How Is Your Border Collie at the Beach?

[