Meet the Breed: Intense Instincts

Agility, intelligence and determination make the Border Collie the ultimate herding dog.

When I was a young girl living in England, I read a weekly children’s comic called The Dandy, a picture strip that featured a handsome Border Collie named Black Bob, whose heroic deeds and amazing initiative enthralled me and made me long for a dog just like him. (Read more about Black Bob on page 31.)

Ever since Stanley Coren named the Border Collie “the smartest dog” in his book The Intelligence of Dogs (Free Press, 2005), too many people have wanted a dog like it. This has resulted in an increased demand for the breed as a pet and as an exceptional competitor in dog sports.

Catherine Swain, who has owned Border Collies for more than 20 years, competes in conformation and has worked her dogs on stock. “The belief is that a smart dog is easier to train,” she says. “[But] a smart dog figures things out and learns quickly – the good and the bad!”

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