What's it like to own a Border Collie? Questions

Mine's only half BC but I know this so well!

I'm staying with my mother at the moment, & she's astonished at how my dog 'knows' what I am thinking even before I do! I only have to briefly think about going out to the shops or for a dog walk and he perks up and starts staring attentively... or obsessively depending on your viewpoint

She's pretty much in awe of him and hasn't quite yet learned not to say certain words: his vocabulary is very extensive. I think we might have to start talking in French, the way one does with small children...

"He's more like a person than a dog..." she remarked the other day.

I've lived with Border Collies all my life and to me they are just the same as any other dog but maybe I'm so used to their little ways I don't notice the ways they differ from other breeds anymore.

I do think that Border Collies are very different from other breeds and that you really need to make an effort to understand them. Having said that because the breed has not been ruined (yet?) by the "breed standard" there is a huge amount of variation (was sitting in the middle of 12 the other day and only two were similar) in looks and temperamant. You can get a couch potatoe BC and there is a genuine concern that the stamina and engergy is being bred out of the show dogs. If I could only ever have one dog it would be a BC.

I know what you mean, I have only really known collies and so it always surprises me when dogs dont behaive like collies - but some dont

Totaly agree, there is such a degree of variation in them they can be just about anything - I could have a different collie every year of my life and I still wouldnt be an expert on collies cos they are all so different, but I think its always best to warn people of the worst of them so they are ready for it - if I haddnt spent years reading up on collies and talking to owners I just wouldnt have been able to cope with Mias little issues

and yup they too like children, I think my dogs get more classes and things than the kids round here

if they had opposable thumbs and lived to 70 then they would rule the world

I know what you mean, like if you look at your handbag, they know you are going out, if you glance at the clock or your old trainers they think they are going out!!

I don't even have to do that! Possibly when I am thinking about going out I briefly take my eyes away from the TV, computer screen or whatever I'm doing, or some little mannerism like that.... but he notices.

Yup totaly! I just slightly think that I might take them out at some point and Ben has his excited ears on (one up one down) I think about standing up and he barks at the door. I get up and get the very same shoes but to go to work - he somehow knows I am not taking him out and dosent bother getting excited

Mia on the other hand
If Ben is lying on the bed covers and I think about going out he is up before I move but with Mia she just lies there ontop of me, I have to pick her up so I can get out of bed

I'm so excited about getting my little border collie Chase

After a lifetime of dalmatians I think it'll be a very interesting learning curve!!!!

Taffy has all of the qualities you just listed, hes defo more human than dog

I find my gundog much harder work and far more demanding then my BC's.

Jessie is a little on the obsessive side. She seems to be ruled by repetition and wants to repeat the same behaviour again and again. She's very sensitive and very clingy but very loyal and has no real interest in anybody but me. Although to an untrained eye, she may not look like a typical BC, her behaviour fits the bill perfectly (although she has a low chasing instinct and is afraid of sheep!)

Jed is the opposite. He's docile, laid back, low energy and independent. Whereas Jessie will do as she's told to please you, Jed will always question you and have to be told several times before he complies. He's a difficult collie but for the wrong reasons. Trying to get motivation of any sort out of him is difficult. He too is very sensitive and withdraws into himself when upset and it's hard to draw him back out. He is intelligent though and has a nose that often surpasses that of my gundog.

I dont find owning them difficult at all. The OH and I always comment how it's always the 2 pointers kicking up a fuss, giving us hassle and never the collies! They have qualities about them which make them fascinating to watch and make them stand out from other breeds.

Despite being the breed i'm most familiar with, i'm not a "collie person" and would be happy without one in my life. However, i'm always drawn to them in rescues because I think they suffer greatly at the hands of owners who know nothing about their traits.