Seeking advice / recommendations for reputable breeders

[Tehanu]

Hello!

I’m a newish member of the board, interested in adopting a border collie puppy. I’ve been lurking for a while reading up on information available on these forums. It’s been a while since I’ve had a dog, and I’ve really missed having a canine family member.

 I’m now in a position where I’m able to consider getting another dog (perhaps eventually two), and am starting a more active search.  I’m  hoping to adopt a border collie as an active companion. Temperament and health are priorities. Ideally I would like to adopt in the next year or two, but am willing to wait for a caring and responsible breeder and a great, appropriate companion pup.

There are a number of recommendations to attend local trials to speak to border collie breeders and enthusiasts, and I was hoping to be able to do so this summer. However since most or all of these events in my area are not proceeding due to current circumstances, it appears I won’t have the opportunity this year.

I’m hoping you can help me with some recommendations of reputable breeders or knowledgeable people to speak with who might be able to point me in the right direction. I am in Ontario, Canada (city but large fenced yard and access to open lakefront property in summer), but willing to travel within a reasonable geographical area for a good breeder.

In addition to other attributes of a responsible breeder, ideally it would be someone who could offer ongoing advice such as recommending good obedience  or other appropriate training classes. I haven’t ruled out rescue, but it appears that few young dogs actually come up for adoption in rescue in my area.

I am interested in any event in options for getting a pup from a reputable breeder (there are some breeder names I have seen recommended in other threads, but many of these are from several years ago and it would be helpful to get current / additional recommendations).

Any recommendations or leads appreciated.

 Thank you in advance!

[D'Elle]

Hi and welcome to the BC Boards. Good for you for wanting to seek out the right kind of breeder and for coming here for advice. I cannot offer advice on a breeder, although I will recommend that you read the "Read This First" if you haven't already (but you probably have, if you have "lurked" for a while :-)  )

I would like to put in a big plug for rescue. You have many advantages in going through a rescue to get your special dog. It's not always true that they don't get in young dogs or puppies; sometimes you just have to wait a little while. I used to foster for BC rescue and most of my foster dogs were 2 years old or less, and I fostered puppies as young as 9 weeks. 

My advice, for what it's worth: Don't be in a hurry. Put in your application to every rescue within driving distance (or more if you are willing to go more) and then after you get accepted, watch their site carefully. If they have a Facebook page, join it and stay in touch. sometimes young dogs come in and go out fast. 

One huge advantage of getting a rescue is that you will know, from the foster home that has had the dog, at least a bit about the dog's personality. Calm, high drive, fearful, bold etc. and that will help you to know if the dog is the right temperament for you.

One last thing: don't adopt two puppies at once!! You will almost certainly regret that. Get one, and once that dog is mature enough to have some training on him or her, then think about adding another.

No doubt others here will have more and possibly better advice for you.

Best of luck.

[Irish Collie]

I got my first BC from a from Farmer Bostock in Thirsk, Yorkshire in 1988. Rosie was one of an unwanted litter, her mum was in the James Herriot Series. Brilliant dog, never owned a lead and could walk her any where. Died of cancer the day the Twin Towers came down.

My second was an unwanted farmers litter in Wales, Meg turned out to be a Welsh Collie. Cracking small bitch. Got thyroid at 8 years old and lived till she was 15.

Jess ( current ) was about 3 years old, rescued her. She loves woman and children and no sign of PTSD. Taught her agility and developed diabetes recently, the drugs work fine. Great dog.

Please rescue. They are not all sick dogs, honest. Regards 

[Tehanu]

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate the information.

In answer to your suggestion I have the "Read this First" post as part of my lurking.

Regarding rescue, I have checked local rescue websites from time to time over the last while, and in my experience not found many dogs up for adoption during that time. However, as I indicated I haven't ruled out this option and will keep looking into this as a possibility, as you suggest. Glad you have had good experiences with this (cute picture). (Interesting info, I recall the James Herriot books)

Nonetheless, I'm very interested in looking into good breeder options at the same time, which are a bit harder to identify, hence why I'm seeking recommendations and advice in this respect.

Have no fear I would attempt to adopt two puppies at once. It's always been my intention that I would only consider a second dog once the first was mature enough and trained and settled. I'd also have to assess the first dog's character in order to consider what type of other dog might be compatible.

