Hi. Just found out that I have a BC

[Halbie]

Hello, I'm new here and boy am I glad that I found this place. I've read most of the FAQ and some of the archived threads so hopefully I won't ask too many of the same questions.

 

I am the proud and happy owner of an adorable 8 month old puppy named Cassie. I adopted her right at around 10 weeks and things have been wonderful, and stressful, ever since. For a while it was believed that she was mostly a retriever, possibly a mix of Chesapeake and Labrador, but a few weeks ago I finally pinned down her breed. Well, as best as I could.

 

Cassie's mother was pregnant (and I believe a mixed breed) when she was rescued from a shelter. A very kind woman took her in and she gave birth to an incredibly mixed lot of puppies shortly after. After surviving a round of questioning and providing references, I was allowed to adopt Cassie. It's my first dog so they made sure I'd be a good dad before allowing me to adopt.

 

A few weeks ago she started going through some changes which allowed me to learn more about her. She always had fluffy, half-perked ears but her tail hair started getting really long and so did the fur around her neck. She was always all-brown, but some white hairs started growing on her tail. After talking to some friends it was determined that she is mostly a border collie. And after reading up BCs, a lot of things started to make sense. It really was a "light bulb" moment where everything all of the sudden makes sense. All her behaviors, her intelligence, etc. were now explained to me.

 

She's about 23 pounds now and I have no idea how big she'll get. I know the range for female border collies and I guess she'll peak right at the low end. She was the runt of the litter so I always believed that she would be on the smaller side. And she's still all brown with a reddish tint that comes through some times and just a bit of white starting to grow on the tail.

 

Anyway, I hope to learn a lot from you all and boy was this post was a lot longer than I intended. I do tend to ramble on when talking about my dog. Cassie may not be a pure bred, but it looks like "border collie" is her most dominant trait.

 

As for a question, I was wondering what you thought was the most important thing for me to know about border collies? Especially since I only learned of her heritage a few weeks ago.

 

Here's a link to a pic.

 

http://homepage.mac.com/halbie/.Public/ct4.jpg

 

I promise to put any other pics in the picture thread. Thanks!!!

[prosperia]

Oh yea, she's definitely got some BC in her. Red dogs are so pretty. She's beautiful.

Welcome to the board!

Oops, the question. . .I would say that the most important thing to realise about a BC is how much they need to be a real part of the family. Not a backyard dog, but the kind of dog that goes everywhere with you.

But there are a loooot of important things to know. How about you tell us what you have learned from your girl so far .

They have a way of training us. . .

[juliepoudrier]

Pretty red dog. Welcome!

 

As for the most important thing to know--I'd say it's that they learn *very quickly,* which means they can learn bad habits as quickly as good ones, so be ever vigilant that she's not getting away with stuff that might really aggravate you when she's older.

 

J.

[Cheri McDonald]

Welcome to the Boards. Cassie is a very pretty girl.

 

Ditto what Julie and Prosperia have said. They really are intelligent and when bored will have their own entertainment(good or bad).

 

Enjoy her and welcome to our crazy world.

[Halbie]

I've learned that she is a spaz, does that count? That's actually the only real problem I have with her. She gets so excited around people that it takes forever for her to settle down. She doesn't bite, but she may try to mouth people but a quick "No Bite" stops her from doing that and switches her over to her "only lick" mode.

 

I've learned to be very careful because she picks up my habits and what the mean very quickly. I fake leaving the house often so she won't be able to pick up on when I am really leaving.

 

She loves to run as fast as she can. When we go outside the first thing she does is run in circles for a few minutes.

 

In regards to the "real part of the family" I have good news and bad news. I live alone so there is only me living with her, but because of that we do everything together. I probably let her sleep with me more than I should. I only work part time and some of that is from home so she isn't left alone all that often. I take her to visit people, people come to visit her (not me ), and I take her to work from time to time.

 

She knows all the basic commands but getting her to "come" when she is excited or outside doesn't work that well. That's the only thing that didn't "take" right away.

[Halbie]

Thank you for your "welcome"s and your input. Before I was able to determine that she had some border in her, I was getting ready to ask some friends if their dogs ever looked bored to them. I thought that Cassie looked bored but had never really seen that before in a dog. I'd seen tired and playful, but never bored.

