Border Collies - what we love about them General Chat

What do border collie lovers love about this breed? Why did they choose to own a BC?
Pics too please!

I spent many happy summer holidays on my grandparents farm in Southern Ireland and my love of collies grew from there. I was desperate for my own dog as a child but wasn't allowed one, so used to pretend one of the working collies (Timmy) was mine and would spent all my time with him. Joyce Stranger books also nutured this love, as she often wrote about collies in the books I read as I was growing up. One Man & His Dog was one of my favourite programmes and I even wrote to Jim'll Fix It (the young 'uns won't remember this!) to ask if I could work some collies to sheep on OM&HD!

The things I love about this breed are their speed and high energy - I just love watching collies run and run. Their love of life and happy nature - they love everyone! Their intelligence (TOO clever by far sometimes!) and trainability, also they are very versatile and obviously enjoy all manner of "jobs" and dog sports. They are generally healthy and long lived, which is a huge plus point, and they look great too - no exaggerations. A proper "dog of the land" - and being a country girl, this suits me perfectly!

GSDs are my first love, but I think I will always have a collie or two around as well

Here is my mischief maker ;-)

When I was very, very small (still in "swadling clothes" ), my folks took in an abandoned Border Collie, who was on "Death Row" and scheduled to be shot in the afternoon. He'd been thrown in a river near my home, in deep winter, but the lady who hauled him out and warmed him couldn't keep him, so the police took him - and, in those days, they shot unwanted dogs after 7 days. This particular BC came to live with us, and was my constant companion, doing his best to protect me and cheer me up. For me, he was (and still is) the King of Dogs. Despite a dalliance with Cocker Spaniels (still a favourite), when I had the opportunity to have a dog of my own, it HAD to be a Border Collie!

Smart-looking, intelligent, protective, alert, full of life, loyal - and there is no finer sight (IMO) than a Border Collie in full flight, clearing tussocks with effortless ease, tails streaming in the wind of their own passage. And they keep this up well into what would be dotage in other breeds: old Glen was still chasing cats at the ripe old age of 19 - and making them scramble up walls to escape!

One year, on TV, I saw a bit of Crufts, with a 14-year-old BC strutting its stuff like a youngster, and enjoying every bit of its showing-off. Marvellous.



Snorri

Pics please Snorri!!

Hmmm well I also loved watching one man and his dog and living in Cumberland as it was known at the time I was surrounded by collies no one owned exotic breeds in fact the sausage dog down the road was a great source of amusement to the local kids fancy getting one of them what use was it surely a proper dog like a collie was better than that ;-) So when the time came for me to look for my own first companion then of course I was going for an out and out Collie. Enter Prince a scruffy not quite smooth not quite long coated collie who taught me what it meant to own an intelligent dog and a life long love of the breed was born. He was joined along the way by a cross breed and the two lived a happy co existance with my young kids from birth until they were in their teens. Then when my daughter was 15 she expressed a wish for a dog of her own and thats when Willow entered our family she came from a local farm at 4 weeks old yes i know, should have still been with her mother at that age but it was a case of take her now or she doesnt see any older. She looked like a blue merle guinea pig and came with assorted livestock that you wouldnt want a puppy to have, she hadn't even managed to eat any solids as the food was put down for her litter mates and her but she was always pushed out no one bothered to make sure they all got there fair share. So she was bathed,flead and wormed and then she was hand fed for a week until she got the idea that this food was actully for her and shes never looked back and neither have we. Another rescue was added and then we got interested in showing as well as the pet obedience we had been doing and so a registered collie was saught and Cyan entered the family a blue and white KC registered girl from English lines and the rest they say is history we now have 5 BC's and erm one lapse in the plans a Rough Collie LOL
Willow

Cyan

Wish and Fizz

Oooops edited to add I didn't really say just what I love about the breed but its there intelligence energy and most of all loyalty once a BC owns you you've got no chance of escaping and to be honest i wouldn't know why anyone would want to

Thanks for your reply Willowish - your dogs are beautiful.

