How can I tell if my border collie is a pure breed or a cross?

The kennels said she wasn't pedigree but was a border collie, however she seems a lot lankier and less fluffy than other border collies we've met on walks, and her ears are flat refusing to prick up. Is this just variation in the breed or is she a cross? I'm asking purely from curiosity, she's a beautiful pup either way.

Unlikely she is purebred being as you have no official Kennel Club or ISDS papers for her. #

She could be from working lines as there really isn't a breed standard for working BC's. Working BC's are usually lankier, have less coat, and have a different body type. I've seen everything from prick ears to drop ears on working dogs too. You might want to talk to a BC person in your area and have her evaluated.

If it's a puppy, It'll have shortish fur. If your not so sure, They havea Gene Test at Petco. :3

A cross, maybe. Link below contains description, height and weight of standard purebred border collies.

She is probably some kind of mix. Her ears also were probably never glued so they wont stand up.but that shouldn't matter she will be a good puppy either way

If you didn't buy a REGISTERED pup from a REPUTABLE breeder & you obviously did NOT.........lord knows what sort of beast it is........besides being sub-standard BYBd crap.

working BC's ARE less fluffy than "barbie" show borders (some are even smooth coated) and the ears are less consistant cause they are not important for herding sheep, cows or anything else.look at this page (picked from google) see: LOOKS are not what they consider important. www.workingbordercollies.ca/index.htmPS since in my breed accusations of crossbreeding are legion against winning preformance dogs, the breed club did some heavy research into those DNA tests - save your money they have very poor accuracy.

Other people on this site don't like this answer but here goes. They are now doing DNA testing on dogs to see what breed they are. Mostly people who have extra money to pay for it and have mixed breed dogs. I read about it in "Dog Fancy" some time over the last year. It starts out at around$100.oo and up depending on if it is done with blood or inside cheek scraping. Also the more breeds they check for, that your dog might be, the more it costs. If I had the extra money I would have it done. I have a dachshund mix. He looks just like a short hair doxie but has long legs and small feet. Right now vets aren't doing the test. You have to send away to a lab to get it done. If you are happy with your dog, Good for you!

The only way to know for sure is to do a DNA test. Here is a link to a site that sell it and it's priced right. (My daughter did it and the results came back with about 8 breeds in the dogs history.)

It is very hard to tell from a mix and a pure bred with a simple description. If you could post a picture we might get a better idea. Border Collies come in so many shapes, sizes, colors, earsets, and coat types it is very hard for a rescue or shelter to say definately yes this is a pure border collie or no this is a mix. For example I have a red merle border collie 1 ear is pricked the other semi prick but will also be pricked at times, I also have a female whose ears do the same thing but switch off on who's up and who's down. Border Collies also come in Rough, Semi Rough and Smooth coat or anywhere inbetween.

you really shouldnt judge yet, because your dog is still a puppy. There are even chances that your dog can be a mix.but then again, all dogs are unique, and your dog's appearance is it's uniqueness. Have fun with ur pup!