Kay, for those that are considering a Border Collie, I decided to make this topic. Please note I only wrote some of it, not all of it, such as I didn't write the "History", or anything like that.
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BC =
Border
Collie
The Basic
Border Collies DO have minds of their own. "That's really how a well trained stock dog works...they're not constantly taking commands from the handler, they're working and correcting on their own."
Border Collies are stubborn. "where some BC's tend to be a little softer in personality". Very often, Border collies tend to be "I know what you want me to do. I just don't want too."
Border Collies are bred for herding. There is calmer, laid back Border Collies. Generally, Border Collies are active & focused. This breed is not for everybody.
Border Collies are highly intelligent. There is owners often complaining about how their Border Collie learned something they would rather them not know. All because they're smart, doesn't mean that is a good thing. This often means digging, chewing, ect.
Their high intelligence does NOT make them "easy to train".
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Description of the Border Collie
Border Collies should be selectively bred for intelligence and working ability. To herd sheep on the mountains and moorlands of the British Isles, a Border Collie needs to meet certain criteria. He has to be independent enough to make his own decisions when he is at a distance from the shepherd. He must control his predatory instincts so he protects the sheep instead of killing them for food---as a wolf must do for survival. He also needs to nip or grip, at times, to control and move his sheep. He needs the stamina to work in heat or cold, to dart up and down steep hills, and to ignore minor injuries in the course of a workday. He also must be bred with a desire to work with, and subordinate to, his human companion, regardless of whether he is at a great distance or striving to save a newborn lamb.
A Border Collie can be anywhere from 25 pounds to 65 pounds. The coat can be rough (long coat), semi-rough, or smooth (short-haired). The coat colors vary. The typical colors are black & white, but Border Collies are also red & white, tri-colored (brown, black & white), liver, blue merle, red merle, yellow, or white with small amounts of brown, black, or red. Freckling on the muzzle and legs is common. The eye colors range from amber to dark brown and sometimes blue. The ear carriage can be pricked, semi-erect, dropped, or a combination. The bone structure ranges from lightweight and graceful to heavy-boned and majestic. In herding, Border Collies circle and stalk the object of interest.
The herding pose is head and forelegs lowered, eyes intense, tail down with bottom third of tail upturned. They can become focused on any moving object, even tiny insects. It is the attitude toward life and work, not looks, that distinguishes a dog as being a Border Collie.
Work is an attitude, not necessarily a specific task. Obedience competitions, agility contests, Frisbee events, flyball, visits to nursing homes, throwing a tennis ball in the backyard all can be considered work by your Border Collie. Observe the dog; if his body position is in a working pose, then he considers that particular task to be work. Add Sits, Downs, Waits, and That'll do's into the routine as added mental stimulation. Unlike some breeds, Border Collies love to learn new things throughout their lives. When it comes to Border Collies, you can teach an old dog new tricks! However, there is a downside to this attitude. Never teach a Border Collie something you don't want to live with for the rest of his life. That "cute" puppy trick can be extremely irritating or even dangerous when your darling little puppy becomes a workaholic 50 pound adult.
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Selecting a Border Collie
If you’ve never lived with a Border Collie, consider fostering a dog for a local rescuer. You can save a Border Collie’s life while deciding if the breed’s mental and physical requirements fit into your family’s lifestyle.
Around seven weeks old, puppies need to make a general attachment to humans as a species, not a specific attachment to a particular human. A young pup raised around small children is not a guarantee the pup will grow up being good around children. Nature is as important as nurture in determining if an individual Border Collie adores children, is intimidated by children, or tries to control children.
Some Border Collies will use submissive behavior to manipulate and control us. Others will bark and carry on like they're having a temper tantrum. Still others will use every expression and gesture you have ever found cute to get their own way. Living with a young Border Collie is like living with an intelligent toddler. It requires dedicated time and effort to survive the experience!
A puppy goes through many stages until the adult age of 2 to 3 years. At age 5 to 6 months, the pup gets his adult teeth. This is a major chewing and destructive period. This is the time when the pup also experiments with guarding and confrontational behaviors. It is similar to a child's "terrible twos."
THE DOG’S MIND by Bruce Fogle
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Health Problems
Border Collies are basically a hardy breed; however, they can be subject to some inherited diseases such as Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA), canine hip dysplasia, and deafness. Some could have epilepsy and endocrine diseases, with unknown inheritance factor. Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD) is a shoulder lameness that can develop between the ages of 4 to 12 months. Allergies and skin conditions also occur.
