If anyone can tell me the max. hipscore for a B.C. if using a low bitch or what the max. would be to not worry and just put him to stud with any approved bitch. I am at the moment waiting for his score to come through the post and he will be going for his eye test end of march. Very grateful to any one who can give me the answers.

http://www.bordercollieclub.com/hereditarydefectsadvice.aspx

The Border collie hips range from 0 to 89 (Amongst tested dogs) with a breed mean score of 14.

Because it should always be the long term aim of ALL breeders to try to improve the breed I don't believe any Bitch, far outside the BMS should be bred from. With stud dogs I feel the criteria should be rather higher. To me, unless the dog has a tremendous amount to offer the breed it should be in the low single figures. The reason I say that is because a bitch may possibly have three litters of puppies, say a maximum of 30 puppies whilst a dog could, if liked, cover 20 or more bitches in a year, say 200 puppies in a year with maybe a stud life of 8 years giving a total of 1600 puppies sired in his lifetime. A very serious consideration. As you can see, the responsibilities of a stud dog owner are immense.

Was his eyes tested as a puppy? A pass cannot be given to a collie for CEA over about 12 weeks old. After that age the best you can get is a "Go Normal"

Best wishes, John