Hi guys! I'm thinking of buying a Border Collie puppy in 3 years. Being an active person, I think this could be a good breed for me. I love to train obedience and tricks, agility and go for long walks. My sister may get some sheep, that my Border Collie could be trained to herd. Furthermore, I would like my new dog to ...: * become a therapy dog for children and/or old people. * pull my bike. * pull me when I run. * pull a cart. * race. * day trip. * become a disc dog. * dock jump. * do flyball. * do flygility. * play "brain games". * search for chanterelles. * do freestyle. * do rally obedience. * pull me when I rollerblade. * track. * search and rescue. * pull me when I go skiing. * do treibball. * work in the water. I'm just so unsure when it comes to knowing how much activation and exercise a Border Collie needs. I have read that they need 2 hours of running every day. But how much mental stimulation do they actually need daily? Please give me advice about Border Collies!
There are tons of BC owners on here and I'm sure they will be along to give you some advice. You sound like the ideal owner for most active breeds!
Border Collies can survive on less than 2 hours running, infact they don't really need that if they get enough mental stimulation, they are a thinking breed rather than a running breed, they like ''jobs'' so if you teach...hold the peg bag/fetch the washing/hide and seek/herd the chucks/ answer the phone/ etc etc etc they with thrive lovely. Remember though Border Collies pick up things quick and if they get into a bad habit that can take months to undo:-( they can race ahead if your training is programmed and cut corners....which at the time you may think ''smart dog'' but that can lead to ''bad habit'' I don't program train mine I change things around so that they don't anticipate what I am going to do next, that way I have the upper hand Also remember the more physical exercise they have the more they want and if they get used to having such a lot of physical exercise the days that your not well or (not saying you would) you loose interest these dogs can become destructive or stir crazy. Some days mine get 3/4/5 hours a day out and about other days they get 1 hour or like today when its been so hot they got none they have just lay in the garden all day;-) Best wishes xxx
agree with the above You sound great home for a BC and have time to look into things more If possible I would spend time with lots of BC's and see how different they are all Research and kinda get ready to have the worst example of all the problems a BC can have then anything else will be a nice surprise I love them cos I love the challange, but they can be a huge challange, crazy and hard work intense although you could have them all your life and never get a really difficuly one
The only two things I would be worried by on your list as far as border collies are concerned are (a) the 'pulling' type activities and (b) the therapy dog work. Of course border collies come in many different sizes and builds but they haven't been bred for their pulling strength. However, as long as you were sensible about the weight the dog was actually pulling, it coul be ok. Of more worry to me is the therapy dog work. If this is a 'must have' from your list, personally I don't think you should chose a border collie. Whilst I know some border collies who would handle this just fine, I would say the far greater number that I know wouldn't. Although some might tollerate it (particularly if they realise it is what is expected of them) the majority wouldn't actually enjoy getting 'close and personal' with strangers. It can be really pot-luck as to what an individual dog enjoys and your list is very diverse. Of my two collies, one would probably enjoy nearly everything on your list - the other practically none of it. If you don't mind what activities you do, then I'd say a bc could suite you and you can work out together what you both like doing. But if some things on that list are 'must haves' then pehaps you need to see which breeds more closely match your requirements....for example, if you really want your dog to spend a lot of his/her time pulling you around, perhaps a sled-dog breed would be better. That should increase your chances of getting what you want (though still no guarantee) and the dog may end up liking other things as well. Good luck in your decision.
Thank you for replying to my thread! The things on my list are absolutely no must haves. My actual thought was to try these things out, and if I notice that my BC can't deal with it, I will try something else that suits him/her better.
My Lab wants to know if he can come live with you! I would agree with Hali but if none of them are absolute must haves then I don't see why a border collie wouldn't be suitable.
