Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
10 questions No timer
57 free Border Collie trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Border Collie trivia quiz covers the herding dog from the Anglo-Scottish border in depth: the landrace collies it descends from, Old Hemp and Adam Telfer, Wiston Cap on the ISDS badge, Hindhope Jed's voyage to the southern hemisphere, and the 1915 moment the name 'border collie' was coined. There are questions on colours and heterochromia, show-ring standards that forgive battle scars, life expectancy, Collie eye anomaly, the MDR1 drug mutation and 'the wobbles'. The quiz also runs through sheepdog trials from Bala in 1873 to the 800-yard International double fetch, the AKC recognition row of 1995, agility's 'Anything But Collies' classes, flyball world records, mountain rescue, and the famous individuals: Chaser and her 1,022 toys, Rico and fast mapping, Fly in Babe, Messi at Cannes and the Oscars, Shep from Blue Peter and Jean the Vitagraph Dog. Questions run from easy to expert with the difficulty shown on each one, and every answer was checked against a reference page and carries its citation. If you enjoy it, try our Dogs and Australian Shepherd quizzes next.
30 of 57 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Border Collie takes its name from the frontier between which two countries?
England and Scotland
The breed is named for the border between England and Scotland, where hill-farm shepherds in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders shaped the modern working type from older landrace sheepdogs.
Q 02Border Collies are kept predominantly for what job?
Herding sheep
Border Collies are kept above all for herding sheep; the breed's crouching, staring 'eye' lets one dog move a flock, and sheepdog trials grew up as the sport of that work.
Q 03The word 'collie' is thought to come from an old Celtic word meaning what?
Useful
A popular etymology derives 'collie' from an old Celtic word for 'useful'; the word was used in Scots for working sheepdogs long before 'Border Collie' became a breed name.
Q 04Who first used the term 'border collie' to separate working dogs from show collies?
James Reid of the International Sheep Dog Society
James Reid of the International Sheep Dog Society coined 'border collie' in 1915 to set working dogs apart from show collies, which had diverged from the same stock after entering the show ring in 1860.
Q 05Which dog, born in Northumberland in 1893, is regarded as the founding sire of the Border Collie breed?
Old Hemp
Old Hemp, born in Northumberland in September 1893, is regarded as the breed's founding sire; virtually every registered Border Collie traces a line back to him.
Q 06Who bred and owned Old Hemp?
Adam Telfer
Adam Telfer, a shepherd at West Woodburn in Northumberland, bred and owned Old Hemp, who was whelped there in September 1893.
Q 07What made Old Hemp's herding style so different from other sheepdogs of his era?
He worked far more quietly
Within a few generations his quiet, intense style had become the Border Collie style.
Q 08Roughly how many pups is Old Hemp believed to have sired?
200
Old Hemp is believed to have sired around 200 pups before his death in 1901, as shepherds sought out his quiet, intense working style.
Q 09Which dog is portrayed on the International Sheep Dog Society badge in the classic herding pose?
Wiston Cap
Born in 1963, he sired three Supreme Champions and his blood runs through most modern lines.
Q 10Hindhope Jed, a Scottish bitch exported in the 1890s, became a trials champion in which two countries?
New Zealand and Australia
Hindhope Jed, exported from Scotland already in pup and called the 'best to cross the equator', won trial championships first in New Zealand and then in Australia after being sold on.
Q 11Which breed was developed from Border Collies?
The New Zealand Heading Dog
The New Zealand Heading Dog was developed from Border Collies imported to New Zealand; the country's other sheepdog, the Huntaway, was bred to bark and drive rather than to 'eye' the flock.
Q 12What is the most common colouring of a Border Collie?
Black and white
Black and white is by far the most common Border Collie colouring, though the breed turns up in almost every colour and pattern known in dogs, including lilac and 'Australian red'.
Q 13Border Collies with two different-coloured eyes have a trait known as what?
Heterochromia
Q 21A UK study found Border Collies had which condition at 2.67 times the rate of other breeds?
