Irish Sheepdogs Breed
Border Collie Ireland
Irish sheepdogs typically descend from the Collie breed, renowned for intelligence, strong herding instincts. Farmers have bred Border Collies for hundreds of years with a single goal in mind: improving their herding ability. As a result, these high-drive, high-energy dogs move faster than the speed of gossip. They combine brains, instinct, and endurance to tackle nearly any task — and excel at it. Border Collies work tirelessly from morning until night, earning their place as the backbone of the herding world. These brilliant dogs play a vital role in Ireland’s agricultural heritage.
Smartest Dog Breed
People widely consider Border Collies the smartest dog breed, and they learn new commands in fewer than five repetitions and perform them correctly about 95% of the time. They solve problems, understand complex tasks, and excel at herding — the very purpose for which farmers bred them.
Meet Betsy, the Border Collie Who Redefined Canine Intelligence
A remarkable Border Collie named Betsy astonished scientists with her extraordinary mind. From a young age, she recognised objects by name and fetched the correct one on command. Her owner later responded to a National Geographic Magazine call for intelligent animals. Scientists began studying Betsy’s cognitive abilities in depth. Betsy commands a vocabulary of more than 340 words. After hearing a new word twice, she identifies it as an instruction and responds accurately — learning in much the same way as a human toddler, only faster. During official testing, she selected the correct object 38 out of 40 times, proving that Border Collies like Betsy don’t just follow orders — they understand them.
Betsy understands MORE THAN 340 words
Betsy recognises 15 people by name. Researchers link her intelligence to the Border Collie’s long partnership with humans. They also credit the breed’s evolution and naturally high cognitive ability. Psychology professor Stanley Coren identified Border Collies as the most intelligent dog breed in his 1994 book The Intelligence of Dogs.Cognitive psychologist Juliane Kaminski tested Betsy and proposed an explanation. She believed Betsy’s skills grew from the breed’s working-dog background. Border Collies stay highly motivated and focus closely on human commands during herding. These traits likely strengthened Betsy’s remarkable ability to understand words.National Geographic featured Betsy on its March 2008 cover and highlighted her unusual talents.
An understimulated Border Collie can cause havoc. They need a job and tasks to satisfy their intellectual needs. This led the poet Murray Lachlan Young to pen an ode to a Collie called Don, who suffered an existential crisis due to an under-appreciation of his complex intellect and led to him stealing a tractor and making for the hills.
“Because people can’t handle a collie with a vision
They’d never let that cat get the cream
‘Coz its throw and its fetch and its whistle and heel
But they don’t dig a dog with a dream”
–Murray Lachlan Young
Beauty to match Brains: Border Collie Looks
They are also classic beauties – though they would be offended should they be recognised only for this. Their classic combination of beauty and brains means that, for some of us, Border Collies can do no wrong. A subtle side eye from them is enough to melt our hearts, even when they are messing with our heads.
One of our lovely ladies Lyn, is indeed a classic beauty, her stunning looks would launch a thousand quips! However if mentioned to her ladyship she gives a withering look clearly stating that such a comment is utterly objectifying and just the kind she expects from a mere human!
Border collies display a remarkable variety of colours and markings. They appear in solid, bi-coloured, or tri-coloured coats; red or blue merle; and even brindle — all with varying amounts of white. The colour pattern most people associate with the border collie is black with a white blaze, collar, feet, chest, and tail tip. Their coats can be smooth, rough, or anywhere in between.
What else can these remarkable animals do?
Border Collies (especially trained sheepdogs) are exceptionally good for TV and film work. Expressive and photogenic, Border Colliers bright eyes, alert ears, and expressive faces make them visually captivating on camera. They can convey emotion naturally — curiosity, loyalty, excitement, even guilt or sorrow — without excessive prompting. Border Collies thrive when they have a job to do. Filming — which involves repeated takes, cues, and patience — suits their focused temperament. Sheepdogs like ours at Caherconnell already perform daily in front of people, responding to whistles, commands, and distractions. That background translates beautifully to film and television settings.
Border Collies in Movies
What can they not do – I am feeling more and more inadequate as I pen this paean to the border collie. Recent wonderful movies starring Border Collies include:
Anatomy of a Fall – the Border Collie Messi gained widespread attention for playing “Snoop” in this tense
French courtroom drama. He won the Palm Dog award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, outshining all his human co-stars and creating quite the stir on the red carpet.
Down and Out in Beverly Hills – “Matisse” the Border Collie became the most popular character from the film.
Babe – “Fly” and “Rex” are memorable characters in the film, coaching and minding Babe and demonstrating remarkable levels of pragmatism and emotional intelligence.
All Hail the Border Collie