Whereabouts in Cumbria are you? I was born in Kendal and lived outside Windermere until I was 5 years old, before we moved to Grange over Sands, where I lived until I was 20. My parents still live there

To digress slightly, I used to walk a most amazing rough collie as a child - he was fantastic and thanks to Lassie films and to Han (the collie I walked) I always loved this breed and really wanted one when I left home. When I started to look around at breeders though I found that the modern rough collie seems to have shrunk to almost sheltie proportions and gained the most massive and impractical coat :-( I was very disappointed. I still think they are incredibly beautiful dogs, but just not as I remembered them. Is this your experience of rough collies? The collies in America seem to retain a lot of the physical (and mental) features of the collies I remembered from my childhood - and it isn't often I prefer the US version of breeds :?

I'm in Workington. Oh and your a lady after my own heart as far as rough collies go they should be a good size dog with a full fitted jacket that can move. Not an overgrown sheltie with loads of fluff . they are after all supposed to be a working dog ;-) but thats going back to another thread.
There are still some out there that fit the bill.
Heres a picture of mine

Demi
the Rough in our family is down to my daughter and she runs out with the BC's

Wow - she is gorgeous!!

I think I've posted this pic so often that a lot of folk will groan at seeing it yet again, but here goes nothing........

Glen on holiday in Orkney, not long before he died, aged (we think) 19. Sorry about the pic quality, it's from the pre-digital days, and it was developed and printed by yours truly in the school darkroom! (Not yesterday )


The current residents (bosses): Kali on the left, Snorri on the right, out for a ramble.

Snorri

Thanks Snorri - never get sick of looking at collies

Had a mate with a border collie when I was growing up and absolutely fell in love with him. Intelligent, loyal, loving, wonderful dog. Broke my heart when he passed on and he wasn't even mine. My mum also grew up on farms with border collies and have always had an affinity for them. Knew one day I would have one of my own one way or another.

Last October, a friend of the OH's was visiting us and told us he knew of a litter of BC's being given away. One look from me and that was it. OH's mate left us on the Sunday night and brought Cassie to us on the Tuesday, 6 weeks old, riddled with fleas and worms and the most pathetic looking thing you've ever seen. She absolutely stunk of the house she came from which was apparently filthy! 24 hours later after a vet visit and she was the happiest most loving little bundle of fur ever

She certainly landed on our feet, and we've never regretted a moment!

Here she is then and now!

That's odd, my pics seem to have disappeared! Perhaps Photobucket is misbehaving?

Snorri


And now me flippin' smilies ain't working, either!

Ah! there's one!

And now, they're back! :? :? :? :?

Azz, are you twiddling with things again?

Snorri

Cassie is beautiful - thanks for sharing

Thanks Moobli, we think so!

Great photos everyone. Collies are really stunning to look at at And they are great dogs too.

and there is no finer sight (IMO) than a Border Collie in full flight, clearing tussocks with effortless ease, tails streaming in the wind of their own passage.
Snorri
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Snorri - as you clearly like to watch BCs, have you seen the video/dvd "Year of the Working Sheepdog"? It is excellent

http://sheepdogvideo.co.uk/index.html

Bookmarked as a potential Christmas present to myself! I will make the Boys sit and watch it, too, so that they can see what they're meant to be doing, instead of slobbing out on the sofa!

Thanks!

Snorri

No probs A tip - the dvd is better than the vid because you get 15 extra minutes of updates at the end Moss is sooooo annoying when I am watching it because he runs up and presses his nose right against the TV screen

The book is also very interesting.

Here you go Dougie you've probably seen this pic before but here is Wish and Fizz in full flight.

Snorri-dog, doing his thing on the Sands o'Wright, near where we live.

Epilpepsy? Huh! I'm not putting up with that! To hell with it, I'm having fun, and I'm too busybusybusy!

Snorri