Border collies - Size difference Questions

hi i lost my border collie about 4 weeks ago and souly miss him. we are thinking of having another later begin of autumn but we are thinking of a female this time. please could you tell me wether the females are smaller in size and easier to handle as the male i lost was quite a tall boy we would like to keep with the collie breed as he had such lovely temprement and a pleasure to of had.

So sorry to hear of your loss.
Collies are special but they're all different. I don't think there's any guarantee that a bitch will be easier than a dog. In fact, our neighbours are having quite a few problems with their collie bitch and find their male is much easier to manage.
Collies can vary quite a bit in size but generally bitches seem to be a little smaller.
I hope you find a dog you're happy with. It won't necessarily stop you missing your old friend but hopefully a new dog will give you new joys and worries .

thanks we are unsure what to go for with what sex to have , wether its better to stay with males or take a chance with a female. we wanted to go for a female as they are much smaller in build but we are unsure of the female temprement. it wont replace the one we lost but help fill the gap he as left behind the home is so empty without a dog being around.

I have 2 of each. My girls are smaller than my boys, but my boys aren't big either and the mother of 1 of my girls competes in medium agility (under 17"), saying that I have seen some big girls. BC's were bred for working ability more than looks, so they come in all shapes and sizes. My oldest boy was a rescue and is a really loyal boy, always sticking near me, he's smooth coated, he is deaf now (nearly 14), but I trust him not to wander off if he is off lead, the next is very rough coated, show bred, he is the least focused on me and goes of sniffing on his own, the next a girl from working lines, smooth coated, she has lots of drive and really wants to please, but she is really nervous, my youngest is from agility lines, rough coated girl, she picks things up quickly, she has the best temperament and loves everyone.
I think it depends a lot on what lines you choose and what you want to do with them.

Sorry for your loss.

I think it really depends on the individual dog. But from what I've seen, i think girls can be a wee bit more 'devious' than the boys. I'd always had male dogs previously but I really love my two girls & would be happy to have either sex in the future.

thanks tbbs
it will just be a family pet my other dog was 15 but he fell off the settee and discolated his hip badly the vets couldnt do anything for him because it was so bad and he had arthritus in his legs. we had him off a farm local and we had no probs at all with his health until he reached about 13 with cataracts and heart murmur. he was very much me and very loyal i know i cant expect the next one to be like he but its just the sex really which to choose alot of people hae mentioned females not having a good a temprement as males so im having a dilema really which to choose.

thanks hali its such a hard decision to make but i want to be able to make the right one when the time comes, im thinking of getting a pup in autumn that way i have time to come to terms with him gone but he will always be missed and never ever forgotten.

We have mainly males here but do have a couple of bitches. Ours are all working collies (as my hubby is a shepherd). I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference and the dog (or bitch) in question.

Both myself and my husband prefer males - I have found them to be more loving and loyal and less independent than our bitches. As I said earlier though, this is just personal preference.

Why not go and look at a few litters, see the parents, check out their temperaments and health and then choose the pup who appeals to you?

Edited to add : I am very sorry about the loss of your lad. It is never easy to come to terms with. Hugs.

:-( so sorry for your loss :-(

I have a BC bitch, she has a wonderful temperament very loving and affectionate, but very bossy too (with other dogs) I think the boys tend to be calmer and more biddable than the females, at least the ones that i have met the girls as Moobli said tend towards being more independent.
Just MO before i get jumped on ;-)

Jann
xx

Of course you could always go for a rescue - that way you could keep your options open about the sex because it would be about the individual collie.

All have mine have been rescues. They have had one or two issues, but they have all been the most loving, loyal dogs, both the males and the females.

At Shropshire you're not too far away from Wiccaweys - have you heard of them? I know you're not ready yet, but definitely worth looking at their website. They do have young dogs and sometimes even pups too.

Not sure if i can do the link www.wiccaweys.co.uk (but if not, it is just wiccaweys dot co dot uk)

They got quite a lot of pups at the moment ;-)


Jann
xxx

thanks moobli we will have a good think before we take the plunge its just hard to know which sort when we had sam we had him from a farm he was the one that found me he was sat on my foot lol so i didnt really have to chooseand it was there that i new he was the one and i was lucky to of had some beautiful times.

thanks skyesmum at least it gives me some ideas about both sexes .

hali i will have a look i didnt realise there was a place thanks for the info

the first collie we had ,was a girl from working parent ,we got bessey from farm .she was the most lovely natured well behaved dog you could ever wish for .
dylan was a rescue boy from puppy ,he was hard work to begin with ,as he was the first young pup at 9wks old .bessey was probably about 3/4 months .dylan is just the same ,lovely natured loveing dog justlike bessey .but he is really big boy ,which is no problem at all . just that he pulls ,terrible on the lead (which we up to date )havent stopped him at .

then came willow she is roughx border collie . now she came at 2yrs ,as a rescue .she came with issues no manners ect .but she is smashing now .we love them all to bits .
very sorry to hear you lost your boy :-(
if i had 2 border collies in the future i would pick one of each ,boy are so diffrent from the girls .my boy is big ,bessey and willow was and are . not really small for girls .like the others have said ,they are all diffrent . dont try to replace your last dog ,it will never happen . the more you have the more you will realise they are all very diffrent .like people . but the girls are great i think . very girlie (if you get my meaning )

ill go on with my dark glass then

thanks for giving me some ideas on the collie sexes i would never replace sam no dog could ever do that we had 15 beautiful years with him, i know i am not ready yet to take on a pup its to soon for us but winter time will be pretty hard thats why we thought late autumn would be an ideal time. your border collies sound lovely they are very beautiful dogs...

you will know ,when the time is right ;-) and we will wont pictures sam sounds like he was a lovely lad ;-)

I am so sorry to hear of your loss.

nothing will replace your sam, maybe it may remind you of him with some of the things it's does though. As one of our girls do about our late meg...

We are very fortunate we have two adorable bitches, both being very loving and loyal,one being a very pinky girl, but we also have a male who is equally loving, loyal and comical. (abit of Jack the lad)

Our Bitches are smaller than the Male, but I have seen one or two males that are the size of our bitches.


Good luck when the time comes to get another and best of luck xxxx

Hi,

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. No new dog will ever fill the gap your last dog leaves when they pass but the gap will get smaller as time goes on and you ahve to open yourself up to a new dog at some point in the future.

I can't advise you on BCs as I've never ahd one for any length of time.

I have family members who've had them thougha nd from their experiences and my "outside" experiences, my opinion is this:

Both sexes are very, very intelligent (but you knwo that already) in very different ways.

What I'v enoticed is that although the gilrs are very caring and loving, they can also be very independant - something I've seen in my GSDs over the years.

The boys are more dependant on you, just as loving and caring but can be very funny at times.

YoungStevie's Bruce disappeared bum first down a ditch on one of our walks. I was in bits laughing at him, as was everyone else - so much so that not opne of us helped him out of it. Hre biotch, Skye went ot investigated and also fell in but she maanaged to get out (as she's a bit smaller and didn't have just a large backside!!)

The look on Bruce's face is something I will never forget and although I am a GSD and Akita person, if I ever did have a BC, my first would be a male.

Laura xx