The Best Friend You Will Ever Have (Border Collie)

Member Name: rosehall

Product:	Border Collie
Date:	04/03/07 (1916 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An excellent dog for an active family that is not at work all day .

Disadvantages: These dogs require lots of mental & physical stimulation .

The Border Collie.
I own 3 Border Collies myself called Flynn, Moby and Tess. My son has 1 Border Collie and my daughter has 2 Border Collies. Their dogs also spend quite a bit of time at my house as when they both work shifts the dogs come to mine to save them being on their own. So its quite often have 6 dogs at mine and they all get on well with each other. There are 5 Dogs & 1 Bitch in total. I have owned this breed of dog for the last 20 odd years.

The Dog Itself
The Border Collie is a very intelligent and responsive medium sized dog originally bred as everyone knows to round up sheep. They are a bundle of energy which needs to be channelled in the right direction. This breed excels at obedience, agility and flyball in which they are commonly used as these particular sports are right up this intelligent dog's street. They thrive on praise, are sensitive and are very trainable. None of this is achieved without dedication from its owner. This dog likes to be well exercised and you will need to be a hardy individual who doesn't mind at least an hours walk twice a day (more if you can offer it) in ALL weathers as the dog doesn't care what the weather is like! You should take your dog to obedience classes as soon as the dog has had the full set of vaccinations even if you only do the basic classes. This dog needs to keep its brain as well as its body exercised. Flyball or agility is a useful addition for both you and the dog and you can do these classes for fun right up to serious competition level. Like any dog this breed will become a nuisance and also destructive if not given enough exercise and stimulation. These dogs are simply just too intelligent to lie around the house all day with nothing to do.

Coat Type, Colour & Grooming.
Their coats tend to come in two styles of a coarse thick, straight hair about 3 inches long complete with a mane and bushy tail and the other with sleek 1 inch long hair covering from head to tail.

I personally think Border Collies are unique because they come in absolutely every coat colour available other than the more traditional black & white , they also come in the colours of tri-colour ( black, white & brown) red, blue-merle, red merle, tri-merle ,sable and tan. A Border Collie that is mostly white is said to be difficult to work sheep as apparently the sheep do not have the same respect as they think its one of them.

As for grooming I brush them a couple of times a week by brushing them with a slicker brush. (I also check them for any lumps and bumps and give a quick check in ears & mouth). I give them a bath about twice a year unless they have rolled in something particularly nasty.

Temperament
I have always found Border Collies to have a nice temperament. Like most breeds of dogs they can be snappy if not socialized properly or given enough to do. They do like to herd children and small animals (which after all is what they were bred for) which can be a nuisance if not curtailed. Most are more than happy to do anything for a few words of praise. All of the dogs I have or have had been fine with my children, cats and chickens and rabbits (although will try to round up if given the chance)

Height & Weight.
DOGS are around 19-22 inches tall weighing in around 30-45 pounds.

BITCHES are around 18-21 inches weighing in at around 27-42 pounds although same as people this can vary.

Health Problems.
These dogs are generally a very hardy lot on a day to day basis but can be prone to hip dysplasia (HD), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) and an eye disease common to collies such as Collie Eye Anomaly. Anybody buying a puppy can ask if the parents have been tested for these and what the results were. Collies are also prone to epilepsy.

Living Conditions.
My collies live in the house and have been brought up to use crates. They simply adore these. They are always fed in these and have treats and bones in these. I always find crates essential for teaching any new puppy to toilet train and when left home alone in the first 6 months or so not to be destructive by chewing things you don't want them to chew like furniture etc. Once these habits have been attained it's hard to break so best they are not allowed to start. Border Collies are also happy to live outside in a suitably insulated kennel as long as this is not all day long with any human contact. Mine are pets and live in happily with us all using their crates overnight or when home alone. Once trained the dogs are not even shut in these crates.

Exercise.
As said before plenty of it! Also exercise the dog's brain too. They are so easy to train especially clicker training. I can teach any dog within 10 mins to sit & down with this. Flynn can also give paw, turn right or left, I five and now almost bow. All taught with the clicker. All my dogs will sit, down, stay, wait and paw on command. Admitted they could do even more if I wanted to train them further.

Further Training.
As said before these dogs adore obedience,flyball and agility and will compete to any level depending on the time and dedication the owner has.

Life Expectancy
Life excpectancy is 12-15 years.

Cost
Anything from £150 to £500 depending on breed lines.

And Finally...
Please remember A DOG IS FOR LIFE.

Thank you for reading

Summary: A great dog as long as you are prepared to put in the ground work.