Border Collie Rescue is a UK based charity, working internationally to rescue and re-home Border Collies and Working Sheepdogs and promote a better understanding of the breed and its welfare.


What classifies a Border Collie? - This breed is not easy to define - it's not all 'Black and White'.



The information on this page has little to do with the 'Breed Standard' or Pedigree, as defined by the Kennel Club. Dogs that fit into that definition form a very small proportion of the dogs around today that are generally known as 'Border Collies'.


Most of the dogs that are generally known as Border Collies - if registered for competition with the Kennel Club - have to be registered as a 'working sheepdog' unless they are from KC registered Border Collie Bloodlines, which allows them to carry the full BC title..



The Kennel Club 'Border Collie' has nothing to do with the working sheepdogs that we see in farmers fields or in sheepdog trials, although some of these dogs may be also be registered with the kennel club as working sheepdogs and compete in Obedience, Agility or Flyball.



What about the ISDS (International Sheep Dog Society) - where do they come in? They hold the stud book and register of pedigree sheepdogs and Border Collies involved in stock working around the world. They do not publish a 'Breed Standard' in the same way as the Kennel Club because their criteria for registering dogs is based on different priorities. With them, the appearance of the dog is not such an important factor, it is their working ability that counts. Some dogs are dual registered - they are on the ISDS studbook and also registered for competition with the Kennel Club. Some will be regarded as 'Pedigree' by the ISDS, but not by the Kennel Club and some the other way round.



It all seems very confusing and mysterious if your not used to the different systems and understand why they both exist. And what about the rest of the 'Border Collies' - those that are not from bloodlines registered with either organisation? Dogs with no registered 'Pedigree'? No traceable lineage?



Is it right to class these as Border Collies - where do you draw the line with a breed that has so many claims upon its inheritance?.



This 'unclassified' category forms the biggest group of dogs we know of as Border Collies and it is dogs from this unregistered selection that are most likely to end up in peoples homes as pets.



This category includes farm bred dogs, puppy farm bred dogs, privately bred dogs and all sorts of others who's breeders have not bothered to keep track, but even these have their roots in working lines, and are therefore just as unpredictable in their reactions.



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