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Collies => Border Collie Discussions & Pictures => : Ken November 01, 2007, 07:42:29 AM
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My wife and I recently got a five-month-old Border Collie. This is not our first dog, but it is our first BC. To tell you the truth I am looking for some positive feedback about our decision. We knew this was an active dog that would need exercise and attention. What good experiences, long term, have you had? Most of the information on the Internet comes off sounding so negative about this breed as a pet.
Although we have only had Katie a few days I don’t see any more problems then I have with other dogs I have had during my life.
To tell you the truth we are looking for a little handholding. Don’t have any pictures yet, but will post one soon.
Thanks
Ken
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Hi and welcome to the board. I've never had a BC so I can't give you any specific advice or help but I do have some experience with high energy "Wile E. Coyote Super-Genius" smart dogs. :D The only thing that I found after getting my first Malinois and then the next and the next and so forth is once they get adjusted to the new home and you that's when you see the energy levels. Also the more you run the pup to tire her out the more you are building her endurance and the longer you will have to go to tire her out later on. I also have found that lots of exercise before any obedience training is a very good thing. It helps them focus on you and the training. For mine, I have to train in 30min increments usually because they are easily bored with the repition. So at obedience classes or agility classes we could only work for 1/2 of the time and then we just watched. Hope that helps and my crew is listed below.
Kat
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My mom has a Border Collie and she is super smart and a really good all-around dog. She does have a high energy level, of course, and loves to run and play. She is very focused on my mom, which makes obedience and agility classes really fun for both of them. I think one of the main things to keep in mind with a BC, in general, is that they need both physical and mental exercise or else they can get bored. Rally-O, agility, obedience, etc. can help with engaging their minds.
My mom takes her BC for daily exercise, sometimes just a walk around the neighborhood and other times a good romp in the woods. I must say that I have never seen her BC actually tired out no matter what she's done, but I will also say that she is a really great dog and has never given my mom any problems. I also remember that my mom was a little freaked out with all of the negative stuff out there about the breed, but she has had a really wonderful and positive experience with her BC. Enjoy!
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Tina, point well taken, Thanks for seeing what I did not! I sure know there are abandoned dogs out there because people did not know what they were getting into. I think along with the energy comes a lot of love and affection. On the other hand, I will need to keep reminding myself who is training who. No bad dogs, just bad owners.
Pyr4me, I got up this morning and there was Katie ready to go. I had to laugh and think about what you wrote, always ready to GO.. She is like a young kid just full of energy for life. Made me feel good. I took her out and let her explore her new word and give her love and attention.
Ken
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Hi Ken, I don't have any BC experience, except that I've seen them around and they are beautiful dogs. I just wanted to say welcome and congratulation s! I'm betting that Katie is going to be a wonderfully sweet, happy addition to your family and that someday you'll look back and think that your life was really missing something before she joined your family. ;D
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Love the picture! She's beautiful!
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Ohhhh! I missed her photo the first time. I love her pretty face with the white on her muzzle and the stripe up between her eyes. She looks like such a sweetie. Please give her a kiss on her pretty forehead for me. ;D :-*
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Love the pic. She's adorable.
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kathryn; yes her world is expanding! <grin>
Ken
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Hi Ken!
I've owned many dogs in my lifetime, and my BC, Max, was my favorite of all. I loved his intensity! Yes, he had tons of energy and we had some issues with separation anxiety, but there was something different about the way he interacted with me. He had an almost human quality about him, especially the way he would look directly into my eyes. It was like he could read my mind, like he always knew what I was thinking or feeling. Other people would refer to Max as "velcro dog" because he never left my side. Before my husband, Max was the love of my life. :)
As long as you give Katie lots of exercise and spend good quality time with her, I have no doubt that you will be forever thankful that you brought her into your life. Congratulation s on adopting such a beautiful and sweet BC. I know you'll enjoy her!
Amy
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Ken she is gorgeous and you can look at that pic and see how alert and observant she is. She'll have you in agility training in no time *laugh'n*
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Amy
Yes I have noticed the way Katie looks at me is most interesting. As you say “almost human quality”. I feel like a new father telling stories about their child. <grin> however I will go on anyway. I had to do some laundry and therefore needed to kennel up Katie for a short time. I told her what I needed to do and she went straight over to a bed we had set up for her, but she had not used. My first view of the intelligence BCs have.
BTW I keep reading about giving your dog “tasks” to do, but people don’t say what sort of task they are talking about. Now if that were to wash the dishes I could live with that! <haha> Anyway, any ideas?
Ken
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Ouch
I am doing the agility training now! I need to keep an eye on the little scamp. Will be happy when she is on the other end.
Ken
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If you want her to help out around the house teach her to bring you the dirty laundry. Some people have taught their dogs to pull the laundry out of the dryer and put it in the laundry hamper. Another good task to give them is to teach the "find" command. You hide their toys or treats around the yard and house and have them go find them and bring them back. It's a good starting point if you have any desire to train search and rescue.
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Ken,
You asked about tasks for her to do... I never actually gave my Max a particular job. It's not like I had sheep or cattle waiting around for him to herd or anything. I think he was just happy being at my side. To get rid of some of his BC energy, we would play fetch for about an hour each night. My dad owned acres of land, so I would throw the tennis ball as far as I could about a million times until he stopped chasing it. That's how I knew we were done for the evening!
Anyway, I just think that being my best friend was enough to keep him mentally stimulated. He went everywhere with me, even to college! I think that all the warnings really just mean don't leave a BC in the house all day while you're at work and think that everything will be in one piece when you get back. They get bored when they're alone and a kong with peanut butter won't be enough to make them happy. They only want you!
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Can anyone recommend a good book on BCs? I live in Japan so I will need to get one over the Internet. My bilingual daughter purchased one in Japanese and it had some useful information. I am more interested on training. No bad dogs just bad owners.
Ken
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I had a BC mix. I loved him to bits he was such a wonderful loving boy.
When I took him for walks I put a doggy backpack on him. It gave him a job to do as well it made him work harder on his walks so it made him work off that energy he had.
Nina
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I had a BC mix. I loved him to bits he was such a wonderful loving boy.
When I took him for walks I put a doggy backpack on him. It gave him a job to do as well it made him work harder on his walks so it made him work off that energy he had.
Nina
My neighbor does this with her dog and she says it really helps with burning off some of that excess energy.
Also, in terms of training, you could check out Patricia McConnell's website, it's www.dogsbestfr iendtraining.c om. She has 3 BCs herself as well!
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What a precious!! Very beuatiful girl you have there! Welcome to the site...let me tell you...everyone is ALWAYS ready to help!
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My regards to all of you that have welcomed me! I have not replied because of my obligation/love/time spent with Katie. When I say love I remember it is a special love. One where I we need to take charge and train her or she will train us.
I have noticed, I think, that Katie is a little less “active” <grin> with my wife and daughter then with me. My wife says it is because I interact with her more then the rest of the family. I think that it may be something to do with the “energy” I put off. Now I make sure I don't go out of my way to excite her. (When I was a kid our family had a Boxer and we would wrestle and so on. I don’t do anything like that with Katie. In fact I try to calm her down)
Anyway, what experiences have people had with female or male BCs and male or female owners?
Ken
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A new Picture.
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Anyway, what experiences have people had with female or male BCs and male or female owners?
Ken
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Hi Ken,
My mother's female BC LOVES and ADORES men!! If a man is around, she is totally focused on them. Of course, she loves my mom, however, she truly adores men!!
Jennifer
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Two good books are:
"The Complete Border Collie" Barbara Swann
and
"Understanding Border Collies" Barbara Sykes
Ken