Discover All the Colors of Border Collies

7 minutes

Genes are responsible for the variety of dog coat colors, which are produced from two pigments: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Explore in this content 17 colors of the border collie.

Discover All the Colors of Border Collies

Written and verified by the psychologist Sara González Juárez.

Last update: 29 January, 2024

Did you know that the colors of border collies aren’t limited to black and white? You may have come across brown or gray coats in this breed, but the truth is that there are many varieties accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) and the American Kennel Club (AKC).

These wonderful canines are the best companions someone with an active lifestyle could have. If you’re curious about all the coat colors they can exhibit, here you’ll find the list you need to keep getting to know this dog breed better. Don’t miss a thing!

Colors of Border collies accepted by the FCI and AKC

The genetics that influence the coat coloration of these dogs are interesting and complex. According to a study published in the journal Animal Genetics, cells called melanocytes, which produce a protein known as melanin, are responsible for the color of the following mammalian body parts:

Skin
Hair
Eyes

In dogs, up to 15 genes related to coat color are known, of which MC1R, ASIP, and CBD103 stand out. Complex interactions between these genes determine the type and amount of melanin produced.

According to the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), in border collies, the base color will always be white -with some exceptions-, but this color shouldn’t predominate. Various combinations are acceptable. Below, you’ll find the most common ones, as stated by this canine organization and the American Kennel Club (AKC).

1. Black and white

A black and white border collie playing with a stick in the dry fall grass. — This combination of coat colors is the most frequent in border collies. Credit: Radim Ryba/iStockphoto.

This is the most common coat you’ll find. The black spots on the white background don’t usually follow any pattern. Because they’re random, they make each specimen unique.

2. Tricolor

A tricolor border collie lying on a rustic wooden floor, with a rustic wooden wall in the background. — The brown or tan color is usually displayed over the eyes and cheeks, as well as on the legs and chest. Credit: Kalulu/iStockphoto.

In this variety, three colors are found instead of two:

Black
White (background)
Cream or brown (occurs mostly bordering the black spots)

3. Chocolate

A border with chocolate brown spots. — Specimens with this color have a brown nose. Credit: Sckrepka/iStockphoto.

This variety is similar to black and white border collies, but the black areas are replaced by dark brown. This combination carries with it a small chance that the dog will be born with heterochromia, that is, with different colored eyes. It’s caused by a recessive gene (bb), so this is infrequent.

4. Chocolate tricolor

A chocolate tricolor border collie with a plaid bandana tied around its neck. — This combination includes chocolate, tan, and white. Credit: The Smart Canine.

In these animals, the dark brown color is diluted in random areas of the coat, thus generating a lighter brown. In this way, these shades are distinguishable instead of two.

5. Blue merle

A blue merle border collie in a snowy forest. — In this case, the animal’s coat shows a mixture of blue and gray, with black spots. It’s common to find blue merle border collies with blue eyes. Credit: Shutterstock.

Similar to black and white border collies, but with the black diluted. This effect produces a bluish-grayish mottled color in random areas of the black spots, giving the impression of three colors. When dogs exhibit this coloration, it’s because one of their parents is merle.

6. Blue merle tricolor

A border collie with a blue merle tricolor coat. — Border collies with a blue merle tricolor coloration have white and brown splashed in their coat. Credit: Quintessentiallyquill/Instagram.

This variation of the above is very interesting, consisting of a dominant grayish (bluish) color, splashed with white and brown. The nose is also usually lighter in color than that of border collies with other colors.

7. Seal

A border collie playing in the grass near a pond. — This is a rare coloration. The coat takes on a reddish-brown tone, especially when the border collie is exposed to the sun. Credit: SpiritDog Training.

It’s easy to confuse this variation with black and white, as the pattern is similar. However, rather than black, these dogs have a very dark brown color set against a white background.

8. Seal merle

A seal merle border collie standing on the ocean shore. — Its coat boasts black and sand, with white as the base. Credit: Pixabay.

