Border Collie Colours and Coat Types: Genetics and Responsible Breeding

Border Collie colours range far beyond black and white. The breed may also appear in tricolour, brown, red, blue, lilac, sable and merle combinations. Colour is interesting, but should never outrank health, temperament and working soundness.

Border Collie coat types

The Royal Kennel Club breed standard recognises two varieties: moderately long and smooth. Both have a dense, medium-textured topcoat and a soft, dense undercoat for weather resistance. Moderately long coats form a mane, breeching and fuller tail brush.

Common colours

Black and white remains best known. Tricolour dogs add tan points. Brown, chocolate, red, blue, lilac, sable, gold and cream descriptions also occur. Colour names can differ between breeders and registries.

Understanding merle

Merle creates mottled or marbled areas and may occur with several base colours. It can be obvious or subtle, so appearance alone is not always enough to identify genotype.

Why merle-to-merle mating is a welfare concern

Puppies inheriting two copies of the merle variant have a higher risk of serious hearing and vision impairment. The Royal Kennel Club does not register Border Collie puppies from merle-to-merle matings. If status is uncertain, seek genetic advice and testing.

Does colour affect health?

Most coat-colour genes do not themselves affect health, but specific combinations can matter. Breeding for fashionable “rare” colours can encourage poor choices if health and diversity are ignored. White should not predominate under the breed standard.

Health checks matter more than colour

The Royal Kennel Club lists eye testing, including gonioscopy, as Good Practice. Best Practice also includes several DNA tests plus hip, elbow and hearing schemes. Check the current Health Standard for both parents and review temperament, movement, family history and inbreeding information.