There are many many Border Collies which are Therapy Dogs, I get a list every week of dogs which have successfully passed the PAT assessment. It is not the breed it is the individual dog which may or may not be suitable as a PAT dog. Have high aspirations for your dog my Weimaraner is a mutli talented dog and was a PAT dog, runs by my bike and got her AD, gone out on day trips, played frisbee, done dock dogs, agility, played brain games, done HWTM, Working Trials, Schutzhund, worked in the water.when she got her Working Gundog Certificate, swims regularly, has been shown in the Breed Ring etc etc HTH
3 of my Border Collies have done therapy work, 2 were registered P.A.T. dogs. They do therapy work for North Essex Mental Health Trust, where the clients take the dogs for a walk. My dogs also compete at agility and flyball and you wouldn't think they could do the therapy work if you saw them at a flyball comp, excited and pulling to get to the ball, but they know the different places and situations, in fact when my old boy used to go I was amazed at how he could be different with different people, so gentle and slow with older, frailer people and want to play with the younger people that.
All that and she is stunningly beautiful too! I agree about not underestimating what your dog can do or might be able to learn to do. I feel the same way about children - encourage them to try for best at everything they are interested in.
I'm intrigued - what's dock dogs? Are chanterelles mushrooms? I've met and helped train a lot of border collies, having been a 'body' with the mountain rescue dogs in the Lakes for 13 years and I can safely say one thing about all the BCs (and I include working sheepdogs in this)..... No 2 are the same It sounds like you would provide a fantastic home for a collie and I agree with SB - aim high and enjoy yourself! Just a word about search and rescue: if you want to join any of the mountain rescue teams and train your dog with them, you have to be accepted as a member of the mountain rescue team first (and the selection will have nothing to do with whether you have a dog or not) and be an active team member for some time (usually over a year) After that, you need to be approved by your Team Leader to start training a search dog and you and your dog need to pass a basic assessment by the Search Dog assessors before you can begin training (this is just to see your dog is fit, has basic obedience and sufficient motivation to search in return for a reward - usually playing with a favourite toy) It can take over 2 years after that before you actually have a search dog. For this reason; although some handlers start with rescue dogs who are slightly older, most teams nowadays prefer you to choose a puppy to train as a search dog once you are an established Mountain rescue team member and have spent maybe 12 months acting as a 'body' for the dog trainers, so you know exactly what you are letting yourself in for. The people I know who have trained mountain rescue dogs genuinely don't have much time for anything else, because they have the commitment of belonging to the Mountain Rescue Team (call-outs, training etc) as well as the Search Dog unit (weekly training plus 1 weekend every month) and usually a full time job and often a family on top of that. Having said all that - if it's what grabs you - go for it! There's nothing to stop you teaching any dog a basic find sequence (dogs in the PD stake in Working Trials quarter and bark at the criminal too) that you can just enjoy as a game that stretches the dog a bit more. I enjoy working trials, but only 'as and when' (as in 'as often as I can and when I have the time and money to enter and get to the trial) This means I really enjoy training with the group I train with - usually weekly as well as a bit by myself...so I'll never be up there competing with the 'Big Guns' (not least because UDex is as far as you can go with a tiddler of 9.5 inches!) but nobody has ever been dismissive or less than massiveily encouraging because of that. We manage 2 or 3 trials a year. Anyway - good luck adn I'm sure you'll find the right collie for you and together will have a blast
I live on a working sheep farm and my hubby is Farm Manager/Head Shepherd and has owned working border collies all his life. I have had two of my own. They are a fantastic breed for the right home - and you sound as though you could be an exceptional border collie owner From the description of what you would like to try with your dog I would suggest looking at working bred border collies, rather than the show strain. I don't know what the situation is like in Sweden, but in the UK we have many lovely border collies of all ages (including puppies) in rescue just waiting for a second chance. So please don't rule out looking in rescue for your ideal collie. In my experience, the majority of border collies love nothing more than working sheep and so if you could try that first you may find they don't want to do anything else However, all the activities you have described sound like great fun for an active, fit and well trained border collie Good luck.
The Continental SARDA dogs are trained a bit differently depending on the area in which the dog is to be used, you still have to be fit & qualified as a member of the rescue yourself before training your dog though ;-) Going back to the early 70s I was a member of the early SARDs as I was part of a fell & mountain rescue(being a climber & walker as a hobby-those were the days)training wasn't as good as it is now & sadly I'm no longer fit enough to train let alone doAR with any of my dogs. Great admirer of the SARDA folk
