Your first bc

[Carson Crazies]

My first BC was a mix, unplanned, unprepared relatively impulsive sort of thing. She was hell on wheels, a nightmare of epic proportions, and ruined me completely. Somehow I keep coming back for more. I'm not sure what that says about me.

 

PS - Zippy says hi.

[momtotwo]

My Zak was my first border collie...well actually Margo was mine first but they both had different ideas!

 

My dad purchased Zak as a suprise replacement for my Mom's mini-weiner dog that had died. (Read as: my Dad wanted a border collie and past it off as a gift!) The puppy arrived while they were out of town. I kept him until they got back. I had been on a waiting list for Margo and went to see her the day she was born and then babysat her at 3 weeks and then brought her home a few weeks later. She was a single pup litter.

 

Well Zak and I bonded like no other dog I've ever had before. He is attached to my side. He works for me like it's the greatest gift he can offer. Margo didn't mind me at all, didn't like to work livestock with me but was completely devoted to my Dad!

 

When it got so bad that they would have to lock Zak up when I was leaving because he would 1) sit at my car wait for me and 2) get in my car and refuse to come out...we switched! He has been with me every since and he is my constant companion. Margo still lives with my parents and her and my Dad are best of friends. She loves to work with him!

 

So basically he picked me. I know this is crazy but he's going to be 6 in March and I know he has lots of time left but I am already thinking about how I'll deal with it when he's gone. Yeah we've got a new puppy and I love her dearly but he's my dog. I will be lost without him!

[Shetlander]

Quinn (3 1/2 years old) is my first Border Collie. For years I avoided the breed because I thought they were always as intense as when I'd see them at agility or obedience shows. Eventually I noticed that some training club friends had Border Collies that were pleasant at home and lots of fun to boot. So I took the plunge. Other than the first month with Quinn, I've never regretted the decision. He is simply a blast to have around and extremely easy to live with.

 

He was a real handful until he turned about 6 months old however. I'm really not a big fan of puppies to begin with and I never had such an active, naughty, totally lacking an attention span, very little interest in me puppy as Quinn was. I will admit that during the first month, it was sheer pride that kept me from returning him to the breeder. However, I couldn't accept that my friends could handle Border Collies and I couldn't. Kinda lame but true. Things got much better the second month I had him. I found a schedule that worked for both of us as far as play time/training/walks/crate/hanging out together.

 

When he was about 5 months old, he approached me for the first time to snuggle. Before he had always been much too busy to stop for pets. That historic moment was shortly after I had left him with a sitter for 3 days so perhaps he may have developed some sort appreciation for all my efforts while I was gone. Ever since then, I've been basically ga ga about him and while still an independent dog, he is very much attached, quite affectionate and sensitive to my moods. He is a fantastic companion.

 

As far as preparing, I talked to other Border Collie owners and read Shaping Success by Susan Garrett about training her over the top Border Collie, Buzz. That book was my puppy rearing bible for Quinn and I referred to it often for both general and agility training during Quinn's first year. And I had two very good friends who talked me through and (sometimes down) the tough first few weeks with the coyote puppy who seemed to have moved into my house.

 

I can't imagine not having a Border Collie though I continue to love Shelties. It would be hard for me not to have either of those breeds but with any luck I won't be looking for another dog for years to come.

[Dan28]

It was around 1992 when I got my first BC, Kate. She was actually 75% BC 25% australian shepard. I was about 14 or so and my family had just moved back to Missouri after living in VA for about 4 years. We lived in the country, had 80 acres of land, and had a neighbor with over a 1000 acres and a cattle farm. His pure BC Tippy had some pups and he gave us one.

 

I have to say, Kate was the best dog I have ever had. We had many dogs, as my parents rescued about 8 golden retrievers from a puppy mill, as well as a few Rottweilers and a lot of various other breeds over the years. We also always had some beagles for hunting.

 

Still Kate, my BC mix was the smartest of them all. She would kind of herd all the dogs for me, as they ran free for the most part. I never really trained her to, we just kind of picked it up between us, I would tell her to go get a dog and she would go bite litely on its snout and it would cower down. She did this to the Rotties, the goldens, a boxer and any of the others too. Almost all of them were bigger than she was, as she ran kind of small, but they all knew she was in charge.

The only dog she ever deferred to was her mom, who really never seemed to want to mess with her. Kate would always get so happy and submissive when they were together, but her mom Tippy just went about her business and almost ignored Kate.

 

Once an armidillo got under the house, I simply put Kate under the house and told her to "Go get it" and she went and grabbed its tail and drug it back to me.

 

When I decided to get another dog, I really had no choice but to get a BC, thanks to Kate. My new pup Gus has some big paws to fill.

 

These are the only pics I have of Kate, she is about 4 or 5 years old in the first and years older in the second.

 

 

[Laurelin]

My first BC was a mix, unplanned, unprepared relatively impulsive sort of thing. She was hell on wheels, a nightmare of epic proportions, and ruined me completely. Somehow I keep coming back for more. I'm not sure what that says about me.

