Do you think my dog is a border collie mix or a springer spaniel mix?

All I know is that your doggie is sweet and gorgeous, which is all I really need to know.

If you really want to learn your dog’s background, you can have a DNA test done for about $80. There are plenty of labs to be found online, at competitive prices. The merchant will likely ask for a photo, but it’s best not to provide one; make the test lab do its job. I had my last doggie’s DNA tested, and the lab nailed it without any help from a picture.

The 3rd link (Yupid) tried to download some Malware on my computer.

Oh shit! I’m sorry! What do I do? Delete that picture?

I asked because I’ve always thought she was a springer spaniel mix. Well, she ran away from home yesterday and wound up in doggy jail. When I called them to see if they had her they said someone had turned in a border collie. I looked it up and that got me to wondering.

I would say she has both. Body type is more Border, ears are somewhat Springer. I would say Border is dominant.

Hm. Interesting. Shouldn’t she be herding shit then? My German Shepherd herds little children.

Not necessarily. Behavior is not absolute across the groups. I’ve had Retrievers that never fetched anything. There may be more than Border and Springer, she could just have a confused heritage. ;-)

Border Collie/Springer Spaniel Mix. Nice dog.

She’s a pain in the butt sometimes! She barks. That was one of the first questions I ever asked here, was how to get her to stop barking like a maniac when other dogs walk by. She spends a lot of time out in the yard.

I used to have a dog whose mom was a cocker spaniel. No clue who the father was, but she used to go on point. Once we had a female cat who was in heat. The driveway was packed with toms. My Snuffy went on point, over the cat! She held it for at least 15 minutes!

Yep, I agree with @Espiritus_Corvus The freckled paws are the Springer influence and the face, totally Border. I am hanging out, right now with 2 Border Collies. “Nellie” is a smooth coat and “Dooley” is a fluffy rough coat. Nellie is in her easy chair right now with the cowboy sheet over it and Doo is on the futon and I am in the recliner by the fireplace. haha

So the consensus is she’s both? Well, that’s pretty cool!

Are your collies spastic, @Coloma?

@canidmajor “Behavior is not absolute across the groups.”

So true. My own little girl, a Labrador retriever mix, can’t retrieve anything. She was horribly neglected during her early life, so she never learned how to fetch a ball. If throw a ball and encourage her to chase it, she just wags her tail and stays put. Such pathos…

@Dutchess_III They are 8 and 11, so they sleep a lot and then have a race around time once or twice a day then back to sleeping. Dooley is a bit chubby, Nellie still has her girlish figure. haha

Young Border Collies are extremely energetic and curious (intelligent). They will give you a run for your money. I swear, if there was a used tennis ball machine around here, I’d buy it. My pup Dave would only need one ball. The machine would throw it, he’d fetch, drop it in the bin, the machine would throw it, he’d fetch, drop it in the bin… ad infinitum. Then maybe I could get an afternoon off.

One other thing about them: they can’t stand disorder. Mine are almost OCD about keeping things in groups. They’ve been bred for this for god knows how many generations. When I had the Easter Egg Hunt up here, about fifteen kids all grouped together at the start line suddenly took off in all directions and Dave freaked. He looked at my like “WTF? Are you just going to let this happen?” then took off after them like a tornado, barking and nipping at their heels until he got them in a tight circle then pushed them into a corner by the barn. This took about two minutes. I picked him up, gave him a big hug and put him in the house. (I don’t want to discourage this behaviour. It’s his job, actually.) He didn’t like that at all. He stood on the drainboard barking at the disorder going on outside the kitchen window the whole time.

Some people think they are crazy dogs. I think they are the best dogs of all.

She is intelligent, for sure. But it’s not the quiet intelligence of her step-mom, Dakota. It’s more of an “ErMahGodListenToMeRightNowBecauseIHaveSomethingImportantToTellYouRightNOW!!!!OrIWillLoseMyShit!!!!!AreYouListeningToMe??????????????? kind of frenzied intelligence.

We call it “Having rabies again.” I wish we’d been better, more patient trainers.