Yes, I would still like to go with that theme.

Always happy to help a friend

(continued from previous comment...)

I've seen many Border Collies up close, and have seen a few English Shepherds in my travels (a friend who regularly attended one of the dog parks I used to take my two Australian Shepherds to had two English Shepherds). Believe me, there are slight physical differences. When you have experience with both, you get to learn how to spot the differences for what they are...subtle though they may seem to a lay person who simply looks at pictures online and then uses them for conclusions. When you're talking about two breeds which are superficially similar, you have to go deeper than just similar pictures with similar coat markings. You have to look for those subtle physical differences. And between English Shepherds and Border Collies, there are some physical differences which may not always be readily apparent to the lay person.

It's possible. But English Shepherds are often marked exactly the same way. And you have an issue between the Border Collies shown on that link about saddleback borders, and the dog shown in your original link -- the fold and position of the ears and, again, the amount of fur around the head (and the ruff around the neck). Borders are not known for ears that lay quite so folded as seen in that first link. The breed standard, in fact, calls for "semi-erect" or erect ears ( http://www.akc.org/breeds/border_collie/breed_standard.cfm), where it specifically states:

"Ears are of medium size, set well apart, one or both carried erect and/or semi-erect (varying from 1/4 to 3/4 of the ear erect). When semi-erect, the tips may fall forward or outward to the side."

The English Shepherd, on the other hand, while not recognized officially by the AKC (American Kennel Club), is officially recognized by the UKC (United Kennel Club), which has a breed standard for it ( http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf [...] ingDog/EnglishShepherd01012008). Pertaining to the ears, it reads:

"EARS - Wide at the base. Folding over approximately ¾ down and laying close to head."

This is what you are seeing in the first linked picture you were asking about. For further evidence, note the "saddleback sable" coat color on this page about English Shepherd coat color variations, and then note the position of the ears on the dog shown, and the quantity of fur around the ears: http://www.englishshepherds.net/color.html.

(continued...)

What I believe you're looking at, AWJ, is a very rare herding breed, closely related to Border Collies and Australian Shepherds, called the "English Shepherd". Info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Shepherd

(There are several off-site links at the bottom of the link)