SillyBorderCollie
Well-Known Member
Nice view! Do your dogs like to play there? And your really lucky, you have a lot of border collies! But how do you afford ti take care of that many dogs?Border Collies? I have no idea what you're talking about!!
Border collie lovers
- Thread starter dat123
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SillyBorderCollie
Well-Known Member
WOAH!? How do u afford that many dogs!!?!!??
SillyBorderCollie
Well-Known Member
I'd love to have a sticker like that!
southerngirl
Honored Member
Shot I'd go crazy, and pull out all my hair.WOW!!!!!!! LOVED the vid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I'd be in heaven with that many dogs around me!
MaryK
Honored Member
Shot I'd go crazy, and pull out all my hair.
swiss-shep13
Active Member
I have a sticker on the back of my car that says "If its not a border collie, it's just a dog". I have only ever owned a border collie until 2 weeks ago... I am leaving it on my car until my Swiss Shepherd can prove me different... Which I'm sure he will 
swiss-shep13
Active Member
desertranger, I agree with ruffmuttk9z. I have both owned a female and a male border collie. My female wasn't at all submissive unless she had a real reason to be. She was strong minded and I guess you could say fearless too. My girl got very sick with kidney failure and when I didn't know she was sick, I would take her for runs and play fetch with her at the beach and even though she was in a lot of pain and was feeling incredibly miserable, she still put 100% into everything she did. She was a strong girl up until the day I had her put to sleep. I did find though that my female was much more of a one man dog than my male which didn't make her the best family dog but this was probably her own little bitchy side showing.
To put it bluntly, my male was a real scardey cat. But at the same time he would do his job to protect my family and myself if he felt he had to. A few times I had a large dog jump up at my face when I had a ball I wouldn't throw him. My boy gave this dog a growl and stood up to him until went away, which he did. Neither of the dogs were aggressive but my boy could tell that I was uncomfortable and he did something about it. He was afraid of sirens and large trucks that drove past our house. He was a fantastic family dog and the best comapnion/mate I have ever had, i also think i speak on behalf of my family when i say that too. This brings me to my next point...
Neither of my BC dogs have been good with children but im not saying this is a trait in all borders. Both my BC dogs came from strong working lines, my bitch in particular. You can get different BC breeds which specialise in different work. i.e working sheep, agility, show breeds, obedience breeds, domestic breeds. If youre mind is set on BC, research the pups breeding lines to give you an idea on what their behaviour will be like. I am seeing more and more people purchasing a border collie dog around the small town I live in and I worry that people will think that they will be a great dog for their young family or great companion for someone which they undoubtedly can be with the correct up bringing, training and stimulation. No BC owner can make this clear enough to people thinking about purchasing a BC dog... They are highly intelligent. What a lot of people don't understand when we say "they require a lot of work and exercise" is that it doesn't matter how big your back yard is or how far you can throw a tennis ball. Their minds need to be working for them to be happy. Just like any dog, if you don't socialise them well at puppy hood they can develope behavioural problems. For example: if not socialised well with kids it is likely they will nip at them and eye them up as though they are little sheep running around. Even if your BC has been brought up around kids and you dont work his mind he can become bored and nip at your kids. These dogs are nippers. This is what they are breed to do. if they are stressed, anxious, bored or frightened they are likely to nip. They are incredibly sensitive which means they will sympathise with you if you are down but it also means they take everything you do to heart. The good things (like praise) and the bad (like hurting them, whether its accidental or on purpose).
They are a beautiful breed if you have time to get the best out of them. Just like any breed though, you have to want to get the most of them and make them the best and happiest dog you can. Not feel its a chore you add to your list of your to-dos in a day.
I haven't proof read so hopefully all makes sense.
GG
To put it bluntly, my male was a real scardey cat. But at the same time he would do his job to protect my family and myself if he felt he had to. A few times I had a large dog jump up at my face when I had a ball I wouldn't throw him. My boy gave this dog a growl and stood up to him until went away, which he did. Neither of the dogs were aggressive but my boy could tell that I was uncomfortable and he did something about it. He was afraid of sirens and large trucks that drove past our house. He was a fantastic family dog and the best comapnion/mate I have ever had, i also think i speak on behalf of my family when i say that too. This brings me to my next point...
