05/03/2026
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TOTALLY AVOIDABLE HEARTBREAK: Today our breed expert Carol Price re-emphasises how vital health screens are for both breeders and buyers of Border collies
PLEASE DON’T BUY A BC PUP BEFORE READING THIS FEATURE!!!
Regularly on this page I have highlighted the kind of health screens any Border collie should have done before being bred from (all covered in full later in this post). And similarly ones which any owner should check a breeder has had done on parent dogs, before buying a puppy from them. Yet still this doesn’t happen and the consequences for both owners and dogs alike can be devastating.
ONE OWNER’S AGONY
Leaving the future health of your dog up to ‘luck’- as opposed to more reliable scientific screening – may seem something worth taking a chance on. Until suddenly you are not so lucky. And as I write, my thoughts are particularly with one of our followers whose beautiful little ten month old BC pup recently lost her life to Sensory Neuropathy (SN); a severe and fast progressing neurological disease affecting sensory and nerve cells.
Slowly she had to watch her sweet and beloved little dog first begin to lose her balance and co-ordination, and then even more rapidly decline until the only option left to spare her suffering was euthanasia.
And what made this owner’s agony even worse was knowing that her puppy’s suffering was also totally preventable. SN is a known inherited – and pretty much invariably terminal - condition in Border collies, as well as one that causes dogs much suffering. But it can be DNA screened for in breeding dogs, and if they are carriers of it they should not be bred from. So the breeders of this lady’s puppy never screened for SN in her parents, and let both the puppy and her new owner pay the terrible price for their own negligence.
STOLEN LIVES
My thoughts, similarly, are with the couple who bought two ‘gorgeous’ brother and sister BC pups off a ‘hobby’ breeder who didn’t think to properly health screen their parents before breeding from them. Both of them later proved to be carriers of Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome – a condition which more or less wipes out a puppy’s immune system, or ability to survive even minor infections. As a result, both pups were born with TNS. One pup made it to 5 months before losing their life and the other 6 months. The longer and happier lives they might otherwise have had were totally stolen from them. Simply as a result of someone not thinking health screening was that necessary. BUT IT IS!!!
THE EASE OF TESTING
DNA testing has revolutionised life for breeders in recent decades, in pinpointing the more exact genetic markers or mutations behind a wide range of inherited illnesses or conditions in dogs, or specific breeds. Which in turn has allowed breeders to ensure they never breed from parent dogs who were both carriers of the same condition. And given how relatively cheap, and easy, fuller DNA screening of dogs is today, why are some collie breeders still not doing it?
If it is simply to cut corners or costs, when you are talking about the whole future health and lives of your dogs, then maybe you shouldn’t be breeding at all. You can get DNA test ‘bundles’ to screen for around 8 different conditions now in BCs at a pretty reasonable cost from many laboratories advertising online. Like Laboklin or Animal Genetics in the UK, or similar labs elsewhere in the world. If you are a breeder, however, do check first that the lab you choose is recognised by the relevant Kennel Club or Association in your country, as many will send copies of results direct to them.
Similarly if you are an owner looking to buy a BC pup, check first to see if their breeder has screened their parents for conditions highlighted in a moment. Many health conditions in BCs need both parents to be carriers of it for their pups to get it. You cannot just assume all breeders will do their job and get these tests done. BE SURE. If a breeder can’t or won’t show you any relevant paperwork proving that these tests have been done, find another breeder. Many Kennel Clubs or Associations now also keep records of what health screens have been done on different dogs, if you have the dogs’ relevant KC/ISDS registered names and numbers. So you could double check that way.
Here are main conditions in BCs that need to be tested for:
1. COLLIE EYE ANOMALY (CEA). This is an inherited condition where the inner structures of the eyes fail to properly develop, potentially leading ultimately to blindness. Some dogs may be more mildly affected, but could still go on to produce more severely affected offspring.
2. PREDISPOSITION TO GLAUCOMA (BCG GENE TEST) . Glaucoma can be an extremely painful eye condition in collies, and even result in dogs losing either one or both eyes. At the heart of the problem is some malfunction in the way a fluid, called aqueous humor, drains from the eye. Predisposition to this problem has now been linked to a specific genetic mutation that can be tested for.
ALSO NOTE: IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT ANY BREEDING DOGS ADDITIONALLY HAVE REGULAR PHYSICAL EYE EXAMS TO TEST FOR OTHER CONDITIONS THAT CANNOT BE DNA TESTED FOR. Like RPED – Retinal Pigment Epithelial Dystrophy, a serious condition that can lead to blindness.
3. TRAPPED NEUTROPHIL SYNDROME (TNS). TNS is an immune system disease, where the vital white cells needed to fight off infection remain trapped in bone marrow and cannot enter the blood stream. Meaning dogs with this condition rarely live long.
4. CEROID LIPOFUSINOSIS (CL). Also known as Storage Disease, this is a metabolic disorder where a specific gene mutation causes an accumulation of more toxic chemicals in the body, damaging nerve cells. Symptoms - like abnormal gait and demented behaviour - may not appear until a dog is 18 months old, thereafter dogs rarely live much beyond 2-3 years.
5. MDR1 (MULTI DRUG RESISTANCE) GENE DEFECT. Covered extensively on this page in the past, this gene defect makes it easier for more toxic chemicals or medications to leak into the dog's major organs and brain.
6. IMERSLUND-GRASBECK SYNDROME (IGS). This is a genetic disorder where Vitamin B12 (also known as Cobalamin) fails to be absorbed from the intestine. Potentially leading to irreversible damage to the brain and nervous system. Symptoms can include anorexia, lethargy and failure to gain weight.
7. SENSORY NEUROPATHY (SN). (Mentioned earlier in this post). A severe neurological disease, caused by the progressive deterioration of sensory and nerve cells. Symptoms begin around 2-7 months of age and dogs rarely live beyond 2 years. Most commonly they are euthanised as their life quality is so poor.
8. MALIGNANT HYPERTHERMIA. Characterised by a more sudden and rapid increase in body temperature, followed by muscle rigidity, a rapid and irregular heartbeat and unstable blood pressure, it can also lead on to kidney failure and death. In susceptible individuals it can be triggered by anything from excitement or exercise to specific drugs or an anaesthetic. This test does not always feature in typical lab DNA ‘bundles’ and may need to be done separately.
9. RAINE SYNDROME (Dental Hypomineralisation) A disorder where the enamel on teeth does not form properly, leading to browner looking weaker teeth, many of which a dog may lose over time.
10. EARLY ADULT ONSET DEAFNESS (EAOD). There is also a DNA test now to screen for dogs more at risk of getting, or passing on, deafness developing at a younger age. However this test is actually a ‘linkage test’ (i.e. dogs with EAOD have some specific genetic markers in common) rather than one that more definitively establishes they will get this disorder.
Additional to the DNA tests outlined here that can be done on Border collies, prior to breeding, Border collies should also be hip scored – ideally registering a total score of around 10 or less for both hips – and elbow scored. To minimise the chance of their pups getting hip or elbow dysplasia. BAER (or hearing) testing can also be done on puppies prior to them leaving the breeder.
You should always expect to pay more for any puppy whose parents have been more fully health tested or screened, due to the extra costs involved for the breeder. But for most of us that is a price worth paying, if it prevents us – and our dogs - facing the kind of suffering and heartbreak outlined at the beginning of this feature.
All text © Carol Price 2026
