J4CKO

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Not a Dog that gets mentioned much on here but my wife came home having spoken to a friend who knows of a 3/4 year old that needs a new home as the owners are emigrating, he's a neutered male and is apparently very well behaved.

I have had a some experience of them and they seem really nice but there is mention made of them being easily bored and potentially destructive, now I like taking the Dog a walk every day but dont want to have to go three times a day so it wont eat the Sofa, apparently this one is quite chilled but I am interested in other peoples expreiences with the breed. I am thinking at three or four its probably calming down by now.

Its not that we want a Dog that just sits there but we do have three kids to deal with as well. It does sound perfect for us but just want to know what we could be taking on.

dpb

Doesnt chase buses does it ?

ronjeramy

iTrader: (1)

or cars?

STi wanna Subaru

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We had one. amazing dogs. Very intelligent, loving and love life. Only thing is they do need walking as they have a lot of energy. If they aren''t walked then they do become restless and can be a bit snappy but if I was to get a dog then it would be an easy choice. Border Collie every time.

J4CKO

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I am hoping I can train it to herd kids.

J4CKO

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Think we should be ok on the exercise fron, I miss walking a dog and feel shift when I go on my own, so I dont go. Her mum lives on a Farm where the wife goes most days so there is plenty of space and we have a good sized garden, hopefully the kids will do their turn as well but it will mainly be me, quick round the block in the morning and a nice long walk at night.

mrtheedge2u2

I owned one for 13 years.....

Great dog. Friendly, very intelligent, can have a natural instint to herd but my lord she was energetic......

Would recommend 100% to get one..... just make sure u have a large garden or can walk it regularly

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you're sorted and the dog is at a dog age.

scoobyfirst

My first dog was a border collie and he was given to me by somebody who was emigrating to Australia. He was an old man so it wouldn't have been fair to make him travel all that way. I walked him for the owners for many years. He was abosolutely great no horrible tendencies or vices at all and he was great with kids too.

CharlesW

You had better be good at throwing ***** and sticks. They like chasing and fetching things. So you can walk just a mile and by playing this game they run 6 miles.

My daughter has one and it stays with us sometimes. It's good natured and doesn't chew the furniture. Yes they are good dogs, just a little demanding at times.

STi wanna Subaru

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Great point about the ball or stick.

J4CKO

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My wife objects to certain breeds for being noisy, smelly or demanding.



But she was very keen to have three kids, all boys, all, noisy, variously smelly and usually demanding something, and if the legendary intelligence is true, then the Dog is going to be vying for the smartest creature of the four.

j4ckos mate

see if it can herd toys up,

is it johns?

248SPG

We had 2 when I was growing up. Absolutely fantastic!!!

We bought them from a Working sheep Farm in Wales and the best thing about them was them running around the lunge obeying whistles from the TV when "One man and his dog" was on

They do need exercise though and can fully back about what others have said about sticks and *****.

It was my job to work the Dogs after school and after a little while I had to invest in a tennis racket for the ball to give them enough exercise before my arm fell off.

Saying that I always grew tired WELL before they did even when they were 13/14 years old!!!

ScoobLou

iTrader: (21)

Excellent breed of dog to have

As others have said they do need alot of exercise so please don't consider getting one if you lifestyle means you won't have the time or energy to give them what they need.

OllyK

They need exercise and or something to stimulate them. If they have plenty of toys, particularly ones that they have to manipulate to get food out of, you can reduce the walking slightly.

We have a Rough Collie which has nothing like the same exercise demands, but he gets 3 walks a day and a good couple of hours romp around the garden if it's a dry evening.

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Yep another owner / lover off this breed off dog, we have had ours for just over a year - she was seven months old when we got her. you would not belive how intelligent / loving this breed off dog is, they seem to love life in general !! excellent with children as well !!!

couple off things we had to watch for when we first got her was her tendancy for running after cars - honestly !!! infact anything that moved she would take an interest in !!

one thing that you will notice immediatly about border collies is just how well they respond to training they seem to pick things up so easily and go out there way to please there owner !! when managed to get her out off the chasing car game within just a week or two but can be a bit frightning at first !!

bag off tennis ***** / your local park and 30 minutes off your time at night and the dog will be more than happy ! had read all the warnings myself regarding collies and how destructive etc they can be, same goes for any dog mate.

best off luck anyway you sound just the family that the dog could enjoy living with, trust me go for it you wont regrett it.

nixxon

No need to train it to do this!

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

This is our Border Collie Poppy, shes 13 months old now ( she just got a 3rd place in our local dog show, which wasnt bad as the first and second dogs were both owned by a woman who has been breeding and showing them for abour 40 odd years, and has loads to choose from ! )



I'd say the main downside to them is their main plus point in that they are extremely intelligent, so can get bored easily, as well as having lots of energy, they need stuff to stimulate their brains, not just walking or fetching ( this is why they are the best dogs to have for obedience and agility work ).