Best regards

[urge to herd]

Tehanu, here's how I got my first 3 b collies. The first one I was offered for free by a breeder. She was a friend and I mentioned that I wanted to get a dog and she gave me Samantha. The next one I got at a rescue run by 2 women who were friends with a friend of mine. The 3rd one I took from the jaws of death ~ he was due to be put down that day at a local shelter, having been picked up off the streets by a animal control guy. I found out about him from the women who gave me the 2nd dog. The 4th was given me by another friend and he is still with me. My point is I knew or knew someone who knew every person who I wound up getting a dog from.

My best advice is to not only list your name with rescues and shelters, but do some work with them. Volunteer to walk dogs, or answer phones, or whatever it is you can offer. Getting your face/presence out there with rescues and shelters is like gold. No, it's like platinum. The workers at the rescues and shelters KNOW that you're sincere. They see you interacting with the dogs they're caring for and see that you're a good match. They see you show up, week after week, to walk the dogs or whatever, and see that you're reliable.

If there are no BC rescues in your area, volunteer at an all breed rescue. Keeping your name and face in their minds is, IMO, the best thing you could do towards getting yourself a bc.

Depending on where you live, you might get some direction of where to look for volunteer gigs from members here.

Best of luck! Keep in touch and let us know how  you get on.

Ruth & Gibbs

[SS Cressa]

Are you willing to travel or did you want to stay in Canada? There are some working Border collie breeders who also does puppy culture in Canada. I can’t remember their name.Puppy culture also has a breeder search is how I found them.

>.< the majority of breeders I know of are in the USA.

[Tehanu]

Thanks for your replies.

In terms of breeders, preferably I would stay closer to home and in Canada. I might consider travel in future, although it is not realistic at the moment.

[GentleLake]

7 hours ago, Tehanu said:

...I have checked local rescue websites from time to time over the last while, and in my experience not found many dogs up for adoption during that time....

Keep in mind that many rescues have had to completely suspend operations since at least mid-March because of the pandemic. Many have not been able to pursue adoptions of the dogs currently in foster care and have not been able to accept new dogs into rescue. I'm sure things will change once things get back to some semblance of normal, though no saying when that will happen.

I suspect breeders will be affected also. Litters already conceived are being placed, of course, but I imagine a lot of planned litters have been postponed.

[amc]

The Canadian Border Collie Association, Canada's registry for purebred working collies, has a Breeder section on their website.  There are several in Ontario.  Check it out at http://www.canadianbordercollies.org

Good luck in your search, and keep us posted!

Amy

[D'Elle]

19 hours ago, urge to herd said:

My best advice is to not only list your name with rescues and shelters, but do some work with them. Volunteer to walk dogs, or answer phones, or whatever it is you can offer. Getting your face/presence out there with rescues and shelters is like gold. No, it's like platinum. The workers at the rescues and shelters KNOW that you're sincere. They see you interacting with the dogs they're caring for and see that you're a good match. They see you show up, week after week, to walk the dogs or whatever, and see that you're reliable.

^This is excellent advice, if you are able to do this. 

Also, it is true what Gentle Lake said about the plague affecting rescues and their operations. You may not be able to volunteer right now because of that, but you can be in touch with them regularly anyway. And check with the ones close to you -- they may be desperate for foster homes at the moment, and fostering is extremely rewarding, not to mention you just might get your dog that way. Many people have become "foster failures" and adopted the dog they were fostering. (Be assured, "failure" is a joke. Everyone is happy if you adopt the dog you foster.)  

Just be patient. this is a hard time for everyone everywhere, and it's possible that your dog won't come to you until things change. Another thing, of course, is to check local shelters because they might get in a border collie, and while usually the rescues snatch those dog right away from shelters, they may very well be unable to do so now.  Check mixed-breed rescue as well, and tell them what you are looking for.

And remember, you need to check in every day with the sources you have. If you only do it from time to time, you will miss a lot! A good dog, especially a puppy, usually comes in and goes back out very quickly.

 

[GentleLake]

1 hour ago, D'Elle said:

...you need to check in every day with the sources you have....

Checking every day doesn't mean contacting them every day.

Sure, check their FB page, their website and any other online presence they may have for new arrivals. But don't call or email them every day. That's a good way to get yourself labeled as a pest and possibly obsessive and is sure to try their patience to the point that you'll be ignored.

Their volunteer resources are limited and even if they want to answer each and every repeat contact they probably can't. If you have an approved application on file, they know you're interested. Be sure to familiarize yourself with their policies for contacting and expressing interest in a particular dog and contact when appropriate.

