often missed especially in frequently groomed dogs where the tips are trimmed off. It is by no means conclusive and if you go to my Interesting Links page you will find other sites that go into this information a little deeper, including information on colour genetics. Researchers believe this is because the Border Collie was not bred for its looks only for intelligence and ability. There is something light and fun about the combination of the bright yellowish brown and white that just matches the friendly and loving personality of the Border Collie so beautifully. A glossy black coat with white points, chest, collar and blaze. Blue and white Border Collie occur as a result of dilution of black fur in Border Collies with genes for a black and white coat. This distribution of the tan points includes spots over the eyes, on the muzzle, on the inner surface of the ears, and on the paws. Inside each chromosome are several loci. Ticking can occur anywhere on the Border Collies body where there is white fur. As the Roman Empire began to fade, the Vikings came in. Border Collie temperaments are not affected by their color, so far as we know. The traditional Border Collie coat colour. The coat will have the typical merle spots in either red or black while the tips of most of the fur will have black markings. If anyone has photos of dogs in the above colours that they would like to donate to this page feel free to contact me, it would be much appreciated! Ticked markings on Border Collies are unique compared to other variations of coat markings in that they primarily affect white patches of fur where most other markings spare these patches. How to find a puppy and raise a happy, healthy dog. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The Happy Puppy Site is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk, The Happy Puppy Site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Here, red is the main color with tan and white forming the markings. These fixed positions are where genes are located. Ticking develops over time so a young dog who displays a small degree of the patterning will most likely continue to develop more flecks/spots as it matures. These smart and attractive dogs are herders with beautiful hair. The base coat colourcan be colours other than black,for example,chocolate tri, blue tri, lilac tri and a variety of merle tris (although not all of these colours are recognised by the ANKC). Mats, tangles, and dirt and debris must be brushed out to keep these coats healthy. One famous Border Collie is a fictional character in the movie Babe. Fly is the little pigs foster mother on the farm and has a Border Collie mate named Rex. The dog may only have slight ticking or could be very heavily ticked. Blue Merle Border Collies have black spots while Red Merle Border Collies have red or liver-colored spots. The dilution gene waters down the red-brown part of the coat. About UsContact UsPrivacy PolicyTerms & ConditionsDisclaimer. Otherwise, they can get bored and develop problem behaviors. A Border Collie with a smooth coat has shorter and coarser fur, but its also dense. This does the double duty of making your life easier and providing mental stimulation for your Border Collie puppy! It is rare for Border Collies to come in solid, or self colors. This aesthetic includes a combination of black stripes on brown fur. Known as one of the smartest dogs around, the Border Collie comes from the border country between Scotland and England. Dog colors and patterns are guided by seven identified genes, including an agouti gene, a brown gene, the extension gene, and the K (dominant black) gene. Because they are smart, Border Collies love regular agility, herding, and obedience activities. Chocolate and white Border Collies have a brown coat with white points, chest, collar and blaze. Sable is a very interesting colour in that each individual hair is more than one colour/shade. Bichon Frise Lifespan How Long Does This Small Breed Live? Each gene is a sequence of DNA that determines a trait, such as coat color. Additionally, Border Collie colors brindle and lilac do occur although they are rare. Blue and white Border Collies are a beautiful dark steel grey colour with white points, chest, collar and blaze. They can have a long, thick flowing coat known as a Rough Coat which is commonly seen on the Border Collie in the show ring. The most common cause of this isalbinismwhich itself is quite rare among Border Collies. A dog inherits two alleles for each gene, and the alleles interact to code for a particular trait. Either the white or black parts of the coat may form the majority. So make sure that you get your puppy from a responsible breeder, who has a full medical history and all documents available. She knows more than 1,000 words! The colors of dog coats are controlled by chromosomes DNA molecules that contain the genetic material of an organism. They can come speckled or ticked in all colors, or with Border Collie colors merle patterning. Some will be a deep red colour whereas others can be only a light cream. The most common combination is that of a mainly black coat with tan and white markings.