Border Collie/golden Retriever Mix?

Border Collie or Golden Retriever?

  • Border collie

    Votes: 2 20.0%

  • Golden Retriever

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 50/50

    Votes: 8 80.0%
  • Total voters
    10
mtagntz

mtagntz

Active Member
My guy is a Border Collie/Golden Retriever mix. I am wondering what breed he takes after in your guys opinions.

  • He is 50 pounds and has a medium long coat that is all black. He has almost NO undercoat what-so-ever. He sheds lightly and a furminator doesn't work on his coat. If I brush him for half an hour I get maaybe a handful off of him.
  • He is high energy but has no issues calming down. He needs half an hour of aerobic exercise a day to not be a crazy mess.
  • He is *intense* about fetch and frisbee.
  • He picks up commands within the first lesson.
  • He chains commands together really well.
  • He is friendly with people, but is almost shy at first. He just sits still and lets people pet him and will wag his tail and lick them.
I love my guy and have been told by breeders and owners of both that he reminds them of their breed LOL. What do you guys think he sounds like?
 
Hi Mtagntz

You're sure he's a bc/gr (i.e. you know his parents)?

I just wanted to address this:
mtagntz said:
  • He is friendly with people, but is almost shy at first. He just sits still and lets people pet him and will wag his tail and lick them.
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How old is your guy? I would be careful with two things here. One, that he is not 'put upon' by people who want to pet him when he doesn't want to be pet. It's like having your hair ruffled as a kid, by adults you don't know. It's something no one likes. So I would let him approach strangers to investigate and solicit affection. I know it can be a public relations problem, but you can also just say, Oh we're working on his polite greetings, can you just stand there a moment and give him this treat if he approaches nicely? [the treat can be optional.]

The other thing is that lack of outward signs of friendliness in a dog, even mild shyness as you describe, should always be taken as a heads-up. It doesn't mean that he's a bad dog, or is on his way to becoming aggressive, but as dogs are social animals, seeking and enjoying social contact is pretty standard. This is a dog with whom I'd work to make sure he sees that new people are Good Things, and I'd work very hard to make sure he doesn't have any negative experiences. Neg experiences include being subjected to unwanted attention from kids or clueless adults--whether hugs or pats or stooping-over-in-your-face loud greetings--as well as more obvious scary stuff like being picked up or roughhoused with. It is not so far a leap for a dog to decide, heck ,when new people get close, it's bad news for me so I'll keep them away with a bark. Again, it doesn't mean the dog is bad, it means that he's learning from his environment and learning to protect himself from things he finds worrying. There are many dogs who, at 2-3 years old or a bit older, start barking at people 'out of the blue' and there's often a history of a dog who wasn't *quite* comfy with new people for years before.
 
Wow :) , I guess I explained it badly. He will go up to people, but he isn't bouncing and pulling on the lead to go greet them. He is more reserved and most people consider this shy as he isnt smothering them in kisses and jumping on them.

That aside his first experience with a small child was TERRIBLE so I am working on that with him. He is perfectly fine with them now, I am just careful that all experiences with small children are positive from now on.

I met both his parents and both of them were pure-bred :)
 
No worries, you didn't explain it badly. I"m glad to hear that he approaches people happily and there's no actual shyness. My dog doesn't strain at the leash and go bonkers when he sees people either -- when someone greets him, he goes over with a waggy tail and sits/leans on them and gazes up happily :) No jumping, no wild kisses or anything, but no one has ever called him 'shy' that's for sure. He's calm, but definitely enjoys meeting new people. He's been like that his whole life.

And like I said, it's not the end of the world if a dog isn't totally comfy unfamiliar people, it's just something to be aware of and manage to the dog's future benefit, that's all.
 
I have friends who have mostly labs, so to them Thor is shy LOL

He does almost the same thing. He will nudge his head under their hand if they ignore him :) If he doesn't want to greet somebody for some reason then I just have him wave at them. I don't want him to be forced into a situation where he may feel like he will need to defend himself.

I am aware that he isn't as friendly as most dogs, but I am ok with that. I dont really want an overly exuberant dog.
 
Couldn't vote as you didn't have a 50/50 and I'm with Sara, he seems to be a perfect mix of the two breeds.
 
Haha, thank you! I see traits from both breeds. I love Border Collies but at this point in my life they would be a little much for me. Thor and I match each other so well, I am so glad I found him!

The only thing that stumps me is the shedding. Both Golden Retriever owners and Border collie owners have told me just how much their dogs shed! Thor sheds but it is close to nothing compared.
 
mtagntz said:
The only thing that stumps me is the shedding. Both Golden Retriever owners and Border collie owners have told me just how much their dogs shed! Thor sheds but it is close to nothing compared.
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One of my boy is a X, English Shepherd with we think Retriever and he doesn't shed very much at all. I brush him each day but LOL more to remove the mud than fur.

Does Thor have an undercoat? It's the undercoat which is why Retrievers and BC's shed so much.

Oh was the BC a short haired BC?
 
Nope, his mom had a long gorgeous coat. So did his dad.

Thor has little to no undercoat. It stumped the groomer. His fur is almost all guard hairs. I just wonder why he doesn't have undercoat when his parents had such full coats.

In the winter he has a bit more of an undercoat, but in the winter he has as much undercoat as most dogs have in the summer. Luckily he doesn't seem to get cold.
 
mtagntz said:
Nope, his mom had a long gorgeous coat. So did his dad.

Thor has little to no undercoat. It stumped the groomer. His fur is almost all guard hairs. I just wonder why he doesn't have undercoat when his parents had such full coats.

In the winter he has a bit more of an undercoat, but in the winter he has as much undercoat as most dogs have in the summer. Luckily he doesn't seem to get cold.
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Maybe his parents have the receive(I think that's what it's called) gene for short hair.

M= long hair m= short hair
:) M m
M MM Mm
m Mm mm
So there is a 75% chance long hair and 25% short hair. I may be wrong, last time I learned about this was 7th or 8th grade.
 
Thor is definitely a long or medium coated dog. The genes are correct though I believe :)

He has longer guard hairs, but just no under coat. He is an odd one LOL
 
Whatever his genes (thanks for the table of genes Southern Girl always forgetting them) he's gorgeous and 'tidy' too! LOL no masses of dog hair collecting everywhere.:LOL::cool:

He's like Ra Kismet, longer guard hairs but very little, under coat. My two cats shed more than the dogs!
 
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