Registration and Transfer of Ownership

Overview

The Canadian Border Collie Association (CBCA) is the only registry for purebred Border collies in Canada. As with registries for other purebred animals in Canada, the CBCA is incorporated as a not-for-profit under the federal Animal Pedigree Act and its Bylaws have been approved by the federal government.

The CBCA supports breeding of Border collies for working ability as stock dogs and for good health. We also recognize their ability in various dog sports. Breeding for conformation is strongly discouraged as not contributing to the working ability or health of the breed.

CBCA membership is not required to register or transfer an animal, but may result in significant cost savings for those registering a number of dogs.

Eligibility

Border collies can be registered in one of two ways:

  • A breeder (owner of the dam) can apply to register a litter of pups. Both parents must be registered with the CBCA or a recognized registry (see below) and the pups must be uniquely marked by chip or tattoo prior to leaving the breeder. The owner of the sire must consent to the breeding. The cost of registering increases significantly after two years from the birth of the litter, and the Act specifies that a person selling a registered animal should provide a registration certificate within 6 months of sale. Forms for registration are here.

  • A Border collie currently registered with another recognized registry (see below) can be registered with the CBCA if it meets its criteria. The animal must be uniquely marked by tattoo or microchip before the application is submitted. The animal must provide a certificate of registration in the applicant’s name and a three-generation pedigree from the recognized registry. Form for transfer is here.

There are no other ways to register a purebred Border collie in Canada. Individuals buying Border collie pups are urged to ensure the animal is registered or will be registered when registration is essential for any activities planned with that Border collie.

Registries

The CBCA maintains two registries, each fully satisfying the Animal Pedigree Act’s requirements and approved by the federal government.

In keeping with the CBCA’s commitment to preserving and developing the working ability of the Border collie, the regular or A registry is limited to dogs whose ancestry is only in specific registries of working stock dogs. These include the International Sheepdog Society (ISDS), American Border Collie Association (ABCA), American International Border Collie Association.

(AIBC), and the North American Sheepdog Society (NAIBC). If an animal has only these registries in its pedigree it can be registered or parent a CBCA litter.

The B registry records those Border collies, also purebred, with other recognized registries in its pedigree. These include the UK Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club, and the Australian Kennel Club. Other registries may be recognized by the Board from time to time.

Applicable Bylaws

Bylaw 14, Article XIV - Registration

14.1 Books and Records
All necessary books and records required by the By-laws of the Association or any applicable statute or law, shall be regularly and properly kept at the Head Office of the Association. System records shall be kept at the Head Office of the Canadian Border Collie Association.

14.2 Registry
A Register shall be kept at the Head Office of the Association and shall be known as the American Border Collie Association of Canada Registry. It shall be published by the Association at such time and in such form as decided by the Board of Directors. A Certificate of Registration shall be issued for all dogs registered in a form approved by the Board of Directors.

14.3 Eligibility for Registration
The following shall be eligible for registration with the Association, upon application in accordance with the terms of these By-laws:

  1. Any Border Collie born in Canada of a litter registered with the Association and any dog imported to Canada presenting a three (3) Purebred generation pedigree from a registry or stud book recognized by the Association.
  2. The Association shall not accept for registration any foreign certified three generation pedigree (or export certificate) which reflects the presence of more than one sire or one dam for any particular mating or the presence of unknown or unregistered ancestors.

14.4 Classes
Dogs not previously registered shall be designated Section A or Section B according to the Canadian Border Collie Association Class of the sire and Dam or the Class of the original registry of the Sire and Dam. Section A shall comprise animals where both parents are Section A. Section B shall comprise animals where either parent is Section B.

Dogs previously registered will be assigned the Section of the original registry.

Initially, the following registries are recognized by the Association. Other registries will be considered by the Board on appeal.

Section A Registries

  1. International Sheepdog Society of Great Britain;
  2. American International Border Collie Registry, Inc.;
  3. American Border Collie Association;
  4. North American Sheep Dog Society.

Section B Registries

  1. United Kingdom Kennel Club;
  2. American Kennel Club;
  3. Australian Kennel Club.

14.4 A Reclassification on Merit
A dog may be reclassified from Section B to Section A on sufficient proof of herding ability.

Herding Ability shall be established by the dog placing in the top ten of three Open Class Sheepdog trials each with a gather of not less than 250 yards and entries of more than 20 dogs. Each trial must be under a different judge. Trials will be sanctioned at the discretion of a committee.

Alternatively, the Directors may appoint a committee of three to asses the herding ability of the dog. The test shall take place at a venue established by the committee but not at the home farm of the dog or on its usual stock. The dog must demonstrate competence in the following elements: a gather of not less than 300 yards and a drive of not less than 100 yards. Committee members shall receive an honorarium to be established by the Board and to be paid by the petitioner.

