Border Collies - a general discussion Discussions

I don't think I did a disservice to Leanne at all. In my post I said how her collies did well in an active pet home ... ie Leanne is doing enough with her dogs to keep them happy and satisfied.

Leanne herself said her collies are laid back - surely she should know? I have a collie here, Rip, who I rehomed when his owner (a shepherd) died suddenly. He was a full time worker before he came to me, yet he is loving the pet life, with work thrown in - he is a very laid back sort of collie. Yes, he has a fulfilling and interesting life ... yet I am almost certain he would be a very happy lad in a less active home and even as purely a pet ... he is that sort of collie.

I do agree with you, to an extent, that much depends on how much you put into your pet collie and the sort of activities you provide it with, but stand by my comments that some dogs are just born to work and to deprive them of that is just not fair to the dog. This is not necessarily a dog who is manic and mental at all ... usually the opposite actually, but a dog whose whole purpose in life is to work - no amount of simply walks or playing ball would be fair on that dog imo.

Thanks for the info on springers Rune. They are a breed I have never had much to do with really. Even the keepers up here seem to favour the working cocker over the springer for whatever reason.

I remember you telling us the story of Celt's brother ... very sad :-( Wasn't that also down to irresponsible breeding (they weren't farm bred were they?)? Forgive me if my memory is incorrect.

Such a shame for the springers ... no active breed should be sold to elderly people - not fair on either party.

I agree with this. I also think the ideal situation would be some sort of national list/society/rescue, whatever you want to call it, which can link pet/sport homes with 'unsucessful' working pups.

I don't think we're too far away from this. Working dogs will be bred to working dogs, because that's what farmers need. Many now go to sport breeders to get a collie, and I think the main problem we have is irresponsible breeding of the working collies. Perhaps if we can redirect some of the pet homes approaching farms to sport breeders, a bit more time can be spent with them discussing whether a collie is the best option, making sure they are prepared. Because at the end of the day, farmers do not have the time to sit around discussing dogs, they have things to be getting on with.

But what about the price & exclusivity? Farm collies are more accesible, and cheaper generally. Just look in the paper and that's what there is. Controversial suggestion - should health testing breeders also be advertising in the paper? Giving people another option?

I do think we will have to agree to disagree on that one

I dont take any credit for the way my collies have turned out. It's obvious Jed is from pet lines, he's very low energy, isnt obsessive about anything and working is a distant memory in his genetic history! He loves his obedience and agility but hasnt got the drive that many collies have so it will only ever be for fun. Even thinking about herding sheep would make him shattered!

I was told Jessie was from a farm yet she is very scared of farm animals! I think she is a nice balance between calm and wired. She has some herding behaviour and when Flynn initiates a game of chase she'll gladly go after him and nip his backside! She can also be obsessed about toys and certain activities and would keep going until she dropped but is a very gentle girl and extremely calm around children. She came to me like that so I can take no credit for her previous training.

But thanks for the compliment Ramble!

Funnily it was a very responsible mating----a bit too inbred maybe but should have been a great litter. All health checks done both sides, sire well known and producing nice pups as did the mum for her other litter. Just for some reason went awry.

rune

Out of interest, how much do you generally pay for a show bred collie or an obedience/agility line???

No problem We obviously have differing views and experiences ;-)

My dog was £450, I think show lines are generall about £400-500, and I'd imagine sports are about the same? I can't be certain.

Decent Ob pup around £400/£500

I feel they are misunderstood, due to how popular they are as a breed and how many are around, I dont think people realise the hard that needs to be put in and how rewarding the end result is after all that work (not that thats any different from another breed)..

I have heard stuff about the raising of puppies and it doesnt sound like the best place...Hes had problems with food, peeing inside, sharing things ect.. All things we can work with but all things that may have been different if raising of the litter was.

Thanks both - a significantly larger sum than that for a farm bred collie - which can go from as little as £50 up to around £200.

And so to some, are seen as the 'cheaper' option? I'm not saying this is a good thing at all, but sadly it's the way the world works.

Oh I know :-( Unfortunately I am fairly confident that the low price for border collie pups from farms contributes to the many dogs in unsuitable homes ... which then end up in rescue (or worse).

I have 2 Border collies one is from Astra and the other from a farmer, both are very well balanced and live with 50 cats - cat rescue and ferals are my other love and both are well balanced and trained dogs both myseld and my husband when he is at home put a lot of work and effort in to them

At home they have 6 acres to run and play in, they do spend some time in a run when I am working but we provide lots of brain toys for them and they both love football and tennis and rugby and spend all day with me and the cats

They both raised £2000 for Perth Cats Protection doing a sponsered walk

They both have off switches and Sky my ISDS boy is very protective of me and won't go to strangers and his brother Sunny has survived an adder bite and is a lovely red tricolour

Both lived till she passed away with a Jack Russell bitch who was in total charge of her boys and they both miss her but we aren't adding another dog just yet but will add probably another BC at some point

Most folks including our vet are surprised at just how well behaved my boys are when they visit the vets for their kennel cough in June with 9 cats - folks do look a tad bemused as the boys are quiet and ignore everyone and the vats howl and the boys are most concerned at their cat siblings being sad!