Border Collies vs. Aussies

[hsnrs]

Michele, did you steal my Alfie? Sounds like my Aussie and my heart dog.

[martySQ]

Mary... congrats! Babies are a whole nother world! Have a safe, uneventful pregnancy!

 

 

I'll admit, I'm not yet middle aged, but this struck me as hilarious.

 

Working as an animal rescue volunteer, the difference between BCs and Aussies, temperament-wise, as far as I've seen, is the BC drive to please and the way they look at you. That soul-searching stare... the intense one-on-one connection that BCs will try to form even in the first five minutes of me taking them out... I met Colin, a gorgeous red and white BC (possible mix, we don't know of course) on Friday. His eyes are an unusual color for a BC, but his temperament is very BC-like, at least in my experience--within five minutes he had seriously bonded with me, because I was asking him to do commands for treats (which ended up not being necessary--he is so eager to please) and giving him intense one-on-one attention; he kept coming up to me as I was kneeling in front of him and asking for hugs (pressing his body against my legs and his nose into my side and staring into my eyes). After a twenty minute walk, he didn't want to go off with the employee who was going to let him run with the other dogs in the yard. He kept making eye contact with me and coming to me or sitting and refusing to budge with the guy. They laughed and asked if I wanted them to go get his papers now (and boy did I, but we can't because I'm pregnant and after the baby we just can't afford another living being in the house right now). But I literally had to tell Colin, "OK, you can go, go play!" before he would walk with the employee to go in the yard, but as soon as I said that and gestured to release him, he went happily, tail wagging. He is so great I'm going to post him in the rescue section actually... Here: http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=27947

 

The Aussies I've met just seem playful--they're BEAUTIFUL dogs--but they don't seem to have as intense a desire to please and form a human bond. This is just my experience though, and I'm no expert.

[jrid]

I have had one wonderful Aussie bitch and one that was nuttier than a fruitcake. There is a blue merle Aussie male dog that comes to my house when I get home who has the most stable temperament of any dog I have ever known. He is great with kids, cats and other dogs. He tends to intimidate people who don't know him because he makes direct eye contact and does not wag his nub when greeting them, but say his name and his body language will let you know he is glad to see you. If I could find another Aussie like him I would not hesitate to get it.

[MicheleS.]

Michele, did you steal my Alfie? Sounds like my Aussie and my heart dog.

 

Alfie's beautiful. Love his eyes

[pansmom]

Not to hijack, but thank you! We had been trying to conceive for eight or nine months before we did so I'm really, really excited! We had started to worry we couldn't.

 

Mary... congrats! Babies are a whole nother world! Have a safe, uneventful pregnancy!

[Gloria Atwater]

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QUOTE(Tara B @ Mar 24 2010, 01:12 PM)

I have always wanted to ask this of Border Collie people: Border Collies vs Aussies?

 

I am wondering about the differences you see in working (not herding!) and general beahvior.

............

 

What is the appeal? Is it all about coat colour? They seem to be very popular. Yet when i started searching for a working dog BCs were #1 and aussies didnt even make the list.

 

 

Hey there ~

 

I am a confirmed BC girl, but I've owned Aussie/BC crosses, and I work with a close friend who is an Aussie breeder and trialer.

 

The only "work" I've seen Aussies do is herding, so I can't speak for any other activity, but I do note definite differences in behavior. Now, I will qualify that by saying that I do NOT think there are many blanket statements that can be made saying "all Border collies are this" or "all Aussies are that." Variances in temperament are quite broad within both breeds. I've known silly Aussies and silly BCs, serious Aussies and serious BCs, snappish Aussies and snappish BCs, aloof Aussies and aloof BCs, and ditto again for friendliness.

 

However, I *do* note some behavioral differences in other ways. Foremost, I believe border collies tend to have an intensity that most Aussies don't quite have. I don't think Aussies are as prone to fixations or obsessions, as BCs can sometimes be.

 

Within Aussies themselves, there are of course lots of variations. I note definite differences between the show and work lines. Some of the working lines can be fairly intense, too, but show Aussies, in my view, tend to be bouncier, bark-ier, and more apt to watch their handler/trainer than the working lines do. The working Aussies seem to focus more on the job, than their human. But the show lines seem prone to really watching their humans for their cues, and I'd say they can be less focused on their work, thus taking longer to train if their owners want their show Aussie to work sheep.

 

I think the appeal for Aussies as pets, though, is the lack of that BC intensity. I rarely hear of an Aussie fixating on the cat, or compulsively chasing bird-shadows across the lawn. They are an active, intelligent, vigorous dog but I don't know that they require as much stimulating exercise as most BCs. Our old Aussie/BC girls would be happy with a romp and a run, but my BCs need as much mental activity and engagement as physical. A day of just hanging out at a sheepdog trial wears out my 8 month old pup, Gael, simply because she's fully engaging every sense she owns, the entire time.

