can anyone compare BC to Aussies for me?

[spinard2000]

Hello, I am an experienced "high activity/ working" dog owner having owned several German Shorthaired Pointers and now have an Australian Shepherd.

I am currently competing in Novice Agility with my 4 year old Aussie and am interested in adopting a rescue dog to train and compete. I also have a 2 year old son. I am interested in Border Collies but have never had extensive contact with them. Can anyone compare Border Collies to Aussies for me as far as temperment and adaptability to children? I know every breed is unique, but I do not have another reference besides Auusies or GSPs.

THANKS!!!

[BCjetta]

I have a border collie and my fiancee has an aussie. I notice the aussie seems to be a lot more outgoing, love everyone and everything than my border collie. She's more devoted to only me, and would rather play with me (throwing things for her), than even acknowlegding other people or dogs. She seems a little calmer than the aussie as well. He gets super excited whenever he sees any dog or person and he likes to jump and bounce around a lot (he's only a year old though so that may be part of it). She seems to be more work oriented than the aussie and more focused than him. Not sure how this compares with other aussies and border collies...but just what I've noticed with our two.

[Kat's Dogs]

I think that Aussies are more independent then BCs, and maybe not as quite as "high drive". With BCs in Agility you have to always just say "oh well" when they make a mistake and just go on otherwise the try so hard to not make a mistake that they go really slow and worry a lot. On the other hand, Aussies can take more of a correction without worrying about it. So the training is different.

 

My BC loves everybody, but is not so Dog-savvy (very submissive). She is very outgoing and willing to try everything (and I mean EVERYTHING!! ) and does it with great enthusiasm. I guess you could call her a happy-go-lucky kind of dog. Unless she is working, then she really buckles down and get all serious. I think (I don't really know though) that even when they are working Aussies still love to just play, whereas BCs really take it as work and not as much as just a game.

 

Well, there is my 2 cents anyway.

[Allie Oop]

We have two extended family members who each own an Aussie. At group gatherings one dog is very dog intolerant/unfriendly to humans (snaps, growls, etc.) and the other is quite friendly (the pups are littermates). Both are very vocal and bark a fair amount. They are definitely more hyper than our BC.

 

Allie, our BC, barks a little, is much more social, friendly and outgoing than both of the Aussies. She is much more focused and intense, but she also minds a lot better.

 

Our BC LOVES kids and plays very well with them, but I don't let her run around with them outside because she does want to herd them. The snappy Aussie is okay with that family's kids, but not any others. The friendly Aussie is fine with most kids.

 

I truly think that the biggest factor is just the dog itself, how it is trained and socialized. Neither of the Aussie owners spends a significant amount of time training or socializing them -- although the dogs are both very well loved.

 

I like Aussie's a lot, but I prefer the BCs.

[Allie+Tess&Kipp]

There is an Aussie I used to run into a fair amount at the dog parks. He was about 2-1/2 years old. My BC at the time was about 1-1/2 years old. Comparing the Aussie to my BC, I would say he was much calmer, much more independent (in terms of wandering off on his own instead of sticking with his owner--returned with recall, though), and made a lot less noise.

 

All that said, I think my BC Tess is unusual in that she is VERY talkative. My other, Kipp, is not nearly as noisy as Tess and her constant commentary on her daily life.

 

The other day I ran into some neighbors out walking and they used to have two Aussies. We were discussing it, and they thought in general Aussies were more people-friendly than BCs. They have known some of both, and their opinion was that BCs are dogs who stick close to their people, and Aussies like everyone.

 

I would recommend a search of the boards here for "Aussie" or "Australian Shepherd" because this question comes up every now and again. Sometimes it is just about how to tell the difference between them looking at them, often leading to discussions about personalities as well.

[MaggieDog]

I helped a friend of mine w/ a litter of Aussie pups and I have to agree that they seem a lot less serious and more happy go lucky with people and animals than the BCs I've met.

 

My Maggie is a very soft dog but she's also a very serious dog - sometimes I wish she was more laid back about things, but any task I give her becomes her 'job' and must be performed exactly lol. The Aussies I've known seem to see everything and every being as play related instead.

 

BCs also seem to strike me as reserved until they get to know you and then they're your best buddy; Aussies love first, ask questions later ime.

[leahluvsherpups]

What I've observed, having two of each breed, is that the Aussie is much more playful and happy go lucky yet can be very grumpy at times. As for demanding attention, I'm afraid that my two Border Collies are much more demanding than my Aussies. My BC's are also more interested in other dogs than my Aussies. So you see they can vary in differences yet be alot like eachother. I love both breeds very much.

[Alaska]

Read this thread.

 

Welcome to the BC boards. The search function will help you find the answers to many questions. I remembered that this recent thread had a particularly good discussion of your question. I found it by searching for threads with the word "aussie" in the title.

 

Speaking of which...Elaine if you're listening you might consider adding the above thread to the archive section.

[Pat W.]

As the owner of both an Aussie and Border Collies I can give you a pretty good idea of the differences. Some aussies can be hard headed, they are not ignorant or stupid by any means but they do have their own way of thinking things should be done. They have an excellent work ethinc and will go to the ends of the earth for their person.

Some can be very much one person dogs, mine is. Although he loves the kids and is great with them given the choice of playing with them and playing with me he will pick me paws down every time. He is very protective of me and is very selective of what dogs outside his pack he will allow to come over and visit. Aussies are talkers and have alot to say about alot of things. They can be more independent than what you are use to. Where my one of my Sr's and my female BC are both snugglers, Riley will only tolerate so much before he retreats downstairs at bedtime although he can be needy at times. I always say this about the differences about BC's and Aussies: When asked to do something a border will say: Ok how many times would you like it done and would you like a coke with that? An Aussie says " I'll do it for you once but you get your own darn coke" ) This is said very tounge in cheek and not a put down on aussies as I love mine dearly.

[jrid]

My Aussies were not nearly as sound sensitive as my Border Collies and were much better watch dogs. I never worried about going to the ATM at night if I had my Aussie bitch with me. I used to think Aussies were much quirkier than Border Collies, but I am on the verge of changing my mind.