Border collie lovers

dat123

Experienced Member
This is for the border collie owners ( and others ) .

Found this link somewhere.
It gets very funny about 1/3 of the way in.

I have a sticker on the back of my car that says " How many border collies are enough ? "

I think this video answers my question....

[media]http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=zI7TN8q6ktk&feature=user[/media]
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
Very nice vid, Dave! Thanks for sharing! God bless the person who has soooo many Border Collies...they must have the patience of a saint!! Lol. That would indeed be a busy lifestyle. I really enjoyed watching this. Border Collies are really wonderful dogs, when in the right hands. ^^
 

djayzie

New Member
Nice video, luv it!
I hope to have a border collie one day!
Sorry for my bad english(i'm french)!
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
I LOVE BCs!!! They are sweethearts, well-behaved IF you give them something to do, something to learn. BC's are so sensitive, not a good choice of dog for anyone who has a bad temper or hollers around a lot. (well, no dog is!). Positive re-inforcement only. My Buddy rarely hears a "No", and he tends to take it real serious if he does get a "no". Buddy acts as if he was hit or something. He always has to make sure we still like him if he gets a "no".

BCs WANT to do the right thing, if they know what that is. Our Buddy, we showed him the rules ONCE, and that was it. He stays out of the trash, (!) and he doesn't tear stuff up (but we do keep him pretty entertained and busy) he doesn't have any behaviour problems, really.
He DOES do hyper laps around the house most every day if he didn't get wore out enough that day, but we don't mind nor correct this, but enjoy it tremendously. We think this is hilarious, he looks to be enjoying his own energy. Yes, we do have to go replace all throw rugs where they should be, but other than that, no harm is done.

BC's can be a bit moody, is that the right word...i think. not like the almost always happy-faced kinda dogs, sometimes BCs seem more reserved or thoughtful...hard to describe what i mean, but sometimes they make such serious facial expressions. They have SUCH expressive faces, which, i guess most dog owners could say about their own dog, too.

BCs are not as prone to even trying to be lap-dogs as some breeds, (dang!) they tend to be more independent...Is one thing i wish is they were more snuggley, Buddy is getting more and more snuggley every day, but BCs are not known for prolonged snuggle time.
Still, they are little pieces of sunshine and happiness running through your home. Smile when you talk to them, or do something interesting. Lick you briefly when they are happy or something. Beautiful tail wags a lot.

He'll sit right beside me, but isn't as fond of putting his head on my lap, let along sitting on me, as some dogs are. so far.
He greets us with bondless enthusiasm when we come in, so much that it makes us laugh out loud every time. He almost always stays where he can see us, follows us closely all day long as we go about our chores. But doesn't care to sit on us much, that's just him.

He makes rounds to see where we all are, and does try to herd us into same room at times. He LOVES it if entire family is one room, ahhh, he relaxes, "my work here is done." kinda thing.

He LOVES, and i do mean, LOVES learning stuff. Nothing seems to please him more than figuring out something, and reaping the praise. Just spontaneous praise does not seem to elicit the same level of happiness as praise for learning something. He just beams when he has figured something out. Or playing a game that involves the whole family sends him into nirvana.

BCs wanna be with their people(ours did/do) Some disagree, but i think BCs tend to follow one person the most. One-man or one-woman dogs. Buddy loves the whole fam, but follows me like glue. Anyone else has to be doing something REEEALLY interesting to keep Buddy next to them if i am not in that room.

Last BC followed Craig. The rest of us were much loved til craig came home, then he was all about Craig.

Smart little things, learn stuff fast, especially if you are a good consistant trainer, who doesn't inadvertantly 'change' the cue without realizing it, a small difference in the cue means a lot to a BC.

In general, most BCs are friendly towards other dogs, and even most cats if given a chance to. My BCs have all been fairly protective, will stand up to anyone. Craig's adult son has a habit of punching Craig's arm in jest, Buddy runs over and barks warnings at him every time he does this, and watches the son closely for some time afterwards.

I think BCs are so good looking, especially if they have a tail tip that is white. Their tails are so nice, like feathery flags...BCs are such a Nice size dog, just right, not too small, not too big, can take 'em anywhere....and such natural looking dogs. Don't mind being brushed and groomed. Eventually clean their own selves off. Like being clean i think.

Can be obsessive. Buddy's obessessions are not too bad, he is mesmerized with plastic bags of any type. Will follow anyone with a plastic bag of any type. (All new toys have arrived in plastic bags, and we carry treats in lil plastic bags.) He has a few others, but none are problems.

No drool! I'm appreciating this about our dog since our friends dog drools so much, so much, gets all over Buddy....
BCs don't shed a ton, just a springtime blowout, which is not off the hook except for about a week or two, and is easily managed with daily brushing and frequent baths to speed up the process. Ha, i just clipped off Buddy's haunches/thigh fur, reeeally short, to help him stay cool, is sooooo cute!!

GET A BORDER COLLIE!! if you really enjoy interacting with your dog.
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
Like being clean. LOL.

Mine are oddballs. Mudflap loves nothing more than covering herself in mud if there is any to be found. Silly girl. But she does like her baths, and loves grooming. Zeke likes getting filthy too, but I think it's mostly a monkey-see-monkey-do thing, lol. Wish he'd watched Rusty more; he's a neat freak and can't stand being the least bit dirty. Funny that you mention the plastic bags, Mudflap hates when you shake open a garbage bag or WalMart sack or whatever. She's not frightened by it but she just gets worked up and silly when you shake them open. She used to go into a barking fit but now she kind of mumbles and vigorously releases her frustration on the loudest squeaky toy within reach, lol.

