The most significant maintenance requirement of a Border Jack is the amount of exercise it will need. As long as you provide this dog with a huge amount of exercise, it’s an extremely flexible breed happy to be in an apartment or a large house.
Don’t underestimate the energy levels of this breed; make sure you know what you’re getting yourself in for when you bring one of those Border Jack puppies home. Take it out whenever you go out, if possible; it will love joining you for a walk or a jog because it gets a huge amount of pleasure just being in your company.
In terms of grooming, the Border Jack is low-maintenance. You’ll need to do a moderate amount of brushing, to reduce the amount of hair that is shed around the house, and you should of course check and clean its ears regularly — weekly at least — especially because of this breed’s propensity for hearing problems.
Brush your furry friend’s beautiful teeth every few days at the very least to ward off problems with tartare and disease.
Border Jack health risks
As well as hip dysplasia, a problem that is common in the majority of dogs, the Border Jack is prone to a few problems we will go into below. This is a dog that should be fit and healthy for pretty much all of its life, which should be 15 years if it’s looked after with care and kindness.
During the course of its lifetime, the Border Jack may be particularly susceptible to:
Progressive retinal atrophy
A Border Jack affected by progressive retinal atrophy will gradually go blind because of the death of the rod cells in their retinas. Luckily, because the progression of the condition is so slow, your dog may not even let on that anything is wrong; they may adapt to life with increasingly poor eyesight.
You will notice the condition eventually, of course. Your dog’s eyes will begin to succumb to cataracts, for example, and it will behave more tentatively as it begins to lose its day vision (the loss of night vision comes first). Be on the lookout at the early stages for bumping into walls, dilated pupils, and the eyes taking on a gray color.
As with any progressive condition, treatment here is about managing the problem. Your dog may be perfectly comfortable and happy if you make accommodations and slight changes around the house, so there’s no need to be overly concerned about their declining eyesight.
Antioxidants may help slow down the progression of the illness. Generally, although a vet might be able to remove a dog’s cataracts, they may be reluctant to in this scenario because the removal may cause more issues than it solves.
Collie eye defect
A condition that will be present in an affected dog from birth, Collie eye defect affects mainly Border Collie-type dogs, as the name suggests. A vet should be able to tell whether or not your dog has the problem at around two months of age.
Collie eye defect can cause a problem in the development of the blood vessels in the tissue under a dog’s retina. It can also cause the sclera to thin and the retina to detach. The problem can cause vision loss — and blindness in some cases — but doesn’t always affect a dog. Some dogs can have Collie eye defect and have no adverse effects at all.
If you notice that your Border Jack is bumping into things; fears going outside; has pale spots in their eye; or isn’t blinking when you wave your fingers close to their face, they may have Collie eye defect and it may be negatively affecting their vision. If a vet diagnoses the condition, it will probably be graded 1-5 in terms of severity.
You may not need to treat the defect if your dog is still leading a full and happy life. But if you do opt for treatment (there is no cure), you will be able to choose between laser surgery, which may minimize the effects; reattaching the detached retina through surgery; and using cryosurgery to destroy any damaged cell tissue.
Deafness
If you notice that your Border Jack isn’t responding to normal prompts like calling its name, squeaking a toy nearby, or other dogs barking, it could well have begun to experience hearing loss — a sad but manageable development in any dog’s life.
Your dog could be congenitally deaf, meaning that it was unable to hear from the first few weeks of its life. In a way, although it would be sad that your dog had never really known what it was like to hear, this condition can be easier because your pup will be used to the condition and will have a great deal of time to become comfortable with it.
You’ll know from a young age if your pup has congenital deafness but if the condition is acquired, it could be the result of one of many things: inflammation; a tumor; or drug toxicity.
While there’s no reason to assume the worst — your dog could very easily just be going deaf in old age, as humans do — it’s always best to direct your questions to a trusted vet. They will want to examine the ear and inspect it for things like potential blockages.
Surgery can be performed on tumors in the ear, and hearing aids — although expensive — can be prescribed for dogs who are going deaf in old age. As they are more vulnerable, deaf dogs need various helping hands to help them navigate the world safely. But there is no reason whatsoever that their life can’t still be happy and pain-free.
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Feeding a Border Jack — what’s the best diet?
Your Border Jack will love you if you give it lots of high-quality, nutrient-rich food full of animal proteins to keep it healthy and full of energy.
Do your research and avoid harmful ingredients and things like fillers. If you can afford it, favor dog food brands that are transparent about how they source their ingredients and what goes into each packet. Try, if possible, to avoid giving it scraps from your plates — food tailored to dogs will always be preferable.
And, if you want comprehensive information about the best dog foods out there, check out our friends at Dog Food Advisor — they have in-depth brand reviews that include ingredient analysis, so you know exactly what you’re feeding your pet.
