# Border Collie Help



## tbone (Jul 23, 2009)

I am looking into buying a puppy for the family. I have the opportunity to get a pure bread Boarder Collie, but I am not too familiar with the dogs. I know they have a hearding instinct, but I am not sure how they are with kids/families. Can any one give me some info on this dog. I want to make an educated decision when it comes to a family dog. Thanks.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

Border collies are awesome dogs, very intelligent. One thing about herding dogs is that they need a job to do. They need to be working and they need room to roam. Herding dogs that get shut up in pens most of the day often become neurotic. I would not personally recommend a herding dog as a pet in an urban neighborhood. Those who do have herding dogs in the city need to keep the dog active and busy if it is going to be happy.

Border collies can be really fun for kids. Because of their desire to work, collies are easy to train to do lots of neat tricks. The kids will need to spend time every day teaching the dog new things and taking the dog for walks, etc.

One thing to watch out for is nipping. You will have to be very, very firm with the dog when it tries to herd you or your children. Collies *WILL* try to herd you. Their genetic makeup is for herding. They herd rank cows by nipping at the cow's heels. They'll try to do the same thing to your children. Sometimes kids can't control dogs and the more the kids scold the dog, the more the dog will try to nip at them. The kids start getting mad at the dog for not being obedient and the dog comes in for a bite. Then the poor dog winds up shut in the pen all the time or in a shelter. All the dog was doing was following its genetic instincts. The border collie that is allowed to nip as a puppy will become a biter as an adult. You have to "nip" all attempts at herding humans in the bud. Make sure the dog knows that all humans are alpha.


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## Sprig Kennels (Jan 13, 2009)

i have trained a few border collies for people as pets and they are some of the smartest dogs out there and very great family dogs. Like what was mentioned before, however, they do tend to herd and nip at the feet of anything that moves, such as kids running, so that is something that would have to be addressed but as for the breed as a whole, incredible dogs and I personally wouldn't have anything against one as a family dog.


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## slapwater (Jun 18, 2009)

I have a border collie and a border collie/ausie mix that are both great dogs. Border Collies are the best dogs ever IF you spend the time to make them that way. If not, they are as crazy as the day is long. My dogs are angels in the house, are awesome with my kids, and know all kinds of tricks. They each understand well over 100 words including the names of their toys (You can line them all up and tell them which one to grab, they'll even put them back in the bin if you ask.), the names of my family members (tell them who to go to), they heel perfectly off leash, they play frisbee for hours, go on 10 mile horseback rides without complaining and sit on the saddle behind me if I ask them to. They have impeccable manners around people and other dogs. Everyone in the neighborhood knows, and likes them.

This has taken probably hundreds of hours of training over the last 3 years and ongoing training for at least a few minutes every day to keep them sharp. You can't wear them out but you have to try. They run with my wife who trains for marathons. The border/aussie carries a backpack with her water in it on 12 mile runs. After the run he gets a big drink, lays down for a few minutes, then brings you his ball to throw for him. Only when you add mental stimulation to the physical exercise does he start to mellow out. Teach him tricks, herd sheep, do agility, give him a job of some sort. It's pretty cool when they'll go get the remote on command and not that hard to train. All this stuff keeps them from destroying furniture. A good walk and 5 minutes of training a day will make him and you much happier in the long run.

They do herd almost everything instinctively. You can teach them what is okay to herd and what is not. Don't let them herd small children or bad things happen. They also can be quite shy. The have been bred for centuries to work independently, away from other dogs and people. That is why they are so smart but it comes at the cost of being a little anti-social. It's easy to overcome this if you start when they are puppies and socialize them with as many other dogs and people as possible. Keep the experiences very positive, don't take him around aggressive dogs or angry people.

Definitely more work than some other breeds. If you're not the active sort, take a pass. All that said, we'll probably never own another breed, except the great dane my wife keeps begging for.


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## tbone (Jul 23, 2009)

Fellas, great info. Thank you for your replies. We're going to go ahead and get one. The puppies were born last week, so end of August we'll hopefully pick her up.


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## johnboy (Nov 22, 2011)

Hope it all works out for you , some good advice here.
Had the best times of my life with a Border Collie , blue Heeler cross
Great dog and we shared 17 years together


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

As mentioned, just about any dog is a product of their training, being positive or negative. My favorite dog was a collie mix from the time I was 12 until about 22. He was a pretty good bird hunter and would point them instinctively. Well behaved and low strung. My brother has two collies and they are worthless, again, a product of their upbringing, nothing more than thrown in the pen to waste away. Good luck!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

slapwater brings up some good points.

We owned two purebred Border Collies, got both when they were pups. 

One was very well-behaved, easily trainable, and probably the smartest dog I have ever been around. It would do whatever I ask it to do, even fetch ducks. It adapted well to our small house and small yard. It was very protective of the kids. If you threatened it or the family, it's growling and barking would scare the Dickens out of you, but I can't remember it biting anyone. The dog was stolen.

The second one was a loose-cannon, a goof-ball, a loaded-spring, one of those Frisbee dogs. We had to keep it tied up or it would take off, like half way across the county. It was always in trouble and bit most of the neighbors. Once it got in the middle of the Evanston Cowboy Day's parade scaring some horses enough one bucked off the rider (County Comissioner at the time). The Evanston dog catcher chased it so many times it knew the animal by it's name, "Rowdy", and said it was "..the fastest g-damned dog I ever seen." A local judge convinced us we had to get rid of it and we did. It was less than 3 years old when we took it back to the Rich County ranch we got it from. My bad, I just didn't spend enough time training it and it was too-high strung, too active, to be kept in "our" enviroment. 

They need a lot of room and a lot of attention.


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