GlowWyrm Posted February 23, 2001 Report Share Posted February 23, 2001 Hi, My family and I are going to get a new dog and we've narrowed it down to two breeds, one of which is the border collie. I know that border collies are very work oriented. We are specifically looking for a breed that would be good in agility. Border collies seem to do well in agility and like it. My question is, is agility enough? I know they like to work and they need a job. So do most you just do obedience and agility work or do you do other stuff? I'm wondering if we'll be working on agility/obedience and that's it and the dog will become incredibly bored because of the other hours of the day where he's not working. What we wanted to do is first start him/her off as a puppy in obedience. Then later in about two years move on up to agility. I know agility is hard on their joints when they are too young and they need to learn basic obedience first. Any advice on if this is enough to physical activity to keep them happy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted February 23, 2001 Report Share Posted February 23, 2001 If your main goal is agility / obedience, then have you thought about a rescue? There are many reputable rescue organizations that have border collies of all ages and some of these dogs even have a bit of agility training. I would think this would be a better option for you than a puppy as you would not know if the puppy would be a good agility dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solo Posted February 23, 2001 Report Share Posted February 23, 2001 What's your other choice? Border collies tend to do well more with competitive trainers that are extremely experienced in dog handling. Beginners and border collies do not mix. I'd suggest that you start with a less intensive breed ie. Aussie or Retriever. Obedience border collies don't do well. The repetitive nature of the work makes them bored and they tend to act up or try to think of different ways of proforming a command (not good!) If you're just going to do agility and don't plan on competeing on a national level, don't get a border collie. Look into that other breed you were mentioning. If you plan on giving up any remaining social life you have outside your dog so you can use evenings to train agility and weekends and holidays to drive out to a nearby farm to work sheep and cattle, and if you plan to spend unparalled amounts of cash on various activities so that your dog can get the work that they need... then and only then do I advocate getting a border collie. Kris PS The bones have been formed on a border collie at approx. age of 1 yr old. Until then do not let them jump any higher than their elbow. No weaving and only low contacts until 1yr old. ------------------ Only dead fish go with the flow [This message has been edited by Solo (edited 02-23-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlowWyrm Posted February 23, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2001 We have our own ranch that has goats so that wouldn't be a problem. However we have an australian cattle dog (blue heeler) that we use anytime a large animal like a cow needs to be moved due to the fact that they seem to have a better ability to handle larger animals than border collies do(my father-in-laws b.cs anyway). But then again I wouldn't use my blue heeler on a goat because she can get rough. She's perfect with cattle or even goats when the goat must be caught instead of moved, but that's it. My blue heeler is such a smart dog I wish I could use her. However she is very old and has athritis in her back legs so jumping is clearly out of the question. I'm not a novice at obedience work but I am at agility. So maybe a border collie agility dog is not what I would need since I would be learning right along side the dog. We will not be getting the dog until May so we are using this time to research and get opinions from other people that own the breeds that we are looking into. Thank you for your input this has given me something to think about. Maybe I should continue looking at other breeds if border collies don't do well with novices. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMcNairnTurn Posted February 25, 2001 Report Share Posted February 25, 2001 My thought is if you did go with rescue, you would be able to pick out a dog that not only liked agility, but perhaps one that didn't like it quite as "enthusiastically" as another. My youngest BC would be a spaz in the wrong hands...not saying that I'm perfect, she's still a jumper and heeling is a pain...but she's an intense agility dog that moves VERY fast. I've seen dogs like Rave with novice showers and the dogs looked totally out of control. Now again, I'm not even an experienced shower...I started training with my oldest but found out she was dysplastic and so my trainer found the pup for me. I've worked one on one with a top handler for over a year now, and she's gotten me through a lot of problems I wouldn't have been able to fix on my own. Even so, in my spare time, it's BC's. Training, walking, frisbee, parks, swimming, walking and more walking, neighbordog playtime and lots of human indoor interaction. My two don't even enjoy being out in the yard without me...something that annoys me about people saying that BC's need a big yard to play in...heck, mine don't even like my yard, I have to take them to the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted February 26, 2001 Report Share Posted February 26, 2001 I started agility with a "borderline" collie - very laid back (turned out to be very slow in agility too....) but a fine companion. My next agility mutt was of northern heritage (malamute/mix) - definitely not "driven" to do the sport, but gosh he has fun. Then I got a "real" Border Collie. I could NEVER have made it in agility with her as my first dog. The first two made it seem really easy - which it was with them. They got a bunch of novice titles, so it's not like they're totally bad at it. It was just easy to learn with them. Now with little Miss Speed Demon, I'm learning all sorts of OTHER things. She's great at it - but that "control" thing is still a huge issue. Not to rain on your parade or your dreams, but I'd recommend another breed to start with. Lots of others (golden retrievers, even a lab or two!) have kicked BC's butts in the lower levels of competition, simply because the handlers of the BCs couldn't handle them well. As the other poster said, if you're looking at National level competition, a border collie is the ticket. Just not the place to learn. This IS the voice of experience here! Enjoy whomever you end up with... diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divit Posted March 6, 2001 Report Share Posted March 6, 2001 I started training my bc obediance at 5 weeks old. When he was 4 months old we started agility. We began with only none jumping things like the tunnel (which is still his most loved thing in agility) and then the dog walk and so on. As long as you wait to your bc is about 9 months old to do big jumps you will be all right. You can still teach the jump at any age, just be smart about. I put all the jumps anbout 1 inch off the ground or on the ground and walked him over telling him to jump. This gave him the basic idea. Also, have you ever though about Flyball! Bcs love it and they get to use stored up energy. My bc learned it in just minutes. Now if he sees something that looks like a flyball box he will hit it looking for a ball. Good luck Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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