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A 75% white border collie?


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How difficult will it be for me to locate an almost all white border collie?

 

I live in Dallas and my brother has a border collie that is mostly black with some white. When you touch her fur in the long hot summer months her white hair is much, much cooler.

 

I know that there are tons of mostly black border collies in Texas and other hot places that do just fine......but I just prefer to find a border collie pup that is mostly white.

 

A "split face" border collie with a mostly white body would be my ideal choice.

 

Any suggestions on the best way for me to do this?

 

I am looking for something similar to the border collie shown below:

 

patternedwhite.jpg

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I have wondered about putting a white T-shirt on Fergie - or making some kind of white cover for just her black back.

 

She has a ball in the winter - unless it's humid and in the 70s like today. And she loves to run with us. Well, we run; she kind of trots.

 

But I do worry about her in the summer. I know that I have a problem because I have (reasonably) dark hair. When we run, I can feel that my head gets hot. (Hoping that alieviates as I get greyer and greyer.) But I have wondered about doing something to cover Fergie's black fur. Mostly, we either run before breakfast or just take long walks. Or run without her. Which she hates as much as when we put on those evil clothes with the chamois stuff - and go off on the bike - without her.

 

Does anyone know how much difference the fur color makes? Or whether a T-shirt or such would help - or maybe hurt?

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Border collies are bred for their herding ability. Color is not a consideration. People that breed for color really do not have good or true border collies.

 

You may want to read some of the archives on color.

 

If you think that a white border collie is worth more because it is rare, this is not true. In fact many handlers tend to shy away from the white color.

 

Rather than base your decision on color, you may want to determine if a border collie would fit your lifestyle. You may also want to select a border collie that is compatable with you versus selecting for color.

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Terry....thanks for the help....I think...lol

 

I did not say I was looking for a breeder that "breeds for color".

 

I do not think a white border collie is "worth more"...quite the opposite. I would in fact think since white is not the standard color it would mean less money or value.

 

Cost or value is not part of my decision to seek a "split face mostly white border collie". I just like them the best as far as looks and in my opinion they will be cooler in Texas in the long hot summer months.

 

And I am basing my decision on "if a border collie would fit my lifestyle" and "a border collie that is compatable with me"......that is already a given.....and out of that group I want a white one!

 

Thanks anyway.

 

HalfWhiteDempsey.jpg

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Have you considered a Blue merle ? *runs for cover as you yell "WHITE" at me* :rolleyes:

 

I dont know the standard in the states, but I attended agility shows for years in england with typical classes of 500 runners, I never saw an all white collie..merles tended to have much more white and not being all black on the back would be cooler.

 

This is my "Sky"

 

2004158987415274004448.jpg

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DallasBCFan,

 

I just checked www.petfinder.com and did a search for BC's in Texas. Up came over 300 Border Collies or Border Collie Mixes and looking briefly myself, some were predominantly White. If you haven't already checked with Petfinder, that could be a place for you to go. Good Luck...you'll eventually find just what you're looking for.

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DallasBCFan,

I went to petfinder, like Sharon, and found a number of border collies or mixes in Texas that are predominantly white. If you go to petfinder, search on border collies in Texas with these names: Annie (Farmersville); Angus (Houston); Lilly (Lubbock); D3 (Mansfield); Max (Rankin); Bud (Roanoke); and Shelly, Spot, Starsky, and Hutch, apparent littermate pups (Tomball).

 

You might also want to check BC Resecue Texas: http://www.bcrescuetexas.org/

 

Look at Haggis (maybe not enough white for you) on the main rescue site, as well as Jersey on page 7 of the Independent Adoptions pages. Jersey isn't mosly white, but he is a dilute red and so very pale.

 

Good luck.

 

J.

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It can get pretty dang hot up here in far Northern California in the summer, and many of us clip our long-haired BCs for summer work and stickers, especially the bellies. You still need to watch for overheating, though, as the BC coat offers protection from the heat as well as the cold and wet. Maybe AK Dog Doc can offer additional insight.