 

Since learning that borders can get bored I have made sure that we play more together and that more of her toys are interactive.

[prosperia]

"In regards to the "real part of the family" I have good news and bad news. I live alone so there is only me living with her, but because of that we do everything together."

 

Oh, well thats really what I meant.

All she needs is to be with you.

Some people think they can get a BC and put it in the backyard like some sort of lawn ornament and wonder why they are destructive and cause problems.

 

But it sounds like you guys are tighter than bark on a tree. There is a lot of good info and knowledgeable people here, so dont be afraid to ask questions.

[Joe Anne]

Congrats and a very warm welcome to the boards. She is awesomely beautiful and most definately BC (and it looks like a dominant percentage!)

As a BC mom and a professional trainer, I say DITTO, to everything that has been said so far, and can not emphasize enough training. Keep it VERY POSITIVE, and know there is no grey area. You must teach her it is either allowed or it is not.

They WILL occupy themselves with something, so they MUST, be exercised and mentally challenged on a daily basis. Incorporate training into your daily routines. NILIF (nothing in life is free). Make her sit or down or come or whatever for everything she wants (play, treats, dinner, bye bye, etc).

If you are anywhere where you can get professional help with training, do so. Like Pet Smart (for the basics). Also you said she is your 1st dog, so more importantly, even if you think you have the basics down, it is real important especially with our BC's, to do it right the first time. Many well intentioned people approach training in a way that it becomes more difficult than need be, so any input from people who have worked with and or trained BC's is gonna be invaluable to you. You have definately made a right move in coming to these boards. The people here have just about every and any experience with BC's and dogs in general that you could want, from long time professionals to 1st time BC parents to working BC's, pet BC's, rescuers, vets, you name it, we have it all here! and as many opinions/suggestions etc. as you will ever need! LOL

As far as teaching come, that is a very gradual and very at times long process to be successful. My advice: start INSIDE, on a short leash, with no distractions, once that is working no less than 80% of the time you call her, start adding small distractions (like call her while bouncing a ball...or roll the ball after you call etc. (small distractions & on lead)she must come to you and not the distraction. Then move to outdoors and do the same...adding slowly the 3 D's (distance, duration, & distractions). With distance, I mean lengthen your leash by say 10' increments up to about 50'). Only when you start getting 80% recall do you replace your 50' leash or rope with a very light line that she barely can feel on her, extended to however long you wish. I give Phoenix about 130' now, and his recalls are as close to 100% as I "think", I can get with minor distractions, so far. You get the concept..! Do NOT rush your recall, it takes time, patience and lots of practice, maybe a yr or 2 or more, so tread slowly. Every dog is different of course, so know your dog when getting any advice, but always remember as smart as they are and as much faith as we put in them, they still need to be guided and mentally challenged.

There is a saying with alot of BC trainers and people... you show a BC one time, then they decide if they want to do it or not! so your job is to make sure they want to do it ! LOL!!!!

Enjoy your new friend... you sound like you are gonna be a great Dad!!!

[Joe Anne]

Halbie...read the new thread "how do you know you are a BC person..." you will get a good idea about our awesome BC's...

It's a fun thread and I am sure you can already add to it!

[Halbie]

Thanks. I have worked my way through the thread and added one of my own.

 

You'll be happy to know that Cassie and I did go through an 6 week obedience school course so I have received some "expert" guidance. But from reading the posts here, I realize that I am going to learn a lot more here than I did in that class.

[Jen C]

We are "accidental" BC parents too - welcome to the club!! The most important thing I can think of to tell you (and I am certainly no expert) has been said before - find your pup a job, keep her busy and tired, or she will find herself a job, and you might not like her choice !!

[Halbie]

I have heard that "accidental" parents are the best kind. And the best looking too. We should keep that last part to ourselves, we don't want to upset the other members here.

 

 

Thank you all again for all your advice and thanks to the others who haven't posted in this thread but have posted in other threads here. I have learned a lot in the last 3 days reading many of the threads and plan on learning even more from all of you and from Cassie.