Have you ever wondered if border collies have webbed feet? Since many people asked me about this matter, I decided to do some research on it.
Do border collies have webbed feet? Yes, The purebred border collies have webbed feet up to some degree. But it’s fairly less when compared to water breeds. The webbed paws help in day-to-day activities such as walking, swimming, digging, navigate through snow, and maintain stability.
Since border collies have a vast amount of benefits from webbed feet, being aware of this is crucial for a responsible owner.
Border collies’ webbed feet are extremely beneficial for walking.
When we come to the history of this beautiful, intelligent dog, border collies have initially been bred for herding and livestock purposes.
So their webbed feet are extremely helpful during daily basis activities.
If you own a border collie, go ahead and look at his/her paw and spread the toes apart. Then you will see a thin membrane between their toes.
When walking above different kinds of surfaces
Many people keep this dog as a herding dog because they are extremely intelligent and, can chase and organize animals.
So they have to walk above various kinds of surfaces throughout the day.
Often these dogs have to walk above some muddy or slippery surfaces. In these situations, their paws become more extensive and, the webbing between their toes acts as a grip.
So when their paw surface area increases, they can maintain their body’s stability without sinking or falling on mud or slippery areas.
But don’t be mistaken. This ability is weak compared to water breeds such as Labrador retrievers, Newfoundland, etc.
Border collies’ webbed feet are much helpful during the winter.
Can you walk through the snow without having snow boots? I’m not talking about the cold.
Probably you will sink into the snow if you don’t have snow boots.
So, when we come to border collies, we can apply the same theory. Unless border collies have webbed toes, they will never be able to navigate through snow.
Even they have medium-sized webbing between their toes, that’s fair enough during winter. Their paws become wider and give a large surface area the same as muddy or slippery areas.
Advice
As a responsible border collie owner, you have to keep in mind something. Let’s say you get out with your dog during the winter. Once you return home, don’t forget to clean inside their paws by spreading their toes apart. Because the snows which are stuck their paws can cause them extreme pain.
How to overcome this problem?
I suggest you buy dog snow boots, and it will be so comfortable for them.
Border collies’ webbed feet are beneficial for swimming.
Even border collies don’t have fully grown webbed toes like water breeds, they are excellent swimmers.
Border collies paddle their webbed paws to navigate through the water.
So here their feet are acting exactly the same as oars, and it can push back the water. So this process isn’t much different from boating.
Anyhow, border collies have to swim at some point in their life. So it’s essential to train them to swim.
Imagine you are about to go on a family trip, and you hope to take your border collie too.
So when you meet a good waterway which is suitable for swimming and if your dog doesn’t know how to swim, what will you do? Will you leave him on the bank while you enjoy with water?
So remember, it’s essential to give them proper swimming training.
Why?
Because they are not Instinctive talented swimmers. So there is always some possibility to get them so tired and sink while swimming.
Based on my experiences, you can start to give training sessions once they turned about 12 weeks.
It doesn’t matter if you have a mature one. Making them excellent swimmers is still possible.
No matter your dog is a puppy or matured one, with positive reinforcement, consistency, perseverance they will be excellent swimmers.
With positive reinforcement, consistency, perseverance, they will be excellent swimmers.
Dog Breeds Experts
But remember that consistency is always the key to success.
But how to train your border collie to swim?
Since dogs are natural swimmers, this task isn’t that much hard. Another case is border collies are love to water.
The main challenge for them is overcoming the fear of water.
So how can they overcome that fear? Well, there is a cool trick you can test out. Go for a long walk or hike with your border collie.
Then try to find a shallow water body that is not in depth more than one-third of your dog.
Here you have to cross the water body without giving a help him/her. Obviously, he/she will find a suitable path to reach you.
So, do this several times, and eventually, he will overcome the fear of water.
So the next step is to give the swimming training sessions. It’s better if you can provide a dog swimming pool. Otherwise, take him for a swim with you.
But remember, don’t throw him into the water. It will confuse them, and it may decrease their confidence level.
So get him onto the water by giving weight gently upwards. Here usually, border collies start to paddle using their webbed feet.
So help him to keep the face above the water surface.
But remember, don’t release the weight suddenly. Gradually decrease it. So at this point, he will start to swim alone.
