what is a Border Collie?

[Shetlander]

By far the most common one for me is that almost hushed, awed comment on how much exercise those border collies need. Someone's drummed that REALLY hard into people's brains over here.

 

I often hear that too, usually after someone has linked Border Collies to agility or Frisbee. I also hear "those dogs are really hyper." One of the funniest conversations on that subject was when a visitor to my office noticed Quinn, then launched into how smart Border Collies are but how much exercise they need and they need to have a job and they are such hyper dogs and..." His voice trailed off because as he was talking, Quinn merely stood next to me (off leash, of course), watching the guy with a friendly look on his face. The visitor slowly resumed talking, "But...actually... your dog.... looks very mellow." I told him Quinn's mellow was part of having enough exercise and mental stimulation.

[Anda]

Then there are those who have seen that famous BC (I've forgotten his name, he knew a huge number of object names) on the TV a while back.

 

 

Rocco! Our idol

[Laurelin]

I don't have a bc yet, but I'm already noticing the public perception issue. Whenever anyone finds out about me looking to add another dog next year, they always ask what. I've gotten very reluctant to say what breed I'm most interested in. The typical response is a horrified look and a comment about how hyper those dogs are. I've also gotten a lot of 'You live in the city, you shouldn't have a dog that was bred to herd sheep. It'll be hyperactive, etc.' I tend to just shrug. I've taken to saying 'I'm not really sure what kind of dog' (which is true about the immediate next dog) and just leaving off the part about me being most interested in border collies.

 

I also mentioned getting a border collie on the sheltie board and was met with some interesting responses and stories about how many people had relatives with crazy bcs or how much harder it is to run a bc in agility than a sheltie. A lot of those people though are sports people and I think they only see bcs when they're at agility practice or flyball and the dogs are really ramped up. Either that or the only dogs they're around are sports bred dogs. It's probably a combination of both.

[desertranger]

Laurelin 'You live in the city, you shouldn't have a dog that was bred to herd sheep. It'll be hyperactive, etc.' 'You live in the city, you shouldn't have a dog that was bred to herd sheep. It'll be hyperactive, etc.' 'You live in the city, you shouldn't have a dog that was bred to herd sheep. It'll be hyperactive, etc.' 'You live in the city, you shouldn't have a dog that was bred to herd sheep. It'll be hyperactive, etc.' 'You live in the city, you shouldn't have a dog that was bred to herd sheep. It'll be hyperactive, etc.' 'You live in the city, you shouldn't have a dog that was bred to herd sheep. It'll be hyperactive, etc.' 'You live in the city, you shouldn't have a dog that was bred to herd sheep. It'll be hyperactive, etc.'

 

 

 

May I ask where these people get there info from?

 

 

If you feel that you can handle a BC. Can deal with the responsibilty that is a BC you may also find yourself responsible enough to move out of the city.

 

 

Cities are not good for children, animals and other living things.

[JohnLloydJones]

"But...actually... your dog.... looks very mellow." I told him Quinn's mellow was part of having enough exercise and mental stimulation.

 

I have lost count of how many times I have had that conversation.

[IronHorse]

desertranger;

Cities are not good for children, animals and other living things.

 

Although I have always lived rurally I wouldn't agree with this statement.

However its a discussion probably better suited to another thread,I am finding the various responses to this thread quite interesting.

[Laurelin]

desertranger;

Although I have always lived rurally I wouldn't agree with this statement.

However its a discussion probably better suited to another thread,I am finding the various responses to this thread quite interesting.

 

I agree, but it's a little impossible for me to relocate to the country right now, lol! When I said city though, I didn't mean a metro. My 'city' has about 90,000 people so definitely not the country.

 

The point I was trying to make (and obviously failing) is that there seems to be a thought that you need a farm to have a border collie.

[juliepoudrier]

The point I was trying to make (and obviously failing) is that there seems to be a thought that you need a farm to have a border collie.

This is kind of an interesting "dichotomy" I think. As some have already said, livestock oriented folks (and some others) do seem to recognize border collies as stock dogs, whereas urban folks, not so much. And yet, if you mention a border collie to an urban type as described by Laurelin, the response is "they need to live on a farm." So while apparently they may not generally be recognized as stock dogs, they apparently are recognized as farm dogs. Interesting, and certainly related to the "hyper" and "need room to run" myths.

