Breed Standard
Please click below to download the KUSA Breed standard of the Border Collie
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Border Collie Coat Colours
A puppy will always inherit half its DNA from its mother, and half from its father. The possibilities are literally endless with how the DNA will combine at conception to produce your unique, one-of-a-kind puppy. Some of the DNA that the puppy will inherit controls how it will look. Size, ear shape, coat color, etc. are all controlled by DNA and the environment and are present in a visible (or phenotypic) way. A dog’s phenotype depends on how the genes it inherited from its parents combine. The simplest way to describe how genes work is that they can be dominant or recessive. A dominant gene will “cover up” a recessive gene, so it looks like the dog does not have one of the recessive genes. There are a few different genes that interact with each other to produce all the variety in border collies. The basic ones are Dominant Black (K), Agouti (A), Black/Brown (B), Dilute (D), Merle (M), and Extension (E). *Note that when discussing genetics, upper-case letters always indicate a dominant gene and lower-case will indicate a recessive gene.
Black/Brown, or B, is the simplest gene to explain. This gene affects the eumelanin (dark pigment) of a dog’s coat. B is dominant and translates to black on the dog’s coat. This means a dog that is genetically B/B or B/b will appear black. If a dog inherits two b genes (bb) from its parents, it will be brown.
Merle: Merle is dominant to all (except Extension, which can mask Merle and will be discussed in more detail under the Extension section). A dog only needs to inherit one Merle gene (called an incomplete dominant) to have a Merle coat, meaning the dog will be genetically M/m. *It is, however, important to note that if two Classic Merle dogs are bred together, they can produce puppies that have two Merle genes (M/M) which can cause severe vision and hearing defects in the affected dog. Some “Double Merle” dogs are even born without eyes altogether. We will NEVER breed two Classic Merle dogs together for the health and safety of our puppies. The Merle gene can also modify eye color, nose and foot pads. The Merle gene is not “carried”. A dog is either a Merle or a Non-Merle, but note that some will not visibly show, it could be a small patch of merle or hidden, so DNA testing is the only true way to know for those dogs. There is ongoing new research and information on the Merle gene indicating that hidden Merles, bred with Classic Merles have no health issues related to that breeding. Care must always be given when breeding Merles and good DNA testing an invaluable resource.
Dominant Black, or K is a slightly more complicated gene. The K-Locus, basically, determines what can be “turned off” or “turned on” in the Agouti (or A-Locus). It has three variations: KB, Kbr, and ky. KB is the most dominant gene as it “turns off” the Agouti gene (see below). A dog that has one or two copies of KB will not be sable, brindle, or have tan points. Kbr is the second most dominant gene in the set and it expresses brindle coat coloring. If the dog is Kbr/Kbr or Kbr/ky, brindle will show up anywhere the dog has pheomelanin (light pigment) or has red from the agouti gene. If a dog has tan points, it will have brindle points instead of tan, and if the dog is genetically sable it will be brindle throughout. The kyis the recessive gene in the group and if a dog is ky/ky it will be able to express whatever it has on the A locus (Agouti). *Note that the Brindle (Kbr) gene location has yet to be located in DNA testing.
Agouti is also a somewhat more complicated gene because of its interaction with the K locus (which can turn Agouti “on” or “off”). The Agouti gene determines how pigment is distributed along the hair shaft and body by inhibiting dark pigment (black and brown) production. The two most common types of Agouti present in border collies are sable (Ay) and tan point (at). Sable is dominant over tan point so if a dog has one sable gene, and does not have any copies of KB (dominant black), it will be sable (or brindle if a Kbr is present). Tan points require two copies of the gene at and no copies of KB to be present in order for the dog to have tan points.
Dilution gene is another simple one, with the exception that the only time it will be visible is if the dog has two recessive copies of the gene (dd). A dog that is D/D will not be dilute. A dog that is D/d (only one dilute gene present) will not be dilute, but could pass on one dilute gene to its offspring. A dog that is d/d will be dilute. Dilute works on whatever base color the dog has (Black to grey or blue. Brown to lilac).
