Bordoodle, the Herding Doodle

By Kosar Koohi

Updated 11 November 2026

Crossing a Border Collie with a Poodle does not give you a calmer Border Collie. It gives you a dog with two very good brains, a coat no breeder can promise in advance, and firm views about where the children should be standing.

None of that is a reason to pass on a bordoodle. It is the reason to understand one before the puppy comes home. The cross is one of the best known in this guide to border collie mixes and their traits. In a living room on a wet Tuesday, it can also look like a very clever dog with nothing to do.

What Is a Bordoodle?

A bordoodle is a cross between a Border Collie and a Poodle, usually a Standard or Miniature Poodle. Most adults weigh 30 to 60 pounds and stand 16 to 22 inches at the shoulder, with size set mainly by the Poodle parent. The coat can be wavy, curly or straight, and only the wavy and curly types shed lightly. Lifespan is usually 12 to 15 years, and no major kennel club recognizes the cross as a breed.

Border Collie and Poodle, Two Working Dog Breeds

Both parents had jobs, and the cross inherits a work ethic from each side. The Border Collie gathered sheep across hill country. The Poodle was a water retriever long before it was a show dog, which is where the curl comes from.

The pair hold the top two places in this ranking of the smartest dog breeds. A dog that learns sit in three repetitions also learns to open the pantry in three.

Like every designer cross, the bordoodle has no breed standard, and no major kennel club lists it. This look at mixed breed and designer dogs explains what that means for a buyer.

Border Doodle, Borderpoo and the F1b Bordoodle

The same dog is sold as a Border Doodle, Borderpoo, Borpoo or Colliepoo. The generation label says more:

• F1: a Border Collie bred to a Poodle, half of each
• F1b: an F1 bordoodle bred back to a Poodle, roughly three quarters Poodle, and the usual pick for a lower shedding coat
• F2 and multigen: bordoodles bred to bordoodles, where coat and inherited disease both get harder to predict without DNA testing

The same labels run through every doodle, and the comparison of the Labradoodle and the Goldendoodle shows how they play out in the retriever crosses.

How Big Does a Full Grown Bordoodle Get?

The Poodle parent decides most of it, so the Poodle variety is the first question to ask a breeder.

• Standard, from a Standard Poodle: about 16 to 22 inches and 45 to 60 pounds
• Medium or mini, from a Miniature Poodle: about 12 to 20 inches and 30 to 45 pounds
• Toy crosses, from a Toy Poodle: as light as 15 pounds, and the least common

Mini Bordoodle Sizes in Australian Litters

Australian breeders lean heavily on the Miniature Poodle, usually bred to a Border Collie mother. Those litters tend to mature at around 18 inches and 26 to 33 pounds, a solid medium dog that sits comfortably beside the oodle crosses near the top of Australia's most popular dog breeds.

Mini does not mean apartment ready. A 30-pound bordoodle needs nearly the same exercise as a 55-pound one. A smaller cross can manage in a unit close to a park, much like the dogs in the best dog breeds for apartments, but only if the walks are real.

When Bordoodle Puppies Stop Growing

Medium and mini bordoodles usually finish growing between 11 and 13 months. Standards take longer, often 13 to 18. Most of that growth happens during the first year with a puppy, and Australian breeders advise holding off long runs and hard exercise until about ten months, while the joints are still developing.

Coat Types, Shedding and Doodle Grooming

Coat is where this cross gets oversold. A Border Collie has a double coat that sheds all year. A Poodle has a single curly coat that keeps growing. A bordoodle puppy can land anywhere between, and littermates often differ.

Wavy, Curly and Flat Bordoodle Coats

Most bordoodles grow a wavy fleece: shaggy, soft and low shedding. Curlier coats lean Poodle, shed least and mat fastest. A straight coat leans Border Collie and sheds much the way one does.

One gene explains a lot of this. Furnishings, the beard, eyebrows and longer leg hair behind the scruffy doodle face, are dominant, so a single copy is enough. Poodles nearly always carry them and Border Collies do not. A first cross therefore almost always looks furnished, and so does an F1b.

The surprise comes later. Two furnished bordoodles can each carry the unfurnished version and produce flat coated puppies with smooth faces and a collie's shed. A DNA test on both parents shows this in advance. Curl runs on a separate gene, covered in this guide to curly haired dogs.

No bordoodle is truly hypoallergenic. People react to proteins in saliva and dander, not only loose hair, so an allergic household should meet an adult dog first.

A Grooming Routine for a Fleece Coat

Brush two or three times a week, daily for curlier coats, and work down to the skin in sections. Mats form first behind the ears, under the collar, in the armpits and along the back legs. A slicker brush and a metal comb cover most coats, and this round-up of the best dog brush for every coat type narrows down what suits a fleece.

A clip every couple of months keeps things manageable, and a short all-over trim is the easiest to live with. Comb out every tangle before a bath, because water tightens mats. Then dry right down to the skin. This guide to bathing a dog at home walks through the order.