Keep handy a first-aid kit and your vet's phone number. Because Border Collies are very physically active, they are prone to athletic injuries, such as pulled muscles, cruciate ligament ruptures, cuts and punctures, ripped toenails and footpads. The dog also requires vaccinations, heartworm test and preventative, license, spay/neuter(unless you decide to breed the dog).
DOG OWNER'S HOME VETERINARY HANDBOOK by Carlson and Giffin
THE HEALING TOUCH by Michael Fox
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Puppy Checklist
_____ Do you have the time for a long, sometimes hectic, puppy stage?
If not, consider adopting an adult Border Collie.
_____ Can you understand the pup's pedigree and its significance? If not,
find a local person who knows Border Collie breeding to advise you.
_____ Did you ask why these parents were selected for breeding?
_____ Did the breeder ask about your reason for wanting a Border Collie?
_____ Does the breeder seem to care, or are the pups strictly a business?
_____ Are the pups at least 6 to 8 weeks old? Have the pups been given
their first shots and been de-wormed? Is their “den” clean?
_____ Are the parents well-behaved and reasonably friendly toward your family?
_____ Have the pups been raised in an expanding environment, with both
indoor and outdoor living and socializing with people and other animals?
Pups are generally priced from $300-600. Good puppies are expensive to breed and raise and should be priced accordingly. However, the price is not a guarantee of a good dog, and health problems can occur in any breeding program, no matter how careful and knowledgeable the breeder is. Your purchase decides which breeders and rescuers prosper. Your purchase can help or hinder cash crop breeders and puppy mills. Your purchase decision is vital for the future of this breed. Choose your breeder with care, and never buy from pet shops.
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Border Collies and Children
Herding the neighborhood kids and giving an occasional light nip to a rear end or ankle might seem like a funny game in the beginning. But what happens when the children want to go one way and you've inadvertently trained your Border Collie to treat them as livestock? The game is now serious business, with scared children and a dog euthanized for aggressive behavior. Don’t let this happen! Every time the pup or dog thinks about herding kids, have the kids stop playing with the dog for a few minutes, then go back to the same game in the same area of the yard, with a few new rules. Dogs and kids can have a terrific relationship—when an adult or the kids control the games.
CHILD-PROOFING YOUR DOG by Brian Kilcommons
DOG TRAINING FOR CHILDREN by Ian Dunbar
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY by Ian Dunbar
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History Of The Border Collie
Centuries before the industrial revolution, Britain's wealth was built on wool. Domestic sheep were herded by Neolithic man and likely sheepdogs were associated with him as well. The Romans brought pastoral dogs to Britain as they did sheep. John Caius, a doctor writing in the 1500s, mentions the "shepherd's dogge". His book, De Canibus Britannicus (Treatise on Englishe Dogges), may in fact be the earliest reference to the way British sheepdogs worked.
In Scotland, when a sheep economy took hold, the sheepdog was absolutely necessary. James Hogg (1772-1835), a shepherd and poet from the Ettrick Valley in the Scottish Borders wrote, "without [the sheep dog] the mountainous land of England and Scotland would not be worth sixpence. It would require more hands to manage a flock of sheep and drive them to market than the profits of the whole were capable of maintaining."
Sheepdogs varied more in the past than they do today. There were as many breeds of working dog as there were breeds of sheep. Most of Britain's breeds of pastoral dogs have become extinct, not only because sheep predators disappeared, but for other reasons, as well. Some vanished along with the need for specialized working abilities. Others disappeared when sheep and cattle were no longer being driven to market but were taken by rail, and later truck, obviating the need for a strong driving dog capable of moving large flocks long distances.
In Australia and New Zealand, and in parts of the United States, where there are still huge flocks of sheep and sometimes exceptional conditions, specialized types of sheepdogs have been developed and are still used--heelers, barkers, dogs capable of going over the backs of closely packed sheep or driving them long distances. But in Britain, and in parts of the United States as well, the Border Collie has emerged as the dominant herding dog.
Dogs like the Border Collie existed centuries ago. Old paintings and lithographs show the shepherd's dog as one resembling the Border Collie. Sheila Grew, in her book Key Dogs from the Border Collie Family (1985), said "a century ago many of the [working] collies were hard, powerful...dogs, difficult to control and rough with...stock; but their keen...instinct,... concentration and great power over...sheep or cattle were such useful assets it seemed worth trying to find a milder natured type of working collie to cross with [them]." A Northumbrian farmer, Adam Telfer, "succeeded," Grew says, "in finding the right blend of the two types of dog" in 1894. The Border Collie as we know it today is descended from that dog.
