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JBP
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Hello everyone,

My name is Jennifer and I have a 2 year old BC "Jill". I finally found a trainer (moved to my town--HOORAY!)and am just starting training for the first time. I am very excited (and Jill is too!).

I already have a good down and recall on her so we have been able to jump right in and get started. After two lessons, I'm chomping at the bit --no one told me this would be addicting.

I am hoping to get a few sheep from my trainer that are dog broke so he can send me home with "homework" until our next lesson.

Any advice for a newbie?

My ego is put away and my ears are open.

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Originally posted by JBP:

...no one told me this would be addicting...

My ego is put away and my ears are open.

If no one told you this would be addicting, you haven't been reading the Border Collie boards!

 

Welcome! When you have questions, check the archives by using the search (see it to the upper right of the screen). If you can't find help in the archives, post your question. Just try to be specific in the title and ask specific questions in each post, rather than general and "all-encompassing" questions that are much more difficult to address.

 

Anybody ever tell you about the $200,000 dog?

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You see, you get a Border Collie pup or dog or rescue dog. That's the cheap part. By the time you have seen what a working dog can do, gotten training for you and your dog, replaced your car with a pickup, bought a few acres, fenced it, gotten sheep, got a trailer for the sheep, etc., you wind up with a $200,000 dog. Not to mention getting another dog from lines you like, needing more land for more sheep, more fence for more land, a bigger pickup and a larger trailer, etc.

 

There are other folks who have written it much better than I, but you get my drift. Enjoy the dog!

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See, it's all in how you do it. Get enough dogs and you can work the price per dog way down. Six hundred dogs will be only $500 per dog, at $300,000 total. Of course, that doesn't include the feed bill.

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Well the way I look at it I've already done the big money thing when I got into horses so that covers the truck/trailer/land/fencing ohmygosh the fencing.

But y'all are right, the trainer is already telling my husband he'll have to get a pup so we each have one to handle

He and I will be working this week on making a coyote unfriendly pen for sheep protection at night. I walked around our pond today and looks like the coyotes got a goose last night.

Also will have to get on to my neighbor AGAIN about keeping their dog off our property (husky cross). She doesn't mess with our horses or calves but I think sheep would be too hard to resist.

 

Thanks again for the welcome (and warnings of empty pockets as this new obsession progresses!).

Jennifer

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Next thing you know, you'll need a burro and two Anatolians 'cuz they'e cool dogs too. You already have a farrier no doubt, so the burro will be no sweat.

The fencing thing is way fun too; any fence good enough to keep sheep in-predators out will hold horses even better. And a stock-combo trailer will hold three-four horses and a whole mess of sheep.

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EGADS! I've got the round pen already, but I think we'll use the roping pen more (175' x 250' ).

 

Well, my whistle came in the mail yesterday from BCIA and so I've been driving everyone crazy with it

 

Took my son out on the fourwheeler today and was letting the dogs (Jill and Brodie the Forrest Gump boxer) run. I let Jill circle the cows and had her stop on the balance point. Then we did both directions twice and walk up twice. Then I called her off. I was PUMPED!! woohoo

 

Looking forward to my next lesson!

Jennifer

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Hello-

Having been down this road, my experience was that I ended up spending a lot more time building fence, mucking out stalls, and putting myself in the poorhouse than I did training dogs. On the other hand, I learned about sheep by having to be the shepherd year after year. The dogs learned how to do practical work. We gained experience together, a bond that goes far deeper than trialing. Best of luck!

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Well, it's officially addicting now. We are probably going to enter our first trial next month.

 

Going to pick up sheep this weekend.

 

And now husband is ready to look for a dog for himself.

 

Hee hee

 

Jill is having a blast...we started working in the big field last night instead of the small paddock.

 

Jennifer

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