Border Collies are widely considered the most intelligent dog breed, but a Border Collie stuck in an apartment without a real job does not relax, it becomes anxious, obsessive, and destructive, and this exact mismatch is one of the most common reasons the breed ends up in rescue.
13.1years, median
0.6 years above the all-dog median of 12.5.
Measured, not estimated: the middle age at death across 584,734 UK dogs, 284,734 of them deceased. Based on 20,886 dogs of this breed. 95% confidence interval 13 to 13.2 years. Half lived longer than this, half did not. UK dogs, so treat it as the best available figure rather than a promise about yours.
In the same study, medium breeds as a group had a median of 12.5 years and medium-muzzled breeds 12.8. This breed is medium and medium-muzzled.
McMillan et al. 2024, Scientific Reports 14:531 — open access · CC BY 4.0Health tests to ask the breeder for
Border Collie Society of America sets the tests a Border Collie needs for a CHIC number in the OFA's open database. A CHIC number means the tests were done and the results are public. It does not mean the dog passed them: ask for the results for both parents, or look them up yourself on ofa.org.
- Hip Dysplasia (OFA Evaluation or PennHIP Evaluation, after 24 months)
- Eye Examination by a boarded ACVO Ophthalmologist (annually until age 7)
When to spay or neuter a Border Collie: the UC Davis study of 35 breeds has a suggested guideline for the breed. For males it is a year or later. For females, a year or later. The spay and neuter page has the numbers behind it and what the guidelines say for a dog this size.
- Breed-relevant DNA tests (e.g. Collie Eye Anomaly, Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome, NCL) at breeder discretion
Test names as the club lists them; checked September 2026. OFA CHIC breed page. How to use this at the breeder: check a breeder.
Adopt a Border Collie near you
Shelters and rescues list Border Collies and Border Collie mixes on Petfinder. Enter a ZIP code to see who is waiting within 100 miles.
Listings come from Petfinder and open there. Petipedia does not take part in adoptions and earns nothing from them.
Living with a Border Collie
Living well with a Border Collie means one to two hours of real exercise a day for a young dog, plus training or a 'job' such as agility, herding, scent work, or advanced obedience, because a walk around the block is nowhere near enough. Do that and you get an extraordinarily responsive, biddable dog; skip it and you get a stressed, hard-to-live-with dog that nips at running children and destroys furniture out of sheer unmet drive.
Health you should know about
- Behavioral needs mismatch, not a medical condition — bred for hours of sustained mental and physical work herding sheep; without equivalent daily stimulation, Border Collies commonly develop compulsive behaviors such as obsessive ball- or shadow-chasing, herding family members, and destructiveness.
- Collie eye anomaly — an inherited eye condition present from birth, ranging from mild to causing blindness; a DNA and eye-exam test is standard for breeding stock.
- Hip dysplasia — a hereditary joint condition documented in both working and pet lines.
- Epilepsy — a seizure disorder recognized in the breed, typically starting between 2 and 5 years old.
Read the full Dog Care Guide first — costs, daily time, and everything a dog needs before you choose a breed.
Naming a Border Collie? Scottish dog and cat names, 79 of them, with what they mean.
Sources — 2 references
Last reviewed October 2026. 2 sources listed below. Written and maintained by Petdeals.io. General care information, not veterinary advice — for a sick animal, call a vet.