Quote History Quoted:
So, are there some behaviors that make you think your dog is part border collie?
I was going mostly by the look of her back half. She also has some herding tendencies. When she was younger she would go after people's feet. She circles me or blocks my path when I'm walking, too.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Quote History Quoted:Quoted:
People get hung up on 'looks like' when trying to determine breeds in a mix. That's a flawed place to start. There are common colors for common breeds, but often there are less common colors for those same common breeds that people don't know about and get confused. Example, occasionally an all-black doberman is born. Someone not knowing that might think it is a mix, or seeing a mutt that had an all-black dobie for a mother, not seeing the classic doberman coloration might dismiss dobie as one of the parents.
There are also common colors for breeds that are less common in other breeds but still present. The classic doberman/rottweiler color pattern is called black-and-tan, but probably 100 different breeds can be this color...from cocker spaniel to poodle to greyhound. Seeing a dog in a color that is famously linked with certain breeds can mislead a person into thinking 'breed X must be one of their parents'
Finally some dogs are certain colors because one gene is blocking another. Samoyeds are white because they have a recessive red and a recessive black and these two block each-other. Breed it to the right brown dog and you'll get something solid black. Labs derived from St Johnson's Dog, which had a 'tuxedo' coat...splashes of white on the toes and a big splash of white on the chest. You'll sometimes see labs with a speck of white on their chests. But cross a lab with another breed, and whatever genes are responsible for the white that caused the tuxedo pattern that for some reason is blocked in labs will come shining through.
Software...how the dog behaves, is a better guide to what makes up your dog.
So, are there some behaviors that make you think your dog is part border collie?
I was going mostly by the look of her back half. She also has some herding tendencies. When she was younger she would go after people's feet. She circles me or blocks my path when I'm walking, too.
Border Collies don't really go for the feet. They use their stare and body posture to make the animal think they are being stalked and then the animal avoids them. Australian Cattle Dogs are famous for fixating on people's feet. Structure-wise and color wise I don't see any strong hints of cattledog, but the stocky body does have some indication of that kind.
I see no visual cues that make me think border collie.
But it could be just a nordic mix, and in that nordic mix it might have some herding. People in the Finland area pretty much across all of Asia used nordic dogs for herding their reindeer etc. In fact, off the top of my head, two different breeds/landraces of reindeer herder look fairly similar to your dog (not that looks should be the main gude remember)
Nenets Herding Laika pictured below. (Nenets = natives of the middle-siberian area of asia)
Lapponian Herder From the Lapps aka Sami people in the Finland area.