 

PS - Zippy says hi.

 

Aww, I looked at your blog! It's been a long time since I've seen your crew. Everyone looks great.

 

Tell Zippy hi back from the four crazies here. (And ask him if he wants a really really bad little big eared papillon puppy )

 

I'm enjoying everyone's stories so much.

[SoloRiver]

I used to have a Papillon. I think the two breeds compliment each other pretty well in the sense that, if you like Border Collies, then Papillons are likely to be the ONLY toy breed that appeals to you. (I have a soft spot for Poms, however -- my first dog was a Pom. If I can ever find another one half as cool as she was, I'll have another someday.) I had the Border Collies first, then added the Papillon, and ended up rehoming him because he hated Solo's guts and really, really wanted to be an only dog, or at least the favorite dog, and it was very disruptive to have a seven pound dog constantly attacking Solo (who weighs over 50 and is 23" at the shoulder), not to mention dangerous for said seven pound dog. But, while I had him we did have many good times and trained in agility, and now he finally lives with HIS person, the one he was looking for. So anyway, I miss Skeeter and feel like a failure for having rehomed him (because I have zero respect for 90% of the people I know who have rehomed a dog) but I have to admit we're all a lot happier without him around.

 

So, the perspective of a failed Papillon owner is that Papillons have much less of an attention span than Border Collies do, and are not as focused, and not nearly as biddable, although they can have craploads of drive and be just about as fast for their size. Skeeter would have been a monster agility dog; I got him from a former World Team member as a rescue and intended for him to be my next agility trial dog. He had ridiculous amounts of drive, and tenacity that made me wonder if a JRT got into the Papillon barn at whatever puppy mill he came from. But I sometimes got frustrated with him because I had to do what most people have to do with dogs to keep his attention during training, you know, the whole make sure you are the most interesting thing in the room, use a high pitched voice, yadda yadda yadda -- stuff that I NEVER had to do with Solo or Fly because they were just focused on me all the time no matter what. And now I've raised Jett from a puppy, and I can't say it was very hard to raise and train her either, and she is naturally focused on me all the time and wanting to know what the job is. (They are all working bred dogs, or in Solo's case, carelessly bred from pretty decent working background dogs.)

 

If you are used to Papillons then a Border Collie is going to be a piece of cake. I really do believe that for someone who genuinely likes working with and training dogs, compared to most other breeds, Border Collies are essentially point and shoot. I mean, if Solo was basically point and shoot training wise, and he's wacko, then I would say that statistically speaking you have a pretty good chance of landing a point and shoot dog. I would not worry about it.

[3DogMayhem]

My first BC Kerri

 

Got her in 1993 from a farm, her and her littermates grew up with bulls on the other side of the barn Both parents were used as working dogs. I knew nothing about BC's and only found her from a farmers scribbled note at the local store. She picked me out by sitting on my foot and watching me.

 

She was a wild puppy, gave me a few grey hairs but always was with me. Made me laugh at the things I let her get into, like the nearly 8 foot rubber tree with the 2 foot pot that was obviously a perfect spot to bury her chewy. I never did anything more with her other than basic obedience, she was just a good dog after her crazy puppy years. I didn't know about agility and other sports weren't that big in our city. We walked, went to the park, went swimming, played a lot.

She was very trusting and would do anything I asked of her, at least once. In her older years, I started her in agility for fun but every time I got her to do a jump, she'd run back to her bed on the deck and give me the look that said "let the young pups do this."

 

Made a few mistakes along the way, the worst being encouraging resource guarding. I didn't know at the time, it was just cute to watch this puppy growl and protect her toy or chewy. I would play "monster" with her and she would growl more and more until I left her alone. I paid for that years later when I had to start teaching her that chewies were "mine" and had to put heavy work gloves on because she would bite me when I took them away. in the end though, I could walk up to her, pet her, take her bone away and she would do nothing. I also encouraged her rivalry with the cat next door, not realizing that again, in a few years, it would be almost fatal for the cat. She hated cats until the day she passed away.

 

Between her, my second BC Chloe, my labX and Emmett the BCX, I don't think I could ever own another dog other than BC or lab. Except a boston terror. For some reason those little brats appeal to me

[Laurelin]

I used to have a Papillon. I think the two breeds compliment each other pretty well in the sense that, if you like Border Collies, then Papillons are likely to be the ONLY toy breed that appeals to you. (I have a soft spot for Poms, however -- my first dog was a Pom. If I can ever find another one half as cool as she was, I'll have another someday.) I had the Border Collies first, then added the Papillon, and ended up rehoming him because he hated Solo's guts and really, really wanted to be an only dog, or at least the favorite dog, and it was very disruptive to have a seven pound dog constantly attacking Solo (who weighs over 50 and is 23" at the shoulder), not to mention dangerous for said seven pound dog. But, while I had him we did have many good times and trained in agility, and now he finally lives with HIS person, the one he was looking for. So anyway, I miss Skeeter and feel like a failure for having rehomed him (because I have zero respect for 90% of the people I know who have rehomed a dog) but I have to admit we're all a lot happier without him around.