This is another of the border collie colors that combines three shades:

Black
Sand color
White base

It’s easy to find a gradient in some specimens, going from darker to white, through light brown.

9. Black

A black border collie with white on its feet and chest. — Black predominates in the coat. It may be accompanied by white spots. Credit: Emelie M. Magnusson/Instagram.

Border collies with a black coat may have white markings in some areas:

Tail
Paws
Chest
Head

Despite this, they differ from canines of this breed that exhibit a black and white coat.

10. One of the rarest colors in border collies is red merle

A red merle border collie playing outdoors. — Red merle is an unusual coloration, due to the red being a recessive gene. Credit: Shutterstock.

This time, we break the first rule above: Instead of having white as the base color, we find brown, in a light reddish tone. This combines irregularly with the white. This is a rather rare phenotype to find.

11. Red merle tricolor

A red merle border collie. — The result of heterogeneous color dilution is a white base accompanied by red patterns as the most frequent shade. Credit: Vukvuk_blog/Instagram.

This variation of red merle generates a color base that is, again, white, adding black and reddish. It’s possible to find different shades of brown and even some black lines.

12. Sable

Border collie sable, en medio de la vegetación. — Sable is another uncommon pattern. The cinnamon or brown coat exhibits black tips, although it can vary in color. Credit: Annabell Gsoedl/Shutterstock.

Sable consists of a brownish, somewhat coppery hue that darkens to the tip of each hair. Thus, the overall appearance is of reddish patches varying in clarity in a graded manner, always on a white background.

13. Sable merle

A sable merle border collie in a field near a forest. — Sable merle border collies are the product of dilution of the predominant color. Credit: Lisjatina/Shutterstock.

As with other merle variations , a recessive gene produces dilution of the main color. Thus, variations are created within the copper spots, so that dark brown, sable, and white are found.

14. Lilac, one of the most beautiful border collie colors

A lilac border collie. — When exposed to the sun, the coat of lilac border collies, which is a light and cool brown, takes on a lilac-like hue. Credit: Susan McQuade/iStockphoto.

Although not a lilac color as such, but a lightened brown, this is one of the most sought-after colors in border collies. This color is obtained when the brown color is genetically diluted and lightened further on the white coat.

The nose of these dogs is also usually light-colored, showing that the mutation is expressed on all melanocytes.

15. Lilac merle

A lilac merle border collie. — The coat has dark cool brown markings. Credit: weks_atury/Instagram.

Again, there’s a dilution of the brown color in its dominant form. This generates patches of darker lilac. Thus, the pattern remains irregular and looks like three different colors.

16. ee-red (Australian red)

An Australian red border collie. — The coat of Australian red border collies has blond tones. Credit: Dog Kennel FCI.

This border collie color is one of the most interesting. Here, it’s not clear which color is the base color and which are the patches, as a genetic test would be needed to find out. This variation appears masking other colors and is always shown in blond tones. Because of this, the following subtypes are distinguished:

Black: Black base +blond.
Chocolate
Blue: Bluish base +blonde.
Merle: A solid red is observed, which is likely to be the base.
Sable or lilac: There are rare cases where the red masks these variations.

17. Brindle

A brindle border collie. — Border collies with brindle coloration have a brindle stripe pattern. Credit: brindle_bordercollie/Instagram.

This color, listed by the AKC, combines tufts of black and brown. It’s possible to find it combined with white, creating patchwork patterns. In some cases, the lighter brown takes on reddish tones.

The only border collie color not accepted is white

Since those border collies with this plain coloration are albinos, they’re not accepted as a color per se. These specimens have blue or red eyes and a pink nose, as they have very little or no pigmentation. It’s important not to be fooled in this regard, as this genetic mutation is accompanied by several health problems.

Did you know about all of these border collie colors? If you’re thinking of adopting one of these amazing canines, remember that each pattern is unique, just like their personality. Whatever the name of its coat, each dog is unique and special.