So as I mentioned above, be consistent. Eventually, your border collie will become a talented swimmer.
Remember: When your dog swims in a quite unfamiliar place, don’t forget to put on a Dog life jacket, and it will be worthwhile for your dog.
Border collies’ webbed feet help them to dig.
Obviously, you must have funny experiences regarding this matter.
As we know, these dogs have a somewhat long coat. Which means they may feel so hot immediately.
Have you ever seen your dog digging holes in the ground during the summer? Mostly we can see several holes here and there throughout the backyard.
When I touch the inside of these holes, I can feel somewhat comfortable cold. Some borer collies have addicted to this trait.
On the other hand, when they feel a rat or a small animal crawling into a small cave, they usually start to dig it continuously.
Suddenly they put their nose and scent heavily with a noise. The funny thing is they won’t stop this for hours.
Anyhow, unless border collies have webbed feet, they cannot dig these comfortable holes.
What if your border collies haven’t webbed feet?
If your border collie doesn’t have any webbed toes, you not need to worry too much. Obviously, he may get used to it.
But in some cases, you have to worry about it.
As we discussed above, commonly, they have used for herding the sheep. So, think about it.
Let’s say you have a farm and the primary purpose of having dogs to herding for your farm.
So, you have to be a little concerned about this situation. Because it’s necessary to have at least partially webbed feet.
This means if he keeps as a herding dog, he has to walk above various types of surfaces. So, it’s necessary to have webbed feet.
If you keep border collie as a domestic pet for cuddling purposes and looking for small protection to your home, just forget about webbed feet. Because he stays most time in your home. They are very intelligent and drive. So, don’t care about it.
But if you’re still worried about it, why don’t you go and see a veterinarian see if everything’s okay?
But try to understand the real problem here. Many people get used to breeding dogs without any responsibility.
As a result, the border collie breed becomes mutations with time.
Therefore, it is crucial to buy purebred border collies. So in order to find a purebred border collie, it’s just not enough to look at their webbed feet.
So here onwards, let’s try to figure out how the actually purebred border collie looks like.
How to identify purebred border collies?
Identifying purebred border collies is an essential task. It’s not enough to check border collies’ webbed feet. We need to concern a lot of factors.
Furthermore, there are a few things to consider before bringing in a new dog. Okay, let’s get back to the topic.
| Male weight | 30-45 lbs |
| Female weight | 27-42 lbs |
| Male height | 19-22 inches |
| Female height | 18-21 inches |
| Eye color | typically dark brown, blue |
| Coat color | Red Merle, Chocolate, Liver, Sable Merle, Gold, Red, Black, White, Blue, Blue Merle, Lilac, Brindle |
Examine their feet, border collies have webbed feet. ( actually this whole article all about it)
The coat
Mainly we can see two different types of collies. They are smooth collies and rough collies.
Rough collies have harsh, long, fitted coats. It covers their head and legs.
Smooth collies have flat, dense, short coats.
All types of collies have the same kind of color pattern over their body. Mostly they have white color over their,
- Tip of the tail
- Feet
- Legs
- Chest
- Some white markings on the face.
Understand, looking at border collies’ webbed feet is not enough. You have to examine a lot of things.
Body shape
Border collies are medium size dogs. You can see their heights and weights from the above table.
These dogs have a well-defined head shape.
Look directly at their face, and you will see a somewhat triangle shape. When we examine a dog, most of them have a suitable head size relative to their body. But border collie’s head is slightly smaller related t their body.
See the behavior
Typically border collie is a very active and highly energetic dog breed. They are highly intelligent and love to run here and there.
They love walks and play outside. We have discussed above that these dogs are used as herding dogs. So listen when they are barking, you will hear a somewhat vocalized sound from them.
CONCLUSION
If you are a border collie lover, it’s fair to have a problem like “Do border collies have webbed feet? “. Well, this article is an in-depth review of that. We have discussed,
- Border collies’ webbed feet are extremely beneficial for walking.
- Their webbed toes are very useful for swimming.
- Border collies’ webbed paws help them to dig.
- What if your border collies haven’t webbed feet?
- How to identify purebred border collies?
How about your dog. Is he skilled at swimming? Comment below.
Love your dog. He will never break your heart.
