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Georgia Border Collie Questions.


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Well living in Georgia I can't say there is a large Border Collie population in Georgia. Infact my border collie is the first one I can recall seening here. And I have been into 1,000s of homes because my job before I injured myself was working and installing Pool Tables. We mainly have a Lab and Pit Bull thing in Georgia.

 

Anyways my dog is almost 3 months old. So I want to start looking into schools for him when he gets older. I want to train him in Agility and would love to teach little novelty tricks too. And to maybe mix me a good strong frozen hurricane but that might be asking a little too much :rolleyes:

 

1st question: What type of schooling should I start him on. Or say should I take him to a "Behaviorist" first? Or is "Agility" training going to cover that also?

 

2nd question: When I take him to a school. Should the trainer have some kind of qualification or experience with BCs? I remember hearing people state that some trainers have trouble with border collies.

 

3rd question: At what age should I start what type of training.

 

4th question: Does anyone know of any good schools here in Georgia? Preferably close to Atlanta. Is it better to go with say a Private individual (done at their own home) trainer or a more commercial style? I looked into a few schools that had some websites. I found 1 school that showed agility training with Tires, jumps, tunnels, and all that stuff. But they did not feature 1 border collie in the photos.

 

I want to start researching now that way I know I can find the right person to do the job correctly. If anyone can help please let me know.

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Smittie,

I can't help you with the answers to your questions, but I can say that at least as far as herding goes, there is a quite active group of Georgians with border collies!

 

http://www.gsda.org/

 

And I imagine the same holds true for dog sports like agility and flyball. Now can I have a frozen hurricane too? :rolleyes:

 

J.

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Smittie, being a former Georgian myself (I moved from Woodstock in June 2002), I can tell you that there are a LOT of Border Collies in GA, especially in the Atlanta area, but unfortunately I can not tell you of any agility people. Julie's link to the GSDA website should get you to some people that may be able to help you.

 

Good luck

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I live in Atlanta. I run into border collies and their people all the time. At Blockbuster recently I left my dogs sitting in my convertible with the top down, as I often do. That usually gets a reaction anyway ("why don't they run away???). Anyway, when I came out there was a guy out there with two bc's in his car, and we set up a play date, which was sort of fun. I also went to a frisbee clinic last winter and there were dozens of bc's there. I trained my own dogs so don't know much about obedience classes. I know people think highly of Highland Pet Supply for training. I think the doggie daycare place at Piedmont Park also has puppy classes. And every Petsmart store. Your dog is too young to start formal agility classes, but we go to Canine Capers in Norcross. Google them. Don't worry about a behaviorist yet. That's where you'll take your dog later if you didn't do a good enough job of socializing him (a helpful hint to get that pup out and about A LOT).

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Appreciate the info.

 

I'm going to try to check out the "GSDA Dog Daze Trial" that they had on their calender. It said it was going to be this July 30th and 31st. It isn't that far from me either. Just north of Athens which I live near. It would be neat to see what a fully grown dog is capable of doing. Also they might have info on BC schools.

 

GeorgiaBC. My dog seems to be very social. I took him to Tribble Mill park in Grayson the other day for the first time. I didn't stay there long. Even though it was late evening I didn't want him to overheat. I just wanted to give him an out of the house experience.

 

Well while walking back I had to pass the "Playground" where a little girl wanted to say hey to my dog. Then about 7-10 little kids (Ages 3-10 I suspected) came running up. Including about 4-5adults. I kneeled down and got a good hold of his harness unsure of what he might do. I didn't think he would do anything but didn't want to take the chance. Well then another person with a medium sized dog walked up. My dog sniffed him with more little kids petting him and he didn't get aggitated or nervous at all.

 

I was very happy with him. And he seemed to love the park. When the weather cools down some I'll take him out more.

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Trust me on this one: you should try to do that park thing, or a similar experience, on a daily basis. BC's in particular can get really timid, skittish, nervous, etc. around strangers, kids, and other dogs. Just check these boards. The best advice I got with my pup was to get it out and about with kids and dogs and strangers and traffic A LOT. I am not a very uptight person and I truly dislike that in a dog. I've got two bc's that I can take anywhere and trust with anyone--thanks to that advice I was given.

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I'd really recommend these guys for agility (they have basic intro classes as well):

http://www.siriusdogagility.com/index.html

 

There's no specific "BC school" and for basic obedience pretty much any good trainer will do, you don't need someone who specializes in BC's. Most trainers don't specialize in one breed, or they'd be out of business pretty quickly.

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No matter what you do, basic obedience should be first on your list for training. A good Agilty trainer should start with something like "Obedience for Agility" or at least incorporate that into their beginning agility class.

 

And the cool thing is, you can start basic obedience right away with your puppy. That will help you learn how to train your dog to do agility, tricks, whatever (although from all I hear, teaching herding is a different thing entirely....)

 

Deanna in OR

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rtphokie. Thanks for the link. That school is close to me. I'll have to check it out soon and see what they have available.

 

I figured they would have "basic" obedience in agility classes. I doubt they can trust every owner to have an obedient dog. My dog listens fairly well. Though lately I think he has become a little more rebelious now that he has grown accustum to us.

 

I also want to see some dog agility shows when they come to town. I remember someone mentioning one in October. But if anyone knows of some ones down here that are sooner let me know.

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