Hi,

Please would you help me in my 25 year search to find a small fine boned border collie measuring 18 inches at the shoulder maximum? In 25 years I have found only 2. Sadly one has died and I still have the other. We are desperately seeking another of this sort of bc, telephone all ads and surfing all websites, to try and find one. Recently another lady has joined the search who is also desperately seeking one.

It appears that this small border collie has been bred out for the more favourable hairy and heavier set bc, that look absolutely stunning, true, but for us could never replace the small and beautiful quicksilver working bc.

We have a 200 acre farm with cattle in the UK therefore the collie would have considerable exercise and be loved to bits. If you can help, or know anyone that can please contact us at workingcollie@aol.com

Many mant thanks.
Wendy Tunnard.

The breed standard for Border collies is 21''....anything smaller than that is non standard(by a long way!) and should not be bred from(variance is allowed but a dog that is that far removed from breed standard is,IMO too far) .If there are non available it means that breeders are doing their job and breeding dogs that fit the standard.Anyone who breeds collies this small is not a reputable breeder.
Archer 

No responsible BC breeder would breed for fine bone whether they be ISDS/show/obedience/agility/WT/flyball. The finer the bone the more likely the dog is to have broken limbs or other problems with the long bones & spine

There are smaller BCs around & not all are rough coated My puppy is a smooth coat & not in the least hairy. He is not fine boned but a slim lithe dog like his mother with boundless energy & like 90% of working bred dogs very quick & agile

My puppy BTW is working bred & has been going round sheep(just like his brother kept by the breeder)since they first saw them at 7 weeks

ISDS dogs are never bred for their looks but for their ability,

one of my girls is very long in the back but has measured in at 18.5 inches at the shoulder recently, to me she seems pretty standard height compared to other bitches i see around competing in agility! i dont think you will be able to guess the height of a dog as a pup, it varies so much! one of the biggest collies in our litter stopped growing at 19" and that was a male! 2 of the bitches are bigger than him! god knows where that came from tho as both parents and all their line are close to standard height!

if you want a dog for work, then go on working ability i would suggest rather than size!, as no breeder will take you seriously if you ask for an 'under' height dog!

if i remember rightly i think you have emailed me once before and im sure i told you the same!

Of course if you are looking for a bitch to breed from the parents & puppies should have all the health tests & DNA tests done Anyone breeding from BC's & not doing so & not using the KC or ISDS to register them is not responsible not does it show real concern for the breed

>i dont think you will be able to guess the height of a dog as a pup, it varies so much

Two of my friends have litter brother and sister.  As pups you couldn't really tell a difference size wise but now one is a midi agility dog the other would be classed as larger for a bitch.

Mand