Hereditary Diseases

There are a number of hereditary diseases that can be found within the Border Collie breed. Some of these diseases are listed below. In many cases there are DNA tests that are available so that reputable breeders can test their breeding stock to ensure that no puppies are affected by any of these diseases. Having said that though the incidence of these disease amongst the Border Collie population is small.

When examining DNA results there are three results which are reported:-

Clear - which means that the dog is completely free of both the disease and also does not carrying the gene which will produce the disease.

Carrier - this means that the dog does not have the disease but carries the gene which may produce the disease. A dog that is a carrier of a disease can be mated with another that is clear and all of the progeny from this litter will be free of the disease. Under no circumstances should a carrier of a disease be mated with another carrier or affected of the same disease.

Affected - A dog has the described disease. An dog which is affected with a disease can be breed with another dog that is clear of the same disease and all of the puppies from the mating will be not affected with the disease but will all be carriers.

For further information on some of the hereditary disease please click on the links below:

Ceroid Lipfuscinosis (CL)

Collie Eye Anomoly (CEA)

Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome (TNS)


Other issues and diseases found in Border Collies are also shown below, once again the incidence of these is small but the more information available the better information you will be.

Canine Hip Dysplasia

Elbow Dysplasia