 

So, the perspective of a failed Papillon owner is that Papillons have much less of an attention span than Border Collies do, and are not as focused, and not nearly as biddable, although they can have craploads of drive and be just about as fast for their size. Skeeter would have been a monster agility dog; I got him from a former World Team member as a rescue and intended for him to be my next agility trial dog. He had ridiculous amounts of drive, and tenacity that made me wonder if a JRT got into the Papillon barn at whatever puppy mill he came from. But I sometimes got frustrated with him because I had to do what most people have to do with dogs to keep his attention during training, you know, the whole make sure you are the most interesting thing in the room, use a high pitched voice, yadda yadda yadda -- stuff that I NEVER had to do with Solo or Fly because they were just focused on me all the time no matter what. And now I've raised Jett from a puppy, and I can't say it was very hard to raise and train her either, and she is naturally focused on me all the time and wanting to know what the job is. (They are all working bred dogs, or in Solo's case, carelessly bred from pretty decent working background dogs.)

 

If you are used to Papillons then a Border Collie is going to be a piece of cake. I really do believe that for someone who genuinely likes working with and training dogs, compared to most other breeds, Border Collies are essentially point and shoot. I mean, if Solo was basically point and shoot training wise, and he's wacko, then I would say that statistically speaking you have a pretty good chance of landing a point and shoot dog. I would not worry about it.

 

It sounds like you did what's best for Skeeter. I've met a few paps that aren't very sociable. Fortunately (and I really credit the breeders for breeder for the correct temperament) mine have all been very happy little fun dogs that love other dogs. summer takes a bit to warm up to other dogs but she likes them okay.

 

I'm fully confident in breed choice by now even though everyone still thinks I'm crazy. Borders are just my ideal really in breeds- intelligence, drive, energy, intuition, and not to mention they're gorgeous dogs. My one issue with paps is their size, I'm not a small dog person really. I got Summer because I was then in an apartment with a 20 lb weight limit. If it's gotta be a small dog, it's going to be a pap. I don't regret it at all, Summer is the best dog. Now that I've switched living situations, I'm ready for something bigger. Between the paps and the shelties I've dealt with every 'what if' I've read for bcs already on some sort of scale. I'm sure in borders though things can manifest themselves more severely but I've had a dog with separation anxiety, ocd, toy obsessiveness, extreme shyness, prey drive, destructiveness, nippiness, and I could just go on and on.

 

As far as paps and drive goes, my dogs have been very very drivey. Surprisingly so for their size. Rose is a bit calmer, but she's not lacking in drive, it's just confidence. Training with her is always bringing her confidence up, so it's easy to accidentally shut her down. She's never going to be doing any real obedience or agility just because of those issues. The other 5 have been very biddable for the most part, except Bernard. Beau is one that has a short attention span though. He's also not very serious- everything is a joke to him. He's obsessive though. I had to do a lot of control exercises because he was one of those dogs that would walk all over you to try to get you to throw the tennis ball all day long. He's just as energetic as the JRTs we know. He's crazy fun though. Summer is the best dog to work with, she's very serious in nature and just gives everything to you. She's 110% focused on me when we train and she's so easy to figure things out. I've never had a dog so connected all the time, I love it! The only thing is she could care less about toys which makes exercise a lot more frequent with her.

 

And my sister's crazy papillon pup (Bernard) is the most stubborn thing you've ever seen and so destructive. I'm home helping take care of my mother while she's sick and he's giving me a run for the money. The little bugger is 5 lbs of mischief. He's fast and athletic too and chews up everything. He's also impossible to train- just doesn't care to do what you want. He's brilliant just not biddable in any sense of the word. Food, whatever, he doesn't care. Tenacious also describes him, he's got a lot of prey drive and once he's zoned on something, that's the end of it. Just today I chased him down after a squirrel he decided to try to kill. If you get him on on a toy he'll latch on and tit's hard to get him to let go (We're working on a let go, but he's difficult). I figure after him, I can take anything!

 

The biggest difference is when a pap is under-exercised they can run it off inside without killing the house. A bc is substantially bigger, though!

 

Sorry, I got a little off topic! I'm loving the stories!

[JaderBug]

Technically my first BC was an old boy named Joey- my parents got him when they got married and he was put to sleep when I was about 6 or 7 due to heart worms- unfortunately I do remember that, not a good experience. By the time we found them they were coming out of his nose. Poor boy. RIP.

 

The BC I consider to be my first was Cody. I grew up with him, he was my buddy. He didn't like playing with much except for this basketballs... he loved them so much even after they got deflated when dad drove over them with the tractor.

 

The only two pictures I have of him...

 

 

[Shetlander]

The biggest difference is when a pap is under-exercised they can run it off inside without killing the house. A bc is substantially bigger, though!

 

Quinn came up with Comfy Chair Surfing during a very cold, very snowy spell we had a couple years ago. The photo is really poor resolution but you get the idea. He runs mad laps around my house, hits the chair at about Warp 5 and over it goes.