The Extension or E series is responsible for almost all (except agouti) related eumelanin and phaeomelanin patterning in dogs. The E series helps to determine which areas of the dog’s coat can (and do) produce eumelanin (black/blue) and which can (and do) produce phaeomelanin (red/yellow). The Extension (E gene) is inherited the same as Dilution, meaning that a dog again needs two recessive copies of the gene to express it. The ee red, also known as Gold, Australian Red or True Red, results in a dog with a yellow coat. “ee red” will also cover up any other colors that the dog has and often is referred to as the “Masking Gene”. The nose color can give a glimpse into what color the dog is underneath the gold, (meaning that a black nose could indicate the dog is either a black and white base or blue merle), but it’s impossible to know for sure unless you do a DNA test. Gold can also have breeding implications because it can mask a merle. A gold dog should never be bred to a merle unless a DNA test is done first to ensure that the gold dog is not also merle and thus, no Double Merle puppies are produced.
Black/Brown, or B, is the simplest gene to explain. This gene affects the eumelanin (dark pigment) of a dog’s coat. B is dominant and translates to black on the dog’s coat. This means a dog that is genetically B/B or B/b will appear black. If a dog inherits two b genes (bb) from its parents, it will be brown.
Merle: Merle is dominant to all (except Extension, which can mask Merle and will be discussed in more detail under the Extension section). A dog only needs to inherit one Merle gene (called an incomplete dominant) to have a Merle coat, meaning the dog will be genetically M/m. *It is, however, important to note that if two Classic Merle dogs are bred together, they can produce puppies that have two Merle genes (M/M) which can cause severe vision and hearing defects in the affected dog. Some “Double Merle” dogs are even born without eyes altogether. We will NEVER breed two Classic Merle dogs together for the health and safety of our puppies. The Merle gene can also modify eye color, nose and foot pads. The Merle gene is not “carried”. A dog is either a Merle or a Non-Merle, but note that some will not visibly show, it could be a small patch of merle or hidden, so DNA testing is the only true way to know for those dogs. There is ongoing new research and information on the Merle gene indicating that hidden Merles, bred with Classic Merles have no health issues related to that breeding. Care must always be given when breeding Merles and good DNA testing an invaluable resource.
Dominant Black, or K is a slightly more complicated gene. The K-Locus, basically, determines what can be “turned off” or “turned on” in the Agouti (or A-Locus). It has three variations: KB, Kbr, and ky. KB is the most dominant gene as it “turns off” the Agouti gene (see below). A dog that has one or two copies of KB will not be sable, brindle, or have tan points. Kbr is the second most dominant gene in the set and it expresses brindle coat coloring. If the dog is Kbr/Kbr or Kbr/ky, brindle will show up anywhere the dog has pheomelanin (light pigment) or has red from the agouti gene. If a dog has tan points, it will have brindle points instead of tan, and if the dog is genetically sable it will be brindle throughout. The kyis the recessive gene in the group and if a dog is ky/ky it will be able to express whatever it has on the A locus (Agouti). *Note that the Brindle (Kbr) gene location has yet to be located in DNA testing.
Agouti is also a somewhat more complicated gene because of its interaction with the K locus (which can turn Agouti “on” or “off”). The Agouti gene determines how pigment is distributed along the hair shaft and body by inhibiting dark pigment (black and brown) production. The two most common types of Agouti present in border collies are sable (Ay) and tan point (at). Sable is dominant over tan point so if a dog has one sable gene, and does not have any copies of KB (dominant black), it will be sable (or brindle if a Kbr is present). Tan points require two copies of the gene at and no copies of KB to be present in order for the dog to have tan points.
Dilution gene is another simple one, with the exception that the only time it will be visible is if the dog has two recessive copies of the gene (dd). A dog that is D/D will not be dilute. A dog that is D/d (only one dilute gene present) will not be dilute, but could pass on one dilute gene to its offspring. A dog that is d/d will be dilute. Dilute works on whatever base color the dog has (Black to grey or blue. Brown to lilac).
The Extension or E series is responsible for almost all (except agouti) related eumelanin and phaeomelanin patterning in dogs. The E series helps to determine which areas of the dog’s coat can (and do) produce eumelanin (black/blue) and which can (and do) produce phaeomelanin (red/yellow). The Extension (E gene) is inherited the same as Dilution, meaning that a dog again needs two recessive copies of the gene to express it. The ee red, also known as Gold, Australian Red or True Red, results in a dog with a yellow coat. “ee red” will also cover up any other colors that the dog has and often is referred to as the “Masking Gene”. The nose color can give a glimpse into what color the dog is underneath the gold, (meaning that a black nose could indicate the dog is either a black and white base or blue merle), but it’s impossible to know for sure unless you do a DNA test. Gold can also have breeding implications because it can mask a merle. A gold dog should never be bred to a merle unless a DNA test is done first to ensure that the gold dog is not also merle and thus, no Double Merle puppies are produced.