i always wanted a Border Collie..now not so much.
 

my mutt is part BC. i thought he was fast and hyper. he isnt.

my perspective got adjusted. i met a rancher lady yesterday to buy some meat. she had a border collie outside. i pull up and i could see that dog quivering. i get out and his head snaps back and forth. he would check out surroundings and snap his head back on me. fast fast head snaps. i called him and he blasted over to me, and sniffed my hand. blasted away. wife and i start walking to the ranch office. the dog herds us there! he did lead a few times. just sprinting back and forth. FAST! just a tiny, fast dog. the dog had two speeds. "stop" and "fast".

i tell the lady, "i think your dog just herded me to the door"
"oh, he did. he will lead you back to your truck afterwards".

sure enough, he did. he remembered which truck was ours. he rushed off to show the next customers to the door when we climbed in ours.

i dont think i have enough "jobs" to keep a border collie from shredding my couch. what a dog!!

a family tried to give me their 7 month old Belgium Melanois..checked that dog off my list as well. "brown-fur lightning!". i still think the Border Collie was more intense.

i know my limits.

Yeah, BCs can be that way. Corgis are also herders, and need jobs to do or they start freelancing.

We got a border collie on Craigslist several years ago... Pretty sure the young woman we got the dog from had boyfriends who either beat her or the dog or both. Once home the dog would not come to me for weeks and would bark at and get aggressive with any men who got out of their car at our house. It ended up biting a couple of people (friends and family). We had to have him put down. That dog was fun but was a psychopath.

Yep, they almost need a ranch or open spaces and a job to do.

I now have two "friendly" psychopaths.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1560189308.jpg

They can be a handful!
Ours is a lovely girl though. Loves people especially women and kids.
She is one that has an off switch and not many BCs have that feature.
I work ours every day at least once and she is very content to lay in the sun after her workout.
YMMV.

We had a yellow lab that when I was not home, would let men know that they should wait right there until my wife said it was OK. We now have a yellow lab that the garbage guys and delivery drivers have to chase down to give her a treat and a beagle that yodels and grumbles if I forget to put the trash out and they skip us and his treat.

I had a beagle BC mix growing up and there was not a puzzle he could not solve to get where he wanted to go.

I have had great experiences with Border Collies. Best was 1/2 BC, 1/2 Cattle dog. If you have 2 they will entertain themselves. One alone would likely be a hand full.

Our BC is almost 2 years old. She will go from trying to chase flocks of Canada Geese flying over the marsh, to trying to get the horses running on the other side of the fence to chasing the waves on the riverbank.
Then she will conk out at your feet and sleep through the night.
We got lucky.

Best
Les

Couple down the street have two rescue BC's. They walk them every day. But like me, they live on a barrier island - no ranch lands here. Or farms.

While all herding breeds love to do jobs, I think that can be accomplished in a domestic environment and once you get past the first year, the nipping and chewing part really dwindles - at least it did for my two girls.

Herding breeds aren't for everyone but that's why there are so many other breeds out there. One size doesn't fit all.

Here is the little bugger... After a few months with us, he was great with all my kids/grandkids but he could not be trusted when male "strangers" pulled up and got out of their cars. It was sad to put him down, but it had to be done as he was not trustworthy and did some real damage to one of our friend's leg.... He was a lawsuit waiting to happen.

R.I.P. Bandit

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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1560194893.jpg

Bandit is cute!!

i almost..man, almost took one for free. what stopped me was his name. "LIGHTNING!" wtf? he got that name for his energy.

If you like the Collie breed, Scottish Rough coats are a good alternative. Here's mine

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1560195660.jpg

Oh yeah, he can even sit on the wall.....

BC's need a couple of acres and 30 sheep to burn off their energy.
If you haven't got the acres and sheep, you'll have to find other ways to burn that off...

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Similar experience to Tims with my Parents dog. Bit the cleaning lady, but my good friend Rees in the ass, chased and bit a customer . They had it for 10 years, it saw me everyday, and it wanted to chew my face off. I was never mean, or unkind to him in any way.
The last couple of years of his life, I really made an effort to give him treats, and let him know I was a friend, he never warmed to me .
I was relieved when they put him down ( old age ) . I was just waiting to be sued . He took a nice chunk out of the lady that cleaned my office . She was a dog lover, and a good sport , thankfully

My Lab puppy won't update my phone, so I can't post pics :(.

Tim...man that sux about yer buddy....but those are two good looking dawgs....what breed?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1560225802.jpg
I could not imagine not having my girl. She has made me a happier person. My wife and I take her on a couple mile run every day. With the hot weather we take her out on the boat and she swims after the ball for hours.

My BC is a couch potato.