Above right, a sheepdog on a hillside, artist unknown. Thanks to Beth Maxwell Boyle.
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What exactly is "herding instinct"?
The herding instinct in Border Collies is a behavioral trait that has been bred "into them" over the past two hundred years or so. What many people fail to realize, even long-standing Border Collie owners, is that the herding instinct is simply a modified version of the killing instinct of wolves. The instinct has been toned down somewhat through selective breeding. In fact, the instinct has not been bred "into them" but rather, "out of them". Border Collies retain the circling and gathering instinct so vital in hunting wolf packs but refrain from actually going in and making the final "kill".
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If Border Collies are so smart, why aren't they easy to train?
if you are not a precise sort of trainer (most people aren't), then trying to train an intelligent Border Collie can be a frustrating task. Yes, they can pick up commands on two or three tries but they are also very perceptive and are constantly thinking. If, in teaching your dog to sit, you raise your right hand and say "Sit", the dog may pick that up the first time through. However, if the next time you repeat the command, you raise your arm at a different angle and use a slightly lower tone of voice or a different pace, a Border Collie will often pick up the subtle distinction and think that you are using an entirely new command. Border Collies have a difficult time learning to generalize, basically because it takes a dog that is less "critical" to be able to follow a sloppy command. Training a Border Collie can be like trying to teach a nerdy child that likes to overanalyze everything - it can be frustrating and an exhaustive exercise in patience.
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What are the other problems with owning a smart dog?
Intelligence in dogs is a double-edged sword. Yes, Border Collies can learn lots of tricks and can have quite a large vocabulary but they also can learn lots of bad things too. Having a smart dog means waging a continual intellectual war with your dog, trying to outsmart them as they figure out each progressive intellectual step you take. Trying to confine a Border Collie can be an exercise in futility. Just when you put in a gate, they figure out how to get over (under) it. When you put in a door, they figure out how to push it open. You put in a latch and they figure out how to turn doorknobs. Some owners even swear that their Border Collies can pick combination locks - though their paws make it hard to turn the dial.
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Border Collie "Horror" Stories
Simply not trying to get you out of this breed. I know that other dogs may do this, but I don't know why, from all the dog horror stories I read - most of it includes a Border Collie. Simply don't get a dog because you see one on TV behaving perfectly, you'll always have to train a dog. simple as that. Read these horror stories. Do you honestly still think that Border Collies are perfect dogs without enough time spent on them, without the right training, ect?
[email protected] wrote:
>Kato (15 months) takes his OOEYs (which for you uninitiated is a squeaky toy!)
>and stuffs them under the couch. Then he scratches up a storm (and incidentally
>the couch) trying to GET to said OOEY. He would do this 10 times a night
>until my husband fit boards under the couch to block the OOEY.
And I thought my BC Meg was the only one who did that! She nearly drove us crazy till we blocked the area off. How many of you have lost vacuum cleaners? I lost one before I learned. The worst mess I ever had was a gallon of shampoo that looked just like the empties they used to play with. You can't imagine what it's like to try to get shampoo out of the carpet.
From:
[email protected] (John Lovell) [remove 'nospam.']
This isn¹t a REAL horror story (actually it was kind of cute in a) twisted wicked sick kind of way). . . I was in the office, logged onto the computer and in the middle of writing a rather lengthy email. I was just about done when theconnection on the computer was broken. Worse, I thought, something must be wrong with the phone lines because theconnection on the phone line was still open, according to the light on the phone in the office. I worked for severalminutes trying to reset the phone line. I shut down the computer and restarted it. I manually turned off the modem and restarted it. Nothing worked. I couldn't break the connection and I couldn't get the modem to dial out. I then noticed that Kirby wasn't in the room.
Now, as you exit the office, you enter a hall that leads straight to the living room. There is another phone in the living room in plain view at the end of the hall. It's a speaker phone. On a table at the end of the couch. Kirby was on the couch (he's allowed) with both front legs on the armrest closest to the phone. The "hands free" button that turns on the speakerphone had been pressed. There's an LCD display on the phone. No other buttons had been touched. I know BCs are smart. I know they have creative ways of saying, "you've been doing other things too long and it's time to pay attention to me." But to leave the room, go to another room, disconnect the modem remotely and then sit and wait for me to come out and find him? Nahhhh, couldn't have been . . .