Ears are usually folded or half up, and Poodle-type coats grow hair inside the canal, which holds moisture. A weekly look and sniff catches trouble early, and this walkthrough on cleaning dog ears safely at home covers the technique.

Black, Merle and Golden Bordoodle Colors

Black and white is the most common look, often with the white collar, chest and feet a Border Collie wears. Solid black, chocolate, red, cream, apricot, sable, gray, tri-color and parti patterns all turn up. Golden and apricot shades usually come through the Poodle side.

Dark puppies sometimes lighten as they grow, because many Poodles carry a graying gene that clears black toward silver over the first couple of years. The effect is stronger in another doodle, as this sheepadoodle coat and care guide explains.

Blue merle comes from the Border Collie side. Merle bred to a solid color is fine. Merle bred to merle is not: about a quarter of those puppies can be double merle, with a high risk of deafness and eye defects. Walk away from any litter where both parents are merle, and see this piece on blue eyed dogs for why the pale eyes often come with it.

Temperament and the Herding Streak at Home

Affectionate, quick and glued to their people, most bordoodles bark when someone arrives and settle once the visitor is inside. The collie half brings sensitivity, so a raised voice lands harder than owners expect.

Family Dog Fit With Children and Cats

With school-age children, usually a lovely fit. With toddlers, the herding instinct needs planning. A dog bred to move sheep will try to move running children, by circling, blocking doorways and nipping at ankles. That is herding, not aggression, but it still frightens a three-year-old. Redirect onto a toy early and teach a solid settle. These dog breeds for kids show which temperaments cope best with a loud house.

Cats are hit and miss. Some live happily with one; others spend years trying to herd it into the laundry.

Training a Puppy That Learns Too Fast

Bordoodle puppies pick up sit and recall almost at once, and counter surfing just as quickly. Short sessions, food rewards and consistent rules work best, and positive reinforcement training suits this sensitive brain far better than correction.

A first-time owner can manage one with time to spare. If the weekdays are already full, the breeds in this list of the best dogs for first-time owners are kinder choices.

Hours Alone and Separation Stress

Most adults cope with around four hours alone after exercise. A full office day is too long, and a bored bordoodle finds itself a job, usually barking or taking a cushion apart. Build alone time up gradually from the first week, and learn the warning signs in this piece on whether dogs get lonely.

Exercise and Enrichment for an Active Dog Breed

Plan on 60 to 90 minutes a day for an adult, split between movement and something that makes the dog think. Some Australian breeders quote nearer 45 minutes, which can suit a calm medium dog but undersells most standards. Fetch, agility, scent work and tricks all count.

Thinking tires this dog faster than distance does. Scatter feeding, puzzle toys and these boredom busters for dogs carry the rainy days, and runners and hikers will find a very willing partner.

Lifespan, Inherited Health Risks and DNA Tests

Expect 12 to 15 years. Mixing two gene pools protects a first cross against some conditions, but not all of them.

Collie Eye Anomaly and TNS From the Border Collie Side

Collie eye anomaly and trapped neutrophil syndrome are both recessive, so a dog must inherit two copies to be affected. Collie eye anomaly changes how the back of the eye develops. Many dogs see normally, though severe cases can lose vision. Trapped neutrophil syndrome traps infection-fighting white blood cells in the bone marrow, leaving puppies prone to constant infections.

Poodles are not known to carry either variant, so an F1 bordoodle cannot be affected even if its Border Collie parent is a carrier. It can still carry the gene, though. Once bordoodles are bred to each other, two carriers can produce affected puppies, which is why every parent in a multigen litter should be tested.

Hip Dysplasia, PRA and Poodle-Side Conditions

Hip and elbow dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy and epilepsy are the conditions named most often for this cross. The Standard Poodle side adds Addison's disease, a disorder of the adrenal glands. Ear infections and allergies are the everyday nuisances.

Breeder Health Testing Checklist

Ask for results on both parents, in writing:

• Hip and elbow scores
• A current eye exam, plus a DNA result for progressive retinal atrophy
• DNA results for collie eye anomaly and trapped neutrophil syndrome on the Border Collie parent, and on every parent in an F2 or multigen litter
• A furnishings test on both parents of an F2 or multigen litter, if a low shedding coat matters

Choosing Between Bordoodle Puppies and a Rescue Dog

A careful breeder names the Poodle variety, shows health results for both parents, and lets buyers meet the mother. Be wary of guaranteed non-shedding coats, rare colors as the main selling point, and sellers with several doodle crosses ready at once.

Plenty of bordoodles reach rescue in adolescence, when the energy outgrows the household. An adult arrives with its coat and temperament on show, and the case for getting a rescue dog is worth reading before committing to a puppy.

For the eye condition in more detail, the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory's page on collie eye anomaly testing explains what each result means.

About the author

Kosar Koohi

Editor at Pretty Fluffy

Kosar is the editor of Pretty Fluffy. Many of the site’s topics start with real questions from life with her Maltese, Yuki. The answers come from veterinary sources and research, written in plain language for everyday dog owners.

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