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>

 

Not difficult, as far as body white is concerned. As Terry noted, good border collies are bred without regard to their color, and therefore it is not uncommon for two white-factored border collies to be bred to each other, and not uncommon for a pup or two in the resulting litter to be mostly white. If there is any color preference on the part of the puppy buyers, it will usually be in favor of the "traditionally-marked" ones (although you are right that the black on a dog's back does absorb heat in hot sun), so the white ones will tend to be available. To find a mostly white pup with a mostly or partly white face will be harder, because you're then looking for the combination of two different recessive genes. There are certainly ones to be had, but you may have to wait longer, and you will be passing up a lot of wonderful dogs to get something that, while uncommon, is really of little importance. (Of course you could go to a breeder who was breeding for "unusual" colors, but it sounds like you have more sense than to do that. That's a good way to get a poor quality dog.) One other thing -- if I were buying a pup that was nearly all white, including white ears, I would have its hearing BAER tested just to be on the safe side.

 

You don't mention what you want a border collie for, but assuming you are looking for a pet, rescue would be the ideal way to get one. You might want to check periodically on www.petfinder.com. I see that Companion Animal Network in Dallas is showing two nearly white BC pups now (Miranda and Troy, I think), but they don't have white faces.

 

I suppose "looks" are the basis on which nearly all other breeds of dogs are chosen, but they are not a particularly good basis on which to choose a border collie. However, it's a safe bet that whatever the dog you choose looks like, it will soon look very beautiful to you.

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Have you thought about getting a smooth coat instead of a rough coat? The short coat probably would do a lot better in the heat.

 

We see a lot of dogs that have a lot of white on them here in Missouri. Some say the sheep don't respond as well to a white dog but I don't know if that is really true - or just a working myth. There are a lot of mostly white dogs that are working out there.

 

What I would look into is whether a white factored dog might be more at risk for certain genetic health problems. Not that I know of any.

 

Besides, I don't see anything wrong with choosing a dog with looks that you like - as long as it comes from strong, healthy working lines. I love the half white face dogs and the dogs that are heavily ticked.

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We are here in Tucson and during the summer it is hot! The sun is burning! Bailey has a black and white coat, black on his back with the white belly and front legs. Texas is hot-but not as hot as here. The sun is a killer. Bailey runs around in the summer and he is fine. And I mean nonstop running. I make sure he drinks every so often, because if I don't make him stop he won't drink. I also use the "down" command to make him rest every now and then. I also wet him down every 20 minutes or so. If I don't he'll dump the water bowl and roll around in the water. I think that as long as you monitor your BCs activities during the heat, he should be ok. If you can monitor the activities I don't see much of a problem, no matter what color you choose to get. In the extreme heat a white dog will overheat almost as quickly as a black dog.

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What i wanted was a predominatly white border collie, what i ended up with is a beautiful black and white short haired try, with the most ticking i have ever seen. When i saw her i fell in love, and it didn't matter that you could hardly see white even though she has a full white collar and all white legs, the ticking is so heavy she looks like a Acd. I will get a pic up soon, she is so cute and her ears are so funny, they stand up then sometimes they lay down.

We live in MS and it gets hot and humid around here, but i know how to keep her cooled off,and the black won't hurt any.

Just find you a dog that you fall in love with, and thats all you need. Zip thinks she is a person, she is so spoiled. She doesnt get to sleep on the bed anymore, because we do have a baby coming.

:D :eek: :rolleyes:

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Well, I have never really liked the split faced dogs, prefer even marked ones, but my Zip is split faced and I don't even notice it, she is such a nice dog.

 

Once you have a dog, you can live with any looks but only the better temperaments are nice to live with.

 

Good luck finding all you want in one dog, even the very specific look.

 

Rescue would be a good place to start looking and you also get to save a dog's life.

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RDM -- I'll grant you that the brother is quite adorable, too, although based on the photos only, with no knowledge of their personalites, I'm still ga-ga over the first one. Are they part of the litter in rescue you posted a couple of weeks ago? Probably a good thing I live so far from you! That adorable face is almost enough to make me want another one, despite the fact I don't have a good handle on Molli yet. (Some days I'd swear she's satan in a black and white fur coat, although today was, for the most part, a good day on Planet Molli!) I hope they all find wonderful homes!

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I love going to MrSnappy's web site and looking at the pups there! Once I get our yard fenced properly, I might look into seeing if I qualify for one of the rescue dogs.

 

I really am partial to predominent black with white split face ....and I really thought I had to have a BC that had stand-up ears, but Sophies are the rose type, and you know what, I just love them! It is the border collies personality that really counts. I doubt if there is a better dog on Earth than a BC, no matter what the color...I feel SO blessed to have one!!

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