Border Collie vs Chihuahua: Which Suits Your Home?

Few match-ups on this site have a size gap this extreme — the Border Collie runs 30-55 lbs against the Chihuahua's 2-6 lbs, and 18-22 inches versus just 6-9. A single Border Collie could outweigh five or six Chihuahuas combined. The two breeds barely share a silhouette, let alone a build.

Exercise need splits hard: very high (5/5) for the Border Collie, low (2/5) for the Chihuahua. Energy level, though, ties at moderate for both — which tells you a Chihuahua can be intensely animated in short bursts without needing the long daily outlet a Border Collie demands.

Grooming favors low maintenance for both breeds relative to many others on this site, though shedding tilts toward the Border Collie at moderate (3/5) against the Chihuahua's low (2/5). Chihuahuas come in short or long coat varieties, and either sheds less than the Border Collie's thick double coat does.

Apartment suitability favors the Chihuahua heavily, very high (5/5) against the Border Collie's very low (1/5) — but barking flips the other way. Chihuahuas rate very high (5/5) on barking, well above the Border Collie's moderate (3/5), so a small-space Chihuahua owner is trading exercise problems for noise-complaint problems.

Border Collie trainability rates very high (5/5); the Chihuahua rates low (2/5), a big gap for two breeds sometimes lumped together as smart. First-time-owner scores are both weak, very low (1/5) for the Border Collie and low (2/5) for the Chihuahua — neither is an easy beginner breed, just for different reasons.

The Border Collie rates higher across the board with people and other dogs — high (4/5) with kids, other dogs, and moderate (3/5) with strangers, against the Chihuahua's low (2/5) on all three. Chihuahuas are famously more bonded to one or two people and often wary of everyone and everything else.

The Chihuahua wins on longevity by a wide margin, 12-20 years against the Border Collie's 12-15 — that upper bound of 20 years is among the longest on this site. Its health list includes collapsing trachea, hypoglycemia, and hydrocephalus, along with a noted tendency toward aggression; the Border Collie's list runs instead to epilepsy, hip dysplasia, and cancer.

Cost level ties at moderate (3/5), but the dollar figures don't — $100-180 monthly for the Border Collie against just $50-100 for the Chihuahua, and $1,500-2,800 versus $800-1,500 in the first year. A dog this small simply eats, and often costs, a fraction of what a 30-55 lb working breed does.