Common Conditions

Not every health problem that affects the breed can be tested for genetically. Breeders face challenging decisions when choosing how to proceed with caution around some of the hardest diseases and disorders to cope with. Border collies have a relatively common occurrence of the following disorders: epilepsy, border collie collapse, lymphoma, auto-immune disorders, allergies, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), congenital deafness, cryptorchidism, and several other health issues. There are a few databases out there tracking some of the more prevalent diseases. This requires owners to self-report on the dogs, the health condition, and the pedigree. Breeders are encouraged to do research and to avoid breeding dogs with pedigrees at a higher incidence of these health issues. There is hope that some day, scientists will find the genes responsible for contributing to these conditions so that the breed as a whole can be healthier.