border collie: inherited diseases and health
Breed health
The inherited conditions below have been documented in this breed in published research. That does not mean your dog has them or will get them – but it helps to know the names when you talk to a breeder or a vet.
Inherited conditions documented in the breed
Conditions documented: 31
A gene variant is known for 15 of the conditions below, so a DNA test may exist. Ask your vet or the breed club.
| Condition | Body system | Inheritance | Gene variant known |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centronuclear myopathy 1, DNM2-related[1] | Muscle | Autosomal dominant | Yes |
| Cerebellar abiotrophy[1] | Nervous system | – | – |
| Choroidal hypoplasia, NHEJ1-related[1] | Vision / eye | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| Coat colour, merle[1] | Pigmentation | Autosomal incomplete dominant | Yes |
| Deafness, adult-onset[1] | Hearing / vestibular / ear | Autosomal dominant | No |
| Deafness, generic[1] | Hearing / vestibular / ear | Multifactorial | No |
| Degenerative myelopathy[1] | Nervous system | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| Dental hypomineralization[1] | Skeleton (incl. short stature & teeth) | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| Epilepsy[1] | Nervous system | Multifactorial | No |
| Exercise-induced collapse[1] | Nervous system | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| Goniodysgenesis[1] | Vision / eye | Autosomal recessive | No |
| Haemophilia A[1] | Haematopoietic system | X-linked recessive | Yes |
| Idiopathic Epilepsy[2] | – | – | – |
| Inflammatory bowel disease[1] | Digestive / alimentary | – | – |
| Intestinal cobalamin (vitamin B12) malabsorption, CUBN-related[1] | Homeostasis / metabolism | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| Lens luxation[1] | Vision / eye | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| Lymphoma, generic[1] | Neoplasm | Multifactorial | – |
| Multidrug resistance 1, ABCB1-related[1] | Homeostasis / metabolism | Autosomal incomplete dominant | Yes |
| Muscular dystrophy, Duchenne type[1] | Muscle | X-linked recessive | Yes |
| Myotonia[1] | Muscle | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, 5[1] | Lysosomal storage disease | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| Neuropathy, sensory, RETREG1-related[1] | Nervous system | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| Onychomadesis, symmetrical[1] | Integument (skin) | Multifactorial | No |
| Osteochondritis dissecans[1] | Skeleton (incl. short stature & teeth) | Multifactorial | No |
| Patent Ductus Arteriosus (POA)[2] | – | – | – |
| Pelger-Huet anomaly[1] | Haematopoietic system | – | – |
| Polyneuropathy, generic[1] | Nervous system | Autosomal recessive | No |
| Retinal atrophy, progressive, X-linked, type 3[1] | Vision / eye | X-linked | No |
| Steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis, predisposition to[1] | Nervous system | – | No |
| Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome[1] | Haematopoietic system | Autosomal recessive | Yes |
| XX difference of sexual development, generic[1] | Reproductive system | Multifactorial | No |
What this list means
- “Documented in the breed” means at least one published case or study – it says nothing about how common the condition is.
- Many of these conditions are rare. A responsible breeder can tell you which health tests the parents have had.
- Where the gene variant is known, a DNA test may exist – ask your vet or the breed club.
- If your pet shows signs of illness, contact your vet. This page cannot tell you whether your pet is ill.
About the breed
- Origin
- United Kingdom, England, Scotland
- Height
- 53 cm
- FCI number
- 297
If your pet is struggling to breathe, has collapsed, is having a seizure or can't stand up: go to the nearest vet now.
Not sure how serious it is?
OkPaw asks a few quick questions about your pet and tells you in 30 seconds whether it can wait. Free on Google Play for Android.
OkPaw is on Android now – an iPhone version is on its way.
Sources
How this page was made: the list is taken directly from the sources below; nothing on it was written by AI. Names of conditions may be machine-translated. It is information, not a diagnosis. How we write our pages