What is Your Border Collie Not Good At?

[Jedismom]

I thought there were some good points. Her basic premise is that being "working bred" makes them less suitable for a pet home, and to understand where those traits come from so you can better work with it. Just wondering what others thought.

 

http://agilitynet.co.uk/training/bordercollie_suekitchen_leewindeatt.html

[Debbie Meier]

Alot of the traits that she is identifying are ones that we are selecting away from while maintaining a high quality of working ability. An example, coping with noise, while we see many dogs owned by others that have issues with noise, we are not willing to accept that issue as the norm, and if we have dogs that do we consider that if we mate them to another dog and take care to watch for the issue to be passed on to the pups so that we can further breed away from it. The inability to cope with noise is a liability to us, there would be times that we would not be able to use the dog, such as when the thunderstorm is rolling in and the stock has to be brought in from the pasture. So, basically what she is considering to be a working dog trait(s), we call a fault, same with dealing with strangers, being over pressure sensitive, etc.

 

On the other hand, some of the pups that may be considered to be non working quality may have some of those less then desirable traits, often times the trait that makes them touchy for other applications prevented them from being the best stockdog they could be.

 

Anyway, just my opinion based on my own expirences with our dogs while raising and training their pups.

[Shetlander]

The inability to cope with noise is a liability to us, there would be times that we would not be able to use the dog, such as when the thunderstorm is rolling in and the stock has to be brought in from the pasture. So, basically what she is considering to be a working dog trait(s), we call a fault, same with dealing with strangers, being over pressure sensitive, etc.

 

Very interesting feedback and good to know. My guy is a sports bred model but other than some noise sensitivity, he doesn't sound a whole lot like the dog described in the article, I'm happy to say.

[Rave]

I think the entire article sounds like one big excuse not to socialize or train your dog. Quit making excuses and go train your dog how to act and how to cope.

[MaryP]

I think the BROAD generalizations she made have some truth to them regarding the breed. BUT, anytime you make broad generalizations about anything, you're going to pull in a lot of dogs (or people, or groups, or whatever) in that just don't fit the assumptions of the generalization. Also, I think border collies are a lot more adaptable then she gives them credit for. They'd have to be, or they wouldn't be able to excel at the many, many different activities that they do. Plus, I would say that most (including working dogs) are also pets and adjust just fine, and in fact, enjoy, being pets.

[Shetlander]

I think border collies are a lot more adaptable then she gives them credit for. They'd have to be, or they wouldn't be able to excel at the many, many different activities that they do.

 

I agree. Honestly, I ran into more of the issues she mentions with my Shelties than my Border collie.

[Maralynn]

While some things she says may have a kernel of truth to them, I too think she uses far too many generalizations.

 

Without intensive and sensitive socialisation as puppies, they are often wary of people, intolerant of unfamiliar dogs and anxious about anything new or changing.

 

None of my dogs were socialized as puppies. In fact rather the opposite. They've had some varying issues, but nothing that was insurmountable. Just start at the beginning and train. I've done plenty of new things with them and they've went with the flow.

[simba]

Farms are quiet?

 

I remember as a small kid visiting a sheep farm, being terrified by all the noise- sheep, people shouting, birds, chickens, machinery, loud mysterious banging noises. And everything moving in every direction.

 

It wasn't like that all the time, of course, but it certainly had some seriously loud moments.

[Cyberdog]

I think noise sensitivity is probably far more complex, biologically, than we give it credit for. My BC hates thunder, and will hide in the bathtub. I can, however, shoot a shotgun over her and have her retrieve dummies and bird wings. She's not birdy though... The only time I thought she looked birdy she found a moose. Border Collie as bird dog was kind of a failed experiment. She's quiet when she walks, and tolerates the sound of repeated gun shots. So, she gets to come bird hunting anyways. I'd talked to a few hunting trainers who said that a truly gun shy dog will run to the next county. I wasn't sure what they meant until my significant other shot at a pheasant over his little retriever mutt. She went about a quarter mile before turning around to come back. Famous last words, "If you shoot over that dog without conditioning her to the gun, you will NEVER be able to use her for hunting". What was I talking about again?

 

Anyhow, the BCs Ive had in the past did not try to herd people after puppyhood, and have all been pretty darn friendly. Working lines, or not. I've kind of wondered where the bad "pet" rep comes from? I've read plenty of horror stories, but have little experience with most of those issues.

[stockdogranch]

Admittedly, I skimmed the article pretty quickly. But I have to say--what a crock! At the moment, I've got 6 (all related) working bred border collies in the house, and only one has noise sensitivity (like gunshots and thunder). It's a bit of an issue, but when working, she will continue to work through the noise even though she doesn't like it. They all go on the road with me to a number of places--we travel out of state every summer to trial for several weeks, and they are exposed to all kinds of different situations--new people, strange settings, lots of people, traffic, city streets, and so on. At least three of them have come to the university campus with me, walked all over campus, ridden in the elevators, and gone to classrooms full of college freshmen with me. They are all used to LOTS of dogs and other people coming to the ranch, as lots of folks come to work my sheep and calves. So they see other border collies as well as the occasional "little dog" that comes along for the ride. They get along with everyrone just fine.

 

It seems to me the main point of this article is that working bred border collies are only used to their own (supposedly quiet) little environment; in my experience, nothing is further from the truth,

A

[terrecar]

Humm. Of course, my dog is a BC/Aussie cross, but for what it's worth, she spent about six hours yesterday hanging out with my daughter's two retired racing greyhounds (1 dog & 1 bitch) that she had never met. I saw some play bows and chasing/sprinting. Granted, she isn't big on play and tends to just "hang out" with other dogs, but she is a lot better with them than my GSD bitch was.