For decades, the Border Collie has been the breed of choice in agility, canine frisbee, canicross, and all disciplines that demand speed, precision, and endurance.

In France, it is also a breed whose popularity extends far beyond sports circles: people buy them for their image of intelligence, without always understanding what this intelligence and energy entail on a daily basis...

From the perspective of joint health, the Border Collie presents a mixed profile: its lighter build partially protects it from the severe dysplasias that affect heavy breeds, but its intensive and repetitive activity exposes its joints to what is known as osteoarthritis due to use.

Added to this is a hereditary ocular condition specific to the breed and Collie breeds: Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA), which every owner or future adopter should be aware of.

Hip Dysplasia: A Moderate but Documented Risk

OFA data shows that hip dysplasia does exist in Border Collies, at a lower level than in many large, heavily predisposed breeds, but it is sufficiently documented to warrant screening of breeding dogs.

In practice, the risk should be presented as real but moderate, without exaggerating or denying it.

A genetic study on long-term selection in Border Collies (Anderson et al., PMC7601391) confirms that selection based on working phenotype has exerted indirect pressure in favor of functional hips, reducing the prevalence of dysplasia compared to breeds less subject to functional selection.

Elbow dysplasia is less common in Border Collies than in large breeds, but the available literature specifically on this breed remains limited (a bias due to underrepresentation in studies of light breeds).

Osteoarthritis due to use: when sport leaves its mark

Osteoarthritis is the most frequently diagnosed joint disease in veterinary medicine.

The UK prevalence study by O'Neill et al. (2018) on 455,557 dogs followed in primary care for one year identifies the Border Collie among breeds with a higher than average prevalence of osteoarthritis, estimated at 4.52% for the breed compared to 2.5% for the overall canine population.

The authors explicitly note that working and sporting breeds have higher rates of osteoarthritis and highlight the parallel with occupational osteoarthritis documented in humans.

In other words: a Border Collie that does agility several times a week for years accumulates joint microtraumas comparable to those of an overloaded human athlete.

The most exposed joints:

In sport dogs, the joints most stressed during agility and speed disciplines are:

• Shoulders: shock absorbers when landing jumps.

• Elbows: stressed by repetitive flexion-extension during runs.

• Hips and stifles (knees): areas of energy transfer during accelerations and sharp turns.

• Lumbar spine: particularly exposed in disciplines with jumps and pivots.

A study on working farm dogs in New Zealand (Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2020) shows that 57% of working dogs develop at least one musculoskeletal abnormality during their active life (data extrapolable to high-intensity sport dogs).

What studies say about warming up

Studies on working dogs document that only a minority of handlers systematically practice warm-up before intensive sessions and active recovery afterward.

However, data on osteoarthritis in humans and dogs show that warm-up reduces joint microtraumas during exertion and accelerates tissue recovery.

This is one of the most accessible and least utilized prevention levers.

Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA): the hereditary eye disease

Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA) (or choroidal hypoplasia) is a congenital malformation of eye development.

Clinical expression is variable: some dogs remain largely asymptomatic, while others develop more severe lesions.

It is described in Border Collies, Rough Collies, Smooth Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs, and Australian Shepherds.

What you need to know

A 2025 study (PMCID: PMC12111502) confirms the usefulness of molecular diagnosis targeting NHEJ1 to identify affected or carrier dogs, regardless of age. For breeding animals, the DNA test is therefore more robust than an isolated ophthalmological examination, especially because of the 'go normal' phenomenon.

Important point

CEA does not blind most affected Border Collies.

Many live with normal or slightly reduced vision their entire lives. But an affected dog transmits the mutated allele to its offspring... hence the importance of systematic screening before any breeding!

What you can do

Whether your Border Collie is an active sport dog or a stimulated family companion:

• Demand the CEA status of both parents before purchase (DNA test or certified ophthalmological examination before 9 weeks). In theory, a reputable breeder should spontaneously provide this...

• Ask for the OFA or FCI hip scores of the breeding dogs.

• Systematically introduce a muscle and joint warm-up protocol (5-10 minutes of light trot) before any agility, frisbee, or intensive sport session. (you can also use our Canithermo garments for recovery or muscle warm-up)

• Limit repetitive jumping on hard surfaces for growing dogs (before 12-18 months). The reason is that growth plates are vulnerable until complete closure.

• Monitor for early signs of shoulder and elbow osteoarthritis: stiffness upon waking, decreased performance in agility, reluctance to jump or extend front limbs.

• Schedule an annual orthopedic check-up from 5 years of age for sport dogs in regular activity.

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Sources

1. O'Neill D.G. et al. (2018). Prevalence, duration and risk factors for appendicular osteoarthritis in a UK dog population under primary veterinary care. PMC5884849 
2. Anderson R.M. et al. (2020). Effects of Long-Term Selection in the Border Collie Dog Breed : Inbreeding Purge of Canine Hip and Elbow Dysplasia. PMC7601391 
3.  Parker H.G. et al. (2007). Breed relationships facilitate fine-mapping studies : a 7.8-kb deletion cosegregates with Collie eye anomaly across multiple dog breeds. Genome Research. PMID: 17916641 / PMCID: PMC2045139
4. Molecular Diagnostics of CEA and PRA (2025). Analysis of Selected Eye Disorders in Predisposed Breeds. PMC12111502
5. Border Collie Health & Education Foundation ; Genetic Diseases (Hip Dysplasia, CEA). bordercolliefoundation.org
6.  Frontiers in Veterinary Science (2020). TeamMate : Musculoskeletal Abnormalities in Working Farm Dogs. DOI 10.3389/fvets.2020.00624