How Big Will a German Shepherd Border Collie Mix Get?

A Border Collie German Shepherd Mix, also known as a Shollie, is bred from a herding Border Collie and a German Shepherd Dog. They weigh around 70 lbs and grow up to be as tall as 27 inches tall. As for their lifespan, they live up to 15  years.

Shollies are usually very active and intelligent and need lots of love and attention from the owner. They also need lots of exercises and duties to cater to their activity requirements. Here, this blog will discuss their behavior, characteristics, size, training requirements, and suitability for families as pets. 

Origin of Shollies 

Shollies are a mix of purebred Border Collie and a purebred German Shepherd. So, when we talk about a Shollie’s history, it combines the histories of both German Shepherds and Border Collies. If one observes Shollie’s heritage, it can be safely assumed that it was a result of attempts to breed a  bigger and stronger dog. The purpose would have been for a dog with better agility, playful nature, protective instincts, and athletic abilities. 

As no one has ever been able to trace a border collie’s origin, the origin of a Shollie remains  unknown . However, there is an assumption that they were first spotted in Scotland. Even in those times, collies were bred to do what they do today – protect and herd livestock. Border collies have existed for a few centuries but were only recognized in 1995. 

Appearance, Temperament, and Personality of a Border Collie 

Here, we list down some known facts about a Shollie’s appearance, personality, and traits: 

Appearance

When a dog is a hybrid, one never knows how it will look. They appearances can tend to be more like one of their two parents with only a hint of the other parent. Their physical appearance tends to resemble the features of German Shepherds. They usually have similar coats as well as bodies that are large and quite athletic in nature. However, that is where the similarity ends. Their floppy ears and tails tend to be the telltale signs of a Border Collie.

As for their coat, one can neither predict their color nor their features. Your only clue is the parents’ standard colors. Since Shollie is a hybrid dog, it is the same. If a Shollie looks more like its German Shepherd parent, it will probably have a solid signature coat with black spots. However, if it inherits the Collie parent’s appearance, it can be any 17 colors that a border collie is. It can be anything from blue, red, black, sable, and others. While rare, they can also be white colored. So, a Shollie is either bicolored or a guess to make. 

Temperament

Just as with appearance, the temperament of a Shollie can tend to learn towards either of its German Shepherd or Border Collie parent.So, to figure out a Shollie’s temperament, you’ll need to focus on both a German Shepherd’s and a Border Collie’s traits.

The good news is that both the dogs have excellent temperaments and traits that the Shollie may adopt. Both the German Shepherd and the Border Collie are known for their high intelligence and being easy to train. They are also quite energetic and are fiercely loyal. You can expect the resulting Shollie to be quite similar in nature. They tend to be extremely loyal and guard their owners and are quite affectionate with them. While they tend to see strangers as a threat, with the right training, they can be quite social.

They are usually friendly with kids and children but due to their size, may end up harming them without meaning to and not realize it. Owners should monitor their kid’s or child’s interaction with the dog at all times.

Personality

Border Collies are very similar to German Shepherds regarding trainability and intelligence. They are also believed to have a very efficient working mindset, like a German Shepherd. The protective instincts come naturally to Collies as well. However, one needs to train them to ensure they grow naturally. Border Collies are also very curious, and if not exercised enough can be destructive, which is why they require frequent exercise. Since most of the border collie’s personality traits match those of a German Shepherd, you can expect a Shollie to have all the above-mentioned personality traits. 

How big do adult Shollie German Shepherds get? 

A Shollie’s size puts it in the range of large  dogs. A male Shollie can grow as large as 80 pounds and be as tall as 29 inches. Their female counterparts tend to be a bit smaller, growing as large as 75 pounds and being up to 24 inches tall..  However, these are the sizes of a Shollie that takes after the German Shepherd parent. 

For Shollies that take after the Border Collie parents, they may be smaller and tend to weigh 60 pounds at most. Due to their large size, It is not just crucial for a Shollie to live in a home with a big yard where it can run around and exercise itself, but the owner also needs to make sure the yard has proper fencing to prevent the Shollie from jumping and getting away. In pursuit of more space, a Shollie can go to all extents. 

Is Shollie the right pet for you? 