 

When I'm out and about in public with my dogs, which isn't all that often in circumstances unrelated to farms, livestock, or trials, people seem to recognize them as herding dogs, but don't always quite know what type of herding dog, probably because they are mostly smooth coats and not traditionally marked. I've had people come up to me after demos and ask about my dogs, and they're surprised to find out they're border collies. I ask them where they've learned what a border collie looks like, and most will reply with something like "Westminster." And that always gives me a great opening to get on my soapbox and talk about breeding practices. This particular audience is usually pretty receptive to the discussion as obviously by attending the demo they have shown an interest in the work the dogs do.

 

J.

[SoloRiver]

Cities are great for people who enjoy arts, entertainment, science, culture, education, tolerance, diversity, and not singlehandedly changing the demographics of the place in which they live. I live as far from the city as I've ever lived now (sorry, Eugene does not count as a city) and I do miss the city. I miss the food, the sights, the opportunities, and the parks. Ironically, I had much more open space conveniently at my disposal in the city (Philadelphia, and then San Francisco) than I do now. Sure, there's a lot of open space around here, but most of it is fenced and owned by someone else and off limits to me and my dogs, and the stuff that isn't, I have to drive to. I used to be four blocks from Golden Gate Park, where my dogs and I had acres and acres at their disposal. Saw more wildlife, too. Also, when I lived there, I wasn't the "only one," which was AWESOME, and now I am again (well, my husband and I) and it gets pretty old at times, but I digress.

 

For me and my dogs, there were two drawbacks to living in the city. The first was that we had no yard, so 4AM potty emergencies necessitated full-fledged walks. The second was that one of my dogs is anxious, and my inability to control his environment made life more stressful for him than it is now. Other than that, the city was a wonderful place for me and my dogs. We never ran out of places to go, things to do, or stuff to be socialized to. When I was raising my puppy, I could take her literally everywhere. Establishments in cities are typically more dog-friendly than in suburbs or rural areas, in my experience. In cities they know you are running your errands on foot and bringing your dog with you and will often offer you dog biscuits or a bowl of water for your dog to entice you to come in. In other areas, they expect you to leave the dog at home, or in the car.

 

I have only run into a handful of other Border Collie owners in the city, but they were all much better educated and conscientious about their dogs' needs than the suburban or rural owners I have known, with the exception of rural owners who have working stockdogs. To be a successful urban dog owner, you have to apply yourself and try a lot harder than you do in a cushy situation with a yard (says she who now lives in a cushy situation with a yard and knows the difference). The other Border Collie owners and I were the ones who were still at the park with the dogs even if it was raining outside. Our dogs were happy, healthy, and well-adjusted. We did not have the luxury of leaving our dogs in the backyards to get fat, because we didn't have backyards.

 

If the world had no cities it would be a really scary place. Sorry, for all the nice people who live in rural areas, there are a dozen really frightening people with truly Paleolithic attitudes who frankly don't want me living next door. No thanks.

 

Anyway, on another note, Solo, despite his weirdnesses, has acted as a good ambassador for the breed in the city. When we lived in Philadelphia and only had Solo, we got to know a young couple who had recently adopted a puppy from the local animal refuge without recognizing what breed it was. Their dog's needs soon became quite obvious, so they did some research and realized they had adopted a Border Collie. After reading about the breed, they despaired of ever being able to meet their dog's needs. But they saw me and Solo in the park every day and finally approached me about what they needed to do to have a well behaved Border Collie, as Solo is very well trained, knows tons of tricks, and is generally impressive to bystanders. So we talked and they asked me questions and I recommended a local training club. The dog stayed in the home, the couple became fixtures at the local park, and they ended up adopting another Border Collie.

[Anda]

Cities are not good for children, animals and other living things.

 

 

Add my name of the list of people disagreeing with this statement. Born and raised in a big city (2.5 million people), always had animals around, including the dozen of stray dogs I always took care of, and I live now in a city - well, kindda suburbia now - though it's actually the middle of Denver Tech Center. I think I'd go totally nuts to live in the county. Looks good in pictures, but I need convenience and civilization Plus, the 5 minute drive to work is absolutely delicious

[Shetlander]

I also mentioned getting a border collie on the sheltie board and was met with some interesting responses and stories about how many people had relatives with crazy bcs or how much harder it is to run a bc in agility than a sheltie. A lot of those people though are sports people and I think they only see bcs when they're at agility practice or flyball and the dogs are really ramped up. Either that or the only dogs they're around are sports bred dogs. It's probably a combination of both.