Liver tumours
The formal term is hepatic neoplasia.
Q 22The final day of an International sheepdog trial is run over a course of what length?
800 yards
The qualifying rounds and national trials use a 400-yard course.
Q 23In the International 'double fetch', how many of the 20 sheep wear collars?
Five
The 15 uncollared sheep are driven away and the five collared ones are kept in the ring and then penned.
Q 24The first recorded sheepdog trials were held in 1873 in which Welsh town?
Two different-coloured eyes is heterochromia, which in Border Collies is seen most often in merle-patterned dogs, where the merle gene dilutes pigment in one iris.
Q 14Some working handlers avoid dogs with mostly pale coats because of what unfounded belief?
Sheep will not respect a white dog
Some handlers hold the unfounded belief that sheep will not respect a white dog; the American Border Collie Association judges a working dog by attitude and ability, not colour.
Q 15Which of these are not counted against a Border Collie in the show ring, in deference to its working roots?
Scars and broken teeth
Show standards say honourable scars and teeth broken in the line of duty are not to be faulted, a nod to the breed's working roots; they do demand a keen, intelligent expression.
Q 16The height at the withers for a male Border Collie runs roughly from what to what?
19 to 22 inches
Male Border Collies stand roughly 19 to 22 inches at the withers under the AKC standard; females are a little lower, at 18 to 21 inches.
Q 17A 2024 UK study found what life expectancy for the Border Collie?
13.1 years
The 2024 UK study put Border Collie life expectancy at 13.1 years, beating both the purebred average of 12.7 and the crossbreed average of 12.
Q 18What was the leading cause of death in Border Collies in a 2004 Kennel Club survey?
Cancer
Cancer accounted for 23.6 per cent of deaths, ahead of old age at 17.9 per cent.
Q 19Collie eye anomaly, which affects Border Collies, is caused by a mutation in which gene?
NHEJ1
Collie eye anomaly is linked to a deletion in the NHEJ1 gene; it is autosomal recessive, so a dog needs two copies of the mutation to be affected.
Q 20The MDR1 mutation in some Border Collies makes them dangerously sensitive to which parasite drug?
Ivermectin
The MDR1 mutation lets ivermectin cross into the brain, so doses safe for other dogs can cause neurotoxicity in affected Border Collies; the mutation is far commoner in Rough Collies than in Border Collies.
Bala
The first recorded sheepdog trial was held at Bala, Merionethshire, in October 1873; James Thomson, a Scottish handler, took first prize with his dog Tweed.
Q 25At the 1883 Hawick trials, William Wallace of Otterburn first controlled his dog with what?
A hiss and a low whistle
At Hawick in 1883 William Wallace of Otterburn worked his dog with a hiss and a low whistle, where handling had previously meant a great deal of waving, shouting and barking.
Q 26In which year did the American Kennel Club grant the Border Collie full recognition?
1995
The AKC fully recognised the Border Collie in 1995, moving it out of the Miscellaneous Class; most Border Collie groups protested, fearing show breeding would erode working ability.
Q 27In 2003 the American Border Collie Association voted to delist any dog that did what?
Won a conformation championship
In 2003 the American Border Collie Association voted to delist any dog that won a conformation championship, a deliberate stand for breeding to a working standard rather than to looks.
Q 28In the mid-2000s, how many Border Collies a year did the American Border Collie Association register?
About 20,000
In the mid-2000s the American Border Collie Association registered about 20,000 dogs a year, dwarfing the AKC's 2,378 Border Collie registrations in 2005.
Q 29Besides sheep and cattle, Border Collies are used to clear unwanted wild birds from which places?
Airport runways and golf courses
Border Collies are used to chase geese and gulls off airport runways and golf courses, where their stalking style moves birds without harming them; they have also herded free-range poultry, pigs and even ostriches.
Q 30What does ABC stand for in the 'ABC' classes at English dog agility competitions?
Anything But Collies
ABC stands for Anything But Collies: Border Collies so dominate open agility classes in England that separate classes exist to give other breeds a chance.