They can be destructive if bored, but as long as you keep them occupied they are fine as they mostly grow out of it once they arent little puppies anymore.

Their intelligence is quite amazing sometimes though, they recognise a lot more human words than most dogs - Poppy can fetch any of her various toys ( and she has loads ) by name, as well as understanding a lot of other things you say to her or tell her to do.

They are also incredibly loyal and become quite protective of their owners and families, but are also very gentle with kids and strangers as their temperement is so good.

At the show yesterday we went over to see the livestock after she had been in the ring so she could annoy the sheep, and just walking around the showground people were coming up with their kids and asking if they could stroke her and make a fuss of her ( which she loves as shes a bit of a tart ) and a lot of the old farmers were commenting on how nice she was.

She does also herd our two cats though, which they dont appreciate as they are both over 14 now, and she will try and herd small dogs when she goes out in the fields, very comical to watch as she naturally acts just like a sheepdog creeping along the ground and running around them in circles to steer them where she wants them to go.

I would say meet the dog and see how you get on with it, and as long as you have time and energy to play with it and give it exercise you probably wont get a much better breed as a companion dog.

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

A few more pics :



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greenonedave

we have 2 border collies, they are lovely, intellegent clean and very loyal, they really become your best friend. to be perfectly honest unless you can devote at least 2 hours a day off lead walking then they are not for you, consider that the breed is capable of running 80 miles day whilst working and anything less than that is not fair to the dog, rescue centres are full of B.C. that have OCDs and other issues because they have not had the exercise or the stimulation they that require.
Please dont ever throw sticks for dogs many have died when they run into a sharp pointed edge into the soft area in the mouth tearing the inside and bleeding to death.

Clarebabes

Lovely dog Mike, I would have one if I was at home all day. Had a Border Collie/Lab cross years ago and she was a fantastic dog. Very intelligent, loyal and energetic. Would love to have one like her again.

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

She is great, but think she would get bored if left alone a lot with no stimulation - fortunately I work from home most of the time, and my wife is a teacher so gets plenty of time off, so she gets plenty of attention. My wife also takes her to ringcraft and obedience classes two nights a week, plus shows at weekends, and is starting agility with her soon, plus does quite a lot of other training at home with her, as well as lots of playing to keep her amused.

She does sleep quite a bit though, so doesnt need constant attention, but I dont think they are a very suitable breed for people who work all day and only have half an hour in the evening to give them a walk - there are plenty of other good breeds that dont need as much attention that would be better.

Shark Man

Agree with the excercise boredom thing.

Neighbour behind us have one. And rarely walks it - just leaves it out in the garden all day Consequentally the garden is full of holes and its a noisy ****** as well, it just doesn't shut up (doesn't bother me as I'm out at work all day, but when I'm off work and at home its very noticable). Shame as if owner gave the attention and time, they can be extremly well behaved and loyal dogs....My aunty had two, both great dogs, although the one didn't get on well with other dogs (rehomed - was a RSPCA dog that had been dumped, so more of a upbringing problem ).

lozgti

Love them.Brother had one.

As people have said though,they just don't seem to stop.Ever......

Bit like a Terminator of the dog world,but affectionate

STi wanna Subaru

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Love it

J4CKO

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We have just got to wait until the lady who mentioned it gets back off her hols, and then we will arrange to go and see him and prehaps get him round to see if he seems ok at our place.

In the meantime we are borrowing my brother in laws Jack Russell pup for the weekend as they are away, she is great fun.

Tam the bam

Agree with the comments above, especially those about throwing sticks for Dogs

Border Collies are a kinda one persons dog in my experience, not that they disobey other family members, but they do tend to see one persion in the house as boss, the others are just there, if you know what I mean?

This is my Border Nell (photo was taken a year ago, she's just two now)



Great dog! She does what she is told, unless someone else is telling her She kinda ignores everyone else, but is totally loyal to me Although it does get annoying sometimes as I only need to go to the garage for a few mins and when I return she goes mental, like I've been away for weeks lol

This is my old lad



I lost him a couple of years ago and still miss him now

Anyhoo, I'd never have any other dog over a Border, they are one of, if not the most intelligent breed of dog ever, love 'em

MikeCardiff

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Border Collies are very strong pack dogs, and as long as they are disciplined from a young age, will come to see their owner as their pack leader, which is one of the reasons they become so loyal and are so good at obeying commands.

Unfortunately my wife is the obvious pack leader, and I've been demoted to one of her playmates ( in her mind, probably slightly below her in the pecking order ) so she thinks its her right to ignore me when I tell her to do things some of the time.

I'm also the only person she ever tries to play bite, she knows shes not allowed to, but will still try and have a sly nibble on my nose if she thinks she can get away with it.