AUSTRALIAN WORKING BORDER COLLIE REGISTRY!

Promoting the Working Border Collie in Australia

History of the Australian Working Border Collie Registry

The Australian Working Border Collie Registry is the only national registry for the pure-bred working Border Collie in Australia. The AWBCR was founded by Tricia Thomas in 1996. At this time there was no registry for pure working Border Collies in Australia. The only registries available for working dogs were each State Sheep Dog Associations which register Border Collies, Kelpies and their crosses as well as the Working Kelpie Council. This allowed an opportunity to start a national registry for the pure working Border Collies. It is thanks to Guy and Tricia’s foresight that we now have the AWBCR, giving breeders of these wonderful and versatile dogs a national registry.

Guy and Tricia live and work on a sheep and cattle property near Aberdeen in Central New South Wales. They both have a long-standing passion for their Border Collies. Their dogs play a big part in their lives and like most of our members their dogs are used to help manage the livestock on their property.

Pictured left Glensloy Gooch 8361 A0002

History of the Australian Working Border Collie

The Border Collie originated in the border regions of Scotland around 350 years ago. They were developed by local shepherds to help herd their livestock (sheep and cattle) in difficult terrain. These dogs soon developed a reputation for their relentless desire to work and their calm and quiet approach to handling livestock, it was not long before the Border Collie started to spread throughout the rest of the UK and then the world.

In the mid 1800’s the first Border Collies were imported to Australia to help manage the emerging sheep and cattle industry. Since then, there has been a steady flow of these dogs coming into Australia, which continually adds to the gene pool of the original dogs.

Since the start the Australian Border Collie has been developed through selective breeding to suit the different climatic conditions across Australia. The main difference is the length of their coat. In most cases the Australian Border Collie are smooth coated. This has helped the dogs cope with burrs and the heat.

Today the Australian Border Collie is used in a variety of different situations. they are used on smaller sheep, cattle and dairy farms in high rainfall areas through to large scale sheep, cattle or goat stations in the hot and dry heart of Australia. They are used to muster sheep, cattle and goats in the paddock as well as help draft thousands of sheep through yards and pen up in the shearing shed.

After work these same dogs are able to then compete in sheep and cattle trials. Their versatility, intelligence and drive for work is what has made them the most used stock dog in the world.

They are happy to do all this for a pat on the head a good feed and the chance of doing it all again tomorrow.