14.5 Registration of Litters

  1. The owner at the time of birth of a litter may make application for registration of the litter provided the Sire and Dam are registered with the Association or a recognized Registry.
  2. The application for registration of a litter must be made to the Association on forms supplied by them for that purpose. All blank spaces must be completed in ink or typewritten. Signatures must be in ink.
  3. Application for registration may be made by persons who are not members of the Association but are subject to non-member rates as established by the Board of Directors from time to time.

14.7 Dam of Litter
The dam of a litter must be registered in the name of the person signing the application form as breeder.

LEASE OF A DAM: An application for a CBCA registered lease of a dam must be made to the Association on forms supplied by them for that purpose. All blank spaces must be completed in ink or typewritten. Signatures must be in ink.

14.8 Sire of Litter
The sire of a litter must be registered in the name of the person certifying the service and, if different than the breeder, must sign a stud service report.

14.9 Registration of Individual Dogs
The application for registration of an individual Border Collie must be made to the Association on forms supplied by them for that purpose. All blank spaces must be completed in ink or typewritten. Signatures must be in ink.

14.10 Imported to Canada
A person resident in Canada who imports a Border Collie may make application for registration of a Border Collie imported into Canada provided the following conditions are satisfied:

  1. The application for registration of the Border Collie is accompanied by a certificate of registration (or export pedigree if imported from the U.K.) issued by a club or organization whose stud book or record is recognized by the Association according to the provisions of these By-laws. The certificate shall include the following information; registered name of Border Collie, foreign registration number with reference to appropriate registry, tattoo markings or microchip transponder characters;
  2. If the certificate of registration (or export certificate) sets forth the ownership by a resident of Canada other than the resident of Canada who imported the Border Collie to Canada, the foreign certificate will not be accepted as a basis for registration of the Border Collie in the records of the Association;
  3. The certificate referred to in (a) above includes, or is accompanied by a certified pedigree, which sets forth the known pedigree of the Border Collie to a minimum of three (3) generations of ancestry, and a registration number for every Border Collie in the said pedigree;
  4. If and when required by the Association, satisfactory evidence that the Border Collie was in fact imported to Canada and by whom it was imported;
  5. If and when required by the Association, a signed statement or certification of the foreign stud book or record which issued the certificate referred to in (a) above that transfer of the Border Collie to the resident of Canada applying for registration in Canada has been recorded in their records.

Unique identifier

Every Border collie registered with the CBCA must bear a unique tattoo or microchip. For litter registrations, the unique identifier must be applied before the pup leaves the breeder. For transfers from another registry, the animal must be marked before the application is made.

Most breeders use microchips but tattoos are acceptable. Breeders wishing to use tattoos should apply to the CBCA to register their letters.

Ownership by corporation or farm

Border collies can be registered to an individual or jointly to more than one. They can also be registered to a corporation or farm, but the registration must include the name of an individual so the Registrar will know who has the authority to transfer ownership. These would be shown as “John Doe (Jimmy Deere Farms).”

Designation of Border collie as free of Collie Eye Anomaly

If owners provide appropriate proof that the animal is clear, ¢ will be added to the database and will be shown on the certificate before the animal’s name. See the CBCA designation policy.

Transfer of Ownership

The form for transferring ownership is on the back of the registration certificate (for A registered animals, legal size document), and on lower left front of a B registration certificate (letter sized document). Complete the form with the purchaser’s information and the seller needs to sign it. Send it to the CBCA with payment.

Note that bylaw 17.1 of the Bylaws puts the obligation on a person selling a registered Border collie to arrange for the change of ownership. Simply signing the form and handing it to the buyer often results in mistakes by buyers and delays in completing the transfer. Buyers and sellers both are urged to complete transfers promptly, especially if the animal will be used for breeding purposes

Fees

See our schedule of fees for all CBCA services fees. Fees can be paid by cheque or money order, made out to CBCA, or can be sent electronically. Please contact the registrar by email before sending funds electronically: registrar@canadianbordercollies.org.

Form of transmission and address

Applications for litter registration and transfer from another registry need to be mailed in paper format, not electronically. Clear, legible documents and good handwriting are essential. Poor quality copies and bad handwriting will slow down processing significantly.

Payments can be submitted electronically, but please contact the registrar at the email address below first.

Applications and payment should be mailed to:

Tara Dier, Registrar, Canadian Border Collie Association, Box 817, Stirling, ON K0K 3E0.

Cheques should be made payable to CBCA.

Questions can be directed to Tara Dier at 705-632-9786, or at registrar@canadianbordercollies.org.

No correspondence by text message, Facebook or Facebook Messenger please.