 

I used to be one of those Sheltie people. Between the well established Border Collie Hype that they need hours of exercise each day and seeing ramped up dogs at agility shows, I was convinced I'd never want to live with a "Border Freak." It was only after getting to know a couple of people at my club who had Border Collies that I learned that they were not always so intense or wound up and in fact are fantastic dogs to live with.

[Sue R]

I love cities - they keep most of the people out of the country.

 

I believe that people/parents/owners can make a satisfying, beneficial, rich, and complete life for themselves, their children, and their dogs wherever they live, with certain exceptions (high risk areas, extremely depressed areas, and so on). It takes time and effort, no matter where you live.

[Laurelin]

Add my name of the list of people disagreeing with this statement. Born and raised in a big city (2.5 million people), always had animals around, including the dozen of stray dogs I always took care of, and I live now in a city - well, kindda suburbia now - though it's actually the middle of Denver Tech Center. I think I'd go totally nuts to live in the county. Looks good in pictures, but I need convenience and civilization Plus, the 5 minute drive to work is absolutely delicious

 

I like being close to civilization too. Where we live now is really the best- a few acres, (longhorn and donkey pastures around us) but right outside city limits. Unfortunately I'm moving back out to an apartment which is not ideal but doable. Luckily our town has loads of parks and dog parks and trails to walk. It's not really a city unto itself, but a very country atmosphere even though it's grown rather large. I guess that's what it gets for being a town built around an ag school.

 

/End off topic/

 

About border collies needing farms, I'm not sure if it's just people connecting the dogs to working or if a lot is space. I know our shelter will adopt out a border collie to any idiot with a yard no matter how much they do with their dog or don't do with their dog. However, they would not adopt one to me (Or I'd have had one long ago) besides the fact that I do a lot with my dog, because I just happened to live in an apartment. I think a lot of people's idea or solution to a high energy dog is to throw it outside, after-all yard = exercise right?

[desertranger]

Oh boy this is fun.

 

Cities are great for people who enjoy arts, entertainment, science, culture, education, tolerance, diversity, and not singlehandedly changing the demographics of the place in which they live.

 

I enjoy all of the above. I also have all of the above, theater, arts, concerts, culture, education. Nope not education I live in California. We have one of the largest film festivals in the world, the largest tennis tournament and more golf courses than anywhere else in the world. I admit never having lived in a city and that the population in my town is <35,000.

 

I also have a night sky. I've met children who have never even seen the stars. The air is clean and the crime rate low and I leave my house unlocked. My cousin is a city dweller, she loves it there and has shown me how much excitement there can be. She has convinced me that the city is a nice place to visit on occasion. Despite the fact she has 4 locks on her door.

 

Laurelin, I was kidding. I get the same thing in reverse from my sibs. A litany of "You live in the desert and can't make a decent living there. It's no place to raise children"

 

On the bottom line you only have to ask yourself, are the dogs happy? If yes you're good to go.

 

Still I think the optimum size for a community is about 30,000.

[border_collie_crazy]

reading this thread, I must live in a weird area lol. around here BCs are working dogs. period. no "used to be's" no "originallys" no superficial understanding of what BCs are. but then, BCs are EXTREMLY common here..like to the point that more of the general public can identify a short smooth tri colour BC as a BC then can recignize a Golden Retriever(seriously, its something I have personally witnessed!). and not only are they wildly common..they are almost exlusivly working bred dogs. I am always curious so everyone I see with a BC I ask where it came from..I get 1 of 2 answers. either the dog came from a real farm where their parents worked stock for a living..or they came from the shelter. sport breds I have only run accross in the sport world..and even then the dogs is usually a result from an imported American sport bred dog, bred to a dog that came from a working farm around here lol. I like the attitude here, I cant imagine living in a place where people saw BCs are "hyperactive" "sport dogs" or "once used for..." I think I would go crazy!