From:
[email protected]Chance: After breaking a tooth trying to chew his way out of the crate, I started leaving him in the basement when I had to go to work. There was an old twin bed down there that he DESTROYED. Every time I came home, it looked as if it had snowed in the basement. Mattress stuffing everywhere. After a while, all that was leftwere springs, which I finally hauled to the dump. He also chewed up the wooden headboard on the bed. He also chewed up the wooden stair steps leading upstairs. They still bear his teeth marks. Upstairs, I wasn't watching himvery carefully one time and he destroyed one of my brand new kitchen chairs. Ate right through the seat cushion andchewed up the legs. At 4 years 1/2 he finally doesn't chew anymore, but he still pulls the stuffing out of stuffed animals.
Cody: Has always been a child chaser and nipper. He has nipped a couple of kids on the butt. Didn't hurt them, but did scare them. So now he has to always be put away somewhere when kids are around. I have really tried to break him ofthis, but I have been totally unsuccessful. It's like he is a different dog when kids are running around, and he doesn'tlisten to me at all. He is just too intent on the kids. He becomes a psycho dog and I wonder if he even realizes what he is doing. He even bites at me when I run past him He has ripped holes in the seat of several pairs of my jeans. He also ripped a hole in the side of my Doberman. My guess is that he was probably nipping at the dobie as they were running around the yard, and caught a tooth in his skin. Took 12 stitches to close it up. But I love my BC's.
[email protected] (M A Henderson
Meg will be 8 soon but I remember when she was young we had a stove with a drawer at the bottom. ONE time her frisbee went under the drawer and she went into her digging and whining. I pulled the drawer all the way out to get the frisbee. DONE right? WRONG! The frisbee never went under there again but the digging and whining went on for months. I had to take the drawer out many, many times to show her that the frisbee was no longer there. At the time I had 5 Brittany's and was totally unprepared for this kind of behavior.
When I brought Meg home at 7 weeks she took over as pack leader within the first 48 hours. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it. I had made a roast for dinner and as was my habit I put the empty pan on the floor for the dogs to lick out. All 5 Britt's dove in. Meg walked up, snarled and the Britt's took off and let her have the pan to herself. from that day on, she was the boss. She was not yet 8 weeks old.
Another favorite trick of hers was to take a squeaky toy and drop it in the water bowl where it would fill with water. Then she would come near a person and bite down on it and create a stream of water all over whatever or whomever was near. So creative these BC's. I swear she was laughing the whole time. I love this thread, it's bringing back such wonderful memories.
To read more, you'll have to go to:
http://www.bcrescue.org/bchorror.html.Be warned, there is TONS of border collie "horror" stories.
Small Border Collie FAQAre Border Collies really hyper & insanely active?A well-bred, well-trained Border Collie should not be hyper or insane. Good stock dogs can't be insane, too hyper, ect when herding livestock. They should be calm when herding. These days, the sport line & show line BCs generally are the ones you may find "nutsy" and "insanely hyper". Because people don't give them any exercise and bored them to death. Border Collies, in general, are known to be "endless energy" but that doesn't make them insanely hyper. I know many Border Collies, that is willing to do whatever for however long(out of love and energy), but the same Border Collies are also willing to sleep by their master's feet. (My neighbors BC is a good example.) No true well-behaved dog, that is well-worked, is insanely hyper all the time.
Are Border Collies really the most intelligent dog?It depends what you mean by "most intelligent", but honestly, there is no true "Smartest Dog Breed" because you can't judge a few smart dogs on one whole breed. Border Collies, in general, are very intelligent. I know Border Collies that taught themselves things that would shock you, and Border Collies that could be taught anything, but that is depending on the dog. And you can't judge one breed for what a few dogs did, period. There is a dumb dog in every breed, even what you might consider "The Smartest Dog Breed".
Are Border Collies good with children?That depends on the dog. If properly socialized and well-supervised. Some Border Collies are known to "herd" children. Don't let that happen, and teach children to respect all dogs, which means you shouldn't let your child pull the dog's tail or jump all over him.
How are Border Collies with small animals & cats?Depending, once again, on the dog. Some Border Collies are known to chase small animals, while some do just fine. Properly socialize the dog with cats. Some can do fine with the small animals in the family, while they may just chase the outside visiters. With a very strong instinct Border Collie, you might run into a problem here or there. Cats(generally) are pretty intelligent, and know what to do when a dog tries to herd them, but it all depends. Many Border Collies do well with small animals & cats. If you run into problems, find a book that may help you. There is good books out there, including websites aswell.
Are Border Collies shedders?They are moderate shedders. But you know you want atleast some fur on the rug!
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And if you really read all of that, then I really really really give you huge credit. If not, then atleast hopefully you read some.. atleast. And I did, indeed, notice a few people on here that love BCs and/or want to own them.. So.