 

Yet in my humble opinion, that intensity is what makes BCs the premier working dog. There are some very good working Aussie lines out there. My friend's Aussies are fine dogs and if I wanted an Aussie, I'd get one of hers. But in general, I prefer my BCs because it seems, to me at least, that one sometimes has to work a good deal harder and/or longer, to really draw out an Aussie's full working potential. Even if an Aussie has tons of talent, I get the impression that reaching a sense of teamwork can be harder, and reaching working maturity can take longer than with working BCs.

 

Not sure I answered your questions, as it's late and my thoughts are getting jumbled, but I hope this is food for thought!

Cheers ~

 

Gloria

[hsnrs]

Thank you Michele. Alfie is a girl; we are bad at names. She is from working lines so she does do the fixate on cats thing.

[coyotecreek]

I admit..I do like BC's alot..probably most out of both the breeds..but my Kate is a cross between the two..I love her dearly..I dont know which of her traits though some would attribute to the BC or to the Aussie! LOL

 

Ill be honest..Aussies are VERY popular in my area..and I think due to the popularity, alot of people who shouldnt be breeding these dogs are breeding them and Im sorry to say Ive encountered alot of aussies with temperment problems..as far as either being kind of unpredictable or being so timid they are on the verge of aggressive..

 

Ive also had the pleasure of meeting afew aussies in my area who were very even tempered and loving..

 

Most BC's Ive met..even those who have no inclination to work, have been super friendly dogs..

 

Ive of the mindset though, that each dog is somewhat of an individual in alot of aspects.

 

Kate was just introduced to sheep the other weekend and she got glowing remarks from the instructor as to how much ability and instinct she had..but also how in tune she was to me..again, I dont know if its the aussie or the BC coming out in her...or just Kate..

[Jeanne Joy]

For many years you could say, Australian Shepherds lived to work for their master and Border Collies lived to work. However, they weren’t the obsessive-compulsive dogs you see today. They were common sense dogs with a job to do. They had a purpose. That was twenty-thirty years ago. Today there are so many people raising Aussies and Border Collies for agility competition, show dogs, pets it is difficult to make a blanket statement about their character.

 

The Australian Shepherds I grew up with were stock-savvy stockdogs. You could trust your life with them. If an old mother cow knocked you to the ground you were confident your Aussie would give his life if necessary to defend you against her attack. Most of the Border Collies I knew growing up were sheep dogs. They were good dogs, but they didn’t have enough sand to work cattle. Today, there are some good working cattle bloodlines.

 

As a general rule, Border Collies as working dogs respond to pressure by moving away from it. With some it is even necessary to step back away from them to widen their outrun, but not so much in Aussies. Australian Shepherds on the other hand are upright, close workers. They generally initiate movement and are likely to move into pressure until taught how to yield. Aussies were originally bred for handling large bands of sheep on the open range. They also had to defend the flock against predators. You have to remember that Livestock Guardian Dogs were not commonly used in the United States until the 1970s.

[MrSnappy]

I've got two border collies, two supposed Aussie/something crosses and one border collie X Aussie. The latter is far and away my favourite dog. He drove me batshit when he was younger because he seemed to be very stubborn, but in retrospect maybe the problem was me. He thinks a lot more than my other dogs do, and he doesn't engage in behaviours because they're hardwired into him. The border collies are faster and practically standing on their heads to do something, but Tweed learns a behaviour more completely than they do because he works at it to get it right instead of trying to do it and 400 other things at the same time. He's got a way better sense of humour than the border collies do as well.

 

The two Aussie/something crosses are both idiots. Only one of the 5 dogs has any stock sense, but that's because he was bred for it. But if I had my druthers, I'd take a second Tweed over another border collie any day.

 

RDM

[AmandaMJL]

I have a BC/Aussie mix boy, Fluke. I realllllllllllllllllly did not like his mother, she comes from strong working lines and I'm betting if you look up bitch in the dictionary, her photo is there! I know the BC lines well his father is from, as his father is my pure BC boy's brother. I was very concerned getting him that he would be like his mother in personality, but I fell for him. I will say that a year later, I'm thrilled that we took him home. He's much goofier than my BCs, he's always happy and always making me laugh. My BCs are much more serious than Fluke. I now can't imagine not having an aussie mix in my life. No, he's not pure, but I can definitely see the appeal from spending time with Fluke of the aussie breed.