If you have a home where everyone is most active and interested in positively reinforcing training on a Shollie, consider adopting it. However, you must note a few things about a Shollie before getting them home. One is that a Shollie cannot be forced into a small place to survive. It needs a personal exercise space to burn all its natural energy. For people living in an apartment, the Shollie may not be the best choice.

It can also gain weight very easily; hence, hip Dysplasia commonly comes to the breed. If you have the parents of a Shollie tested genetically, you can know if the puppy has a chance of developing the disease. You will have to look out for mischief when you do not give enough work to Shollies. Their intelligent minds need to be put to work at all times. 

So, considering that both German Shepherds and Border Collies turn out friendly and adaptable, you can expect Shollies to be the same too. If kept with enough love and care, one can have a great pet in the form of a Shollie. 

Training a Border Collie German Shepherd? 

The good news for potential Border Collie German Shepherd mix owners is that these dogs are very easy to train. In fact, a lot of experts recommend this mixbreed as a great dog for those who are owning a dog for the first time and have no prior experience with training one.

Since the Shollie requires intensive exercising involving highly stimulating mental and physical exercises, you must make suitable arrangements for its playtime. Here are a few things you can put in your Shollie’s playtime: 

• Weave Poles
• Obstacle courses
• Dog food hunting
• Flyball
• Tracking
• Frisbee
• Yard play
• Fetch 
• Chasing
• Agility training 

Caring for a Border Collie German Shepherd 

It is very likely for your Shollie to expect a lot of care and attention when taken as a pet. If not socialized and trained correctly, one can face severe temperament problems with a Shollie as it grows. Here, we have listed the caring requirements of a Shollie for you to avoid making any mistakes: 

Grooming and Shedding Requirements

No matter which parent the Shollie takes from, it will need regular brushing. You can make it a weekly routine, but you will need to do it more often once the seasonal shedding starts for the Shollie. Moreover, you will need an excellent quality animal hair vacuum to meet the reasonably high shedding needs of a Shollie. Also, if someone at your home suffers from a dog allergy, it might not be a good idea to get a Shollie. Shollie sheds a lot, so someone with an allergy can’t avoid its hair. 

Exercise Requirements

As mentioned above, a Shollie is prone to gaining excessive weight and developing hip dysplasia. It would help if you gave it  enough exercise to prevent weight gain. You can start by planning playtime, off-leash activities, and daily walks. Since both Border Collies and German Shepherds are known as breeds with high energy, Shollies grow out to be the same. They do not just need physical exercise but mental stimulation too. They need up to 2 hours of exercise each day at the very least, and wouldn’t mind more. We recommend splitting the exercise time into two walks or jogs with plenty of playful exercises thrown in.

Living Requirements

Due to their energetic nature, They also need a large home to thrive in and are not comfortable with apartments or small homes without a yard to exercise in. If you live in an apartment or have a home without a yard, you may want to reconsider getting a Shollie. 

Diet Requirements

If you have kept your Border Collie mix active, expect it to demand at least three meals of dry dog food in a day. If the Shollie has been comparatively more involved any day, you may also need to go up to 4 cups for it. Since diabetes and bloating is very common in Shollies, one needs to be careful  and not overfeed their dog and cause a nutritional imbalance. Human food is a big no for Shollies as you never know what can adversely affect it. Moreover, it is essential to get high-quality dog food for the hybrid Shollie since it can digest good-quality food with ease. 

Known Medical issues

Any dog, hybrid or purebred, can have age-related or inherited diseases. Shollies, however, tend to be quite healthy overall. However, they are still prone to some genetic issues as well as diseases that come with age. . Hip dysplasia is a common medical issue for Shollies since both German Shepherds and Border Collies are prone to it. So, before buying a Shollie, make sure you have its patents tested genetically to ensure they are not prone to  Hip Dysplasia. 

They are also prone to having problems with their ears, which are prone to infections that occur if the ear is not cleaned properly, as well as Epilepsy, Degenerative Myelopathy and Von Willebrand’s Disease. If you see any of the symptoms that are associated with these diseases, take your dog to a vet to get it checked out.

Cost

A Border Collie Shepherd Mix can cost anywhere between $450 to $950 when purchases from a reputed vendor. Those who do not want to spend as much can go to an animal shelter and adopt one for quite less. However, the chances of finding one in an animal shelter can be rare.

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