[Carisoul]

I'm actually looking for an ethical breeder as well, but I'm not willing to spend more than $800 considering we're on a budget and am using the rest of the money we could spend on an expensive dog, on supplies and vet bills. We live in Nevada and yes, we've looked at the one seemingly ethical breeder here (but they do not have what we look for), and California breeders are by far, way too expensive 99% of the time so I've given up looking there. Any suggestions with breeders in states surrounding Nevada though with breeders I missed on our search would be very much appreciated. 

[Rigby]

Here's an unusual idea... Any small scale lamb producers local to you? I'd look that up and if you find one, reach out, ask if they have a collie they like, ask where they got it

Local to me the folks with sheep are, or know, the people with the nicest dogs and if you reach out the right way (polite, not overly wordy, maybe when you're buying some meat? Maybe even wait until the second or third time you've bought some lamb ... ) They'll probably be happy to point you in the right direction, and may even know of a nice dog not cut out for the work that's looking for a happy home or let you know they're planning on breeding their dog in the future.

The other thing you can try is looking up local sheep dog trail scores from previous years and then follow the handler/kennel names looking for dogs.

This is actually how I found the person I did herding lessons with. I found a list of who was at a sheep dog trial, googled their names until I found someone with a website with an email, sent them an email asking if they offered lessons, and ended up with a new sport, a new friend... And wanting a dang kelpie (haha maybe someday, but not too soon...)

[D'Elle]

On 6/22/2020 at 9:03 AM, GentleLake said:

Checking every day doesn't mean contacting them every day.

Sure, check their FB page, their website and any other online presence they may have for new arrivals. But don't call or email them every day. That's a good way to get yourself labeled as a pest and possibly obsessive and is sure to try their patience to the point that you'll be ignored.

Their volunteer resources are limited and even if they want to answer each and every repeat contact they probably can't. If you have an approved application on file, they know you're interested. Be sure to familiarize yourself with their policies for contacting and expressing interest in a particular dog and contact when appropriate.

Of course, this is true! I meant check their website or facebook page. Sorry I was not clear on that! 

[Maude GB]

Hello,

We have actually a young male border collie of 2 years old, purebreed at the Blitz rescue in Quebec. The dog has been in his foster home for a bit more than 2 weeks now. So we have a good idea of what we are looking for him. If you are interested you can contact me by Facebook (Maude GB) we can talk and see if it could be a good match. 

Maude
 

 

[Debsalazar]

I am sharing my experience in order to try to save someone else from the same scam. 

I paid in full & received no pup. I made novice buyer mistakes. I fell in love with puppy pics posted on this "breeder's" FB page & was played via many messages over several days.
I have been looking for a BC for quite sometime.  We had fostered one & found it was the only breed of dog for us. Now at a point in our lives where we have the time & energy to train a dog and the love to give, I had been looking at rescues & rehomes as there are so many dogs that already need a home & love. 

I decided to buy from a breeder as I just wasn't finding a dog locally. Last week I started looking at  FB Border Collie groups. There are good legitimate breeders here, but buyer beware. Don't fall in love with a puppy & ignore your good judgement or the red flags.
-The FB page I am referring to :is "BorderCollie Puppies". Note the similarity in name but there is a space before "Puppies" (easily confused with this legitimate group).
-Phone #703-791-9036 (a google #).
-Email & Link: (also used to send pmt to). ami721448@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/BorderColliePupps/
-Name used Mike Alain
-The pic on their page is from another site, as are the pics they show of their dogs.
- They use the exact verbiage as what is on several other "breeder sites" (for various breeds), throughout the internet (one even in South Africa). Obviously stolen/copied.
-He(?) Was very responsive to my messages, giving what appeared appropriate info, but I have since learned not everything you would expect from a legitimate professional.
-I have 2 resources that have their Masters Degrees in Computer Science & Cyber Security. They were able to track so much info for me in less than 15 minutes. All red flags. Too bad I didn't consult them BEFORE I made the purchase.
Don't trust, verify. The lesson I learned. 

Please contact me if you want further details/pics/copies of messages/emails. Or if you want to talk about similar experiences.
Also if this has happened to you contact your bank/financial institution & make a fraud claim/investigation. Contact other social media sites to warn them, report fraudulent sites to admin & officials. You can make a police report. You can contact a fraud investigator, contact the General Attorney's office, BBB, FTC & other agencies. You may or may not get your money recouped, buy you can try to get these scammers & frauds closed down. 
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