Indeed I think they have a "favorite person" but are extremely social and are people-lovers definitely. Mudflap is a social butterfly and just loooves people. Wasn't snuggly by any means when we adopted her but has started being more lovey. When it's stormy she wants to be as close to me as physically possible though. Zekers likes being close but isn't really a lap dog.

You're right, they want so badly to be "good dogs." Lol. People pleasers and always looking for a way to make us happy.
 

snooks

Experienced Member
;I LOVE watching BC's work. What awesome dogs. I think I saw one still twice for 1 second each time. LOL. Warning to those with apartments and low activity. BC will drive u keeerazy without room to RUN! great video!! Talk about some steenky sheep mud. LOL
 

sarhaspups

New Member
Dat, love the video. I need your bumpersticker to add to my collection, that's a good one.... as I'm on my 4th one... wanting to buy land and get some sheep...ect. LOL. My addiction....BORDER COLLIES... HA! :p

I do have to say that I don't necessarily agree with Border Collies only being happy with a job.... mine are pretty darn happy being dogs and playing.
ANY DOG will drive you crazy without some energy release outlet!
 

sarhaspups

New Member
ruffmuttk9z;18042 said:
Border Collies? I have no idea what you're talking about!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I'm so jealous!! Now that is a pack of nice dogs!! :dogbiggrin: I absolutely love the picture!!!
Sarha
 

desertranger

New Member
I've had BCs for 40 years. I belong to a pair of BC forums, addresses available by request, and was sent here by one of them.

Jin is Dog 'J' in a long line of BCs and is in training for a lot of different things. Primarily as a service dog he is also working on his agility and canine citiszenshop award.

I am a injured on the job I am now a disabled and retired Tribal Ranger having spent many years with a local band of Indians. In the past my dogs have been trained for SAR and do well in the actual rescue when we want to place ropes. Jin will receive SAR and other training and I'm trying to find out how much you learning you can stuff into a BC>

I consider myself an above average trainer with more than a little espertise about BCs.
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
Neat. I was talking about search and rescue to my girlfriend the other day, I assumed that border collies were definitely smart enough to be rescue dogs, but females tend to be a little shy and submissive. Does that play a role in selecting a good search and rescue dog? Or is it all based on training? :dogsmile:
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
REally, female BCs tend to be shy and submissive?
I did not know this. Ha, i had thought it was other way around, i mean, i had thought female BCs tended to be more dominant even than the males. shows what i know! :msngiggle:I've never had a female BC.

I am always surprised how much smaller female BCs are from the males. Well, maybe not all female BCs, but so many are only 28 to 30 lbs, where the males are often about 45 to 50 pounds, even a tad more in some males.
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
LOL Mud is sooooo not that. BCs in general and shy, but not always submissive. They do tend to be(on average) more submissive/timid dogs, either gender, but not always. Mud's a social butterfly and definitely the alpha among my dogs. And I have no idea what her history was, but from what I gather, NO socialization at all. Z on the other hand is the exact opposite.
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68lXUbZb9a8[/media]Not sure how to embed a video. Lemme try again...

Ha, i bite at this. HOpe it shows up, is some sheepherders with way too much time on their hands...
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
All you have to do is type the youtube url like normal text and it will be automatically embeded.

Or you can always use MEDIA tags. like: MEDIA]http://youtube-url.com[/MEDIA
 

desertranger

New Member
Jean;19019 said:
Neat. I was talking about search and rescue to my girlfriend the other day, I assumed that border collies were definitely smart enough to be rescue dogs, but females tend to be a little shy and submissive. Does that play a role in selecting a good search and rescue dog? Or is it all based on training? :dogsmile:

Jin's male but I've never seen what you describe in a female. Glynnis and Chelsea were both in charge especially when pulling wagons or other loads. Unfortunatle neither of those two were uinvloved in SAR. BCs are the only dogs I know of that can actually be turned off their leads to do a search. Their recall is 110% and they don't get lost like some other dogs do. My (late) dog Bas's last rescue took him less than half an hour after foot teams of people were unable to locate the victim in an already searched area. IN the deepest search that ever took place Surra located a hiker ~2 miles from where we turned him loose. He apparently went straight to the hiker. In order to make sure the dogs don't get lost they are equipped with a GPS tracking device made out of portable ham radio gear and an old GPS. Newer GPS two-way radio units can be purchased from Garmin for <150USD. Tat makes life a lot easier when in the back country.


Here's a video on BC puppies. Border Collie puppies at play.
 

ruffmuttk9z

New Member
Female BCs are not shy and submissive. In fact, of the almost 200 BCs I've fostered or owned, the MALES are the shy, submissive and/or fearful ones. The females are the outgoing, responsive, biddable and, well, bitchy, ones. I guess that's why I own mostly females. The males are too goofy and submissive for me. I don't like submissive dogs.
 

bejna

New Member
hi
i am volkan from turkey middle east medeterian. first sory about my bad engilish.
i have had a boxer and i lost him, he was too old, then i decided to have a new friend, i have thougt about it for six mounths and i decided to have a bc, but there is not any bc in our country, can you help me ? i am 25 years old and i live with my family in villager (my mother , my father, and elder sister) plz help me
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
First of all, have you done any research on the BC breed? They require a LOT of exercise, both mental and physical. They are very demanding, and you need to make sure you're prepared for one before welcoming these lovely dogs into your family.
I'm not sure what to tell you about finding BCs in Turkey, but you can search google.com for Border Collie rescues and breeders anywhere in the world. Some of them ship and some of them don't. If you've never had a BC before, you might have a tough time with some of the rescues. But, definitely check out rescues as there are many BCs looking for good homes, and adopting an adult BC might be easier on you if you haven't had BCs before.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. :) Good luck!
 
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