Neither of my BC dogs have been good with children but im not saying this is a trait in all borders. Both my BC dogs came from strong working lines, my bitch in particular. You can get different BC breeds which specialise in different work. i.e working sheep, agility, show breeds, obedience breeds, domestic breeds. If youre mind is set on BC, research the pups breeding lines to give you an idea on what their behaviour will be like. I am seeing more and more people purchasing a border collie dog around the small town I live in and I worry that people will think that they will be a great dog for their young family or great companion for someone which they undoubtedly can be with the correct up bringing, training and stimulation. No BC owner can make this clear enough to people thinking about purchasing a BC dog... They are highly intelligent. What a lot of people don't understand when we say "they require a lot of work and exercise" is that it doesn't matter how big your back yard is or how far you can throw a tennis ball. Their minds need to be working for them to be happy. Just like any dog, if you don't socialise them well at puppy hood they can develope behavioural problems. For example: if not socialised well with kids it is likely they will nip at them and eye them up as though they are little sheep running around. Even if your BC has been brought up around kids and you dont work his mind he can become bored and nip at your kids. These dogs are nippers. This is what they are breed to do. if they are stressed, anxious, bored or frightened they are likely to nip. They are incredibly sensitive which means they will sympathise with you if you are down but it also means they take everything you do to heart. The good things (like praise) and the bad (like hurting them, whether its accidental or on purpose).
They are a beautiful breed if you have time to get the best out of them. Just like any breed though, you have to want to get the most of them and make them the best and happiest dog you can. Not feel its a chore you add to your list of your to-dos in a day.
I haven't proof read so hopefully all makes sense.
GG
threenorns
Well-Known Member
dandy is a curiosity: he's from a farm, working dogs for the past 40yrs when the family moved over from i think it was wales or something. definitely UK for all they're french-canadian now (the old ppl didn't speak it, but their children were fluent in "fringlish" and their kids and grandkids are fluently french/english bilingual).
anyway, the mother is a "typical" border collie - smooth coat with long feathers, black and white, and *tiny*, about 27lbs. the father is the other kind, still black and white but he looked like a panda bear with the thick rough coat and stubbier face and weighed over 50lbs, maybe closer to sixty.
she had 11 puppies - 3 of them died right away. of the rest, two of them, dandy and the only female, looked like crows in the nest: they were 3x the size of the others and mostly black with white (the female) or trout speckled (dandy) tuxedo markings (the spots on his belly faded, now it's only his feet). at 2wks of age, the mother took the two biggest and moved them to the other side of the room. the farmer put them back in with the others only to find them out again a few hours later. he figured she was rejecting them and was going to put them down but his daughter pitched a fit and called my bff who still runs the pet rescue we started many years ago. she called me and asked if i still wanted a purebred female border collie.
so she shows up at my house with this little black scrap of fluff and i'm looking at it thinking "that doesn't look like a border collie?" ... and, upon examination, "and i see she's brought the wrong accessory package, too..."
what he looks like - until he's in action - is more like a flat-coated retriever.
so it gives hours of entertainment:
IS he a purebred, but a throwback to some distant ancestor?
does gramma have some 'splainin' to do?
did mama party a little too hearty that wkend?
who knows - i could get a DNA done but where's the fun in that? he acts like a border collie, he moves like a border collie (when he runs, it's like a dolphin swimming, he's so liquid in action), he's certainly smart enough, capable of logical thought and extrapolation, and his physical abilities are off the hook so as far as i'm concerned, a BC he is!
anyway, the mother is a "typical" border collie - smooth coat with long feathers, black and white, and *tiny*, about 27lbs. the father is the other kind, still black and white but he looked like a panda bear with the thick rough coat and stubbier face and weighed over 50lbs, maybe closer to sixty.
she had 11 puppies - 3 of them died right away. of the rest, two of them, dandy and the only female, looked like crows in the nest: they were 3x the size of the others and mostly black with white (the female) or trout speckled (dandy) tuxedo markings (the spots on his belly faded, now it's only his feet). at 2wks of age, the mother took the two biggest and moved them to the other side of the room. the farmer put them back in with the others only to find them out again a few hours later. he figured she was rejecting them and was going to put them down but his daughter pitched a fit and called my bff who still runs the pet rescue we started many years ago. she called me and asked if i still wanted a purebred female border collie.
so she shows up at my house with this little black scrap of fluff and i'm looking at it thinking "that doesn't look like a border collie?" ... and, upon examination, "and i see she's brought the wrong accessory package, too..."
what he looks like - until he's in action - is more like a flat-coated retriever.
so it gives hours of entertainment:
IS he a purebred, but a throwback to some distant ancestor?
does gramma have some 'splainin' to do?
did mama party a little too hearty that wkend?
who knows - i could get a DNA done but where's the fun in that? he acts like a border collie, he moves like a border collie (when he runs, it's like a dolphin swimming, he's so liquid in action), he's certainly smart enough, capable of logical thought and extrapolation, and his physical abilities are off the hook so as far as i'm concerned, a BC he is!
threenorns
Well-Known Member
I recently joined the BC club. Jan 1st we got our first BC. She is a Red named Tempest. Here she is at 14 weeks:
EEEEEE!!!! she's *adorable*!!!!!!
brody_smom
Experienced Member
Brody is a BC mix we rescued from the SPCA. What he is mixed with, I have no idea. Some of his non-BC traits: ears fully down, webbed toes, very snuggly, weighed in at 50 lbs. at his last vet check at 8 1/2 months, fairly mellow fellow, i.e. not requiring tons of mental or physical exercise. What I do think of as very BC: very reactive to changes in his environment ( people coming and going, wearing different clothing), somewhat fearful of non-threatening things (water rushing down gutter grates, passing cars), nipping to "protect" (like when he nipped at my leg when I was about to step on a grate with water running into it , or when he grabbed onto the front of my jacket with his teeth to pull me away from passing cars when walking in heavy rain and wind), jumps up and nips at clothing to get attention, runs like the wind to chase a ball, but would rather lay down in the grass and eat dandelions than bring the ball back!
threenorns
Well-Known Member
bernese mountain dog. and unless you know the mum, i'd say he's more australian shepherd than BC.
he's absolutely gorgeous!
he's absolutely gorgeous!
brody_smom
Experienced Member
Thanks! Bernese has been guessed by quite a few, but I doubt it. The bone structure is all wrong. We actually met a female Bernese, 5 months old, and she was sooo much bigger than he was at 7 months. The hair is different too. Bernese are coarser and curlier. Brody is quite soft, although he gets really woolly after he's been out in the rain. The long hair on his ears looks like its been crimped. So cute!
Why do you say australian shepherd? My understanding was that the previous owner had the mum and two pups, but I don't know if she was purebred BC. His sister was also in the SPCA. She was smaller (of course), and was only two colors, white and golden brown, no black.
MaryK
Honored Member
Brody has some of the same traits and fur, crimped feathers when they're wet (agree so cute), tail, leg feathers etc. as my boy Ra Kismet. He's, we think, part Shepherd (English or Belgian????) and I think, some BC (especially seeing where he was born) same 'nipping' to protect me (fortunately not so much now), very strong herding instinct, but not shy at all. Loves to play soccer 'herd' a soccer ball and doesn't like people 'splitting up', everyone should stay together when out. I too have had Bernese Mountain Dog, but like Brody, my boy's too small, bone structure all wrong too.
Whatever Brody is, he's ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whatever Brody is, he's ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
brody_smom
Experienced Member
Thanks, Mary K, we think so too!Brody has some of the same traits and fur, crimped feathers when they're wet (agree so cute), tail, leg feathers etc. as my boy Ra Kismet. He's, we think, part Shepherd (English or Belgian????) and I think, some BC (especially seeing where he was born) same 'nipping' to protect me (fortunately not so much now), very strong herding instinct, but not shy at all. Loves to play soccer 'herd' a soccer ball and doesn't like people 'splitting up', everyone should stay together when out. I too have had Bernese Mountain Dog, but like Brody, my boy's too small, bone structure all wrong too.
Whatever Brody is, he's ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like what you said about people splitting up. I help my two youngest kids with their newspaper delivery in our neighborhood. When we first got Brody, I thought it would be a good outing for him to come along with us. I pull a little cart with all the papers in it, and the kids grab a bundle each and then run off to all the houses. Brody got so stressed, and I didn't really understand why, I just was annoyed with him, because I was trying to pull this heavy cart while he was yanking me back and forth as the kids were coming and getting more papers then running off to deliver them. We leave him in his crate now with a nice old marrow bone filled with peanut butter. Much less stress for all of us!
MaryK
Honored Member
Yes Brody was undoubtedly stressed because of you and your kids 'splitting up'. I've had German Shepherds, one in particular, who also, because they too are herding dogs, get very stressed. Brody's much happier I'm sure home with a good juicy marrow bone. LOL poor chap, probably came close to a nervous breakdown, all that coming and going, thought he was failing in his duty to keep you all nicely herded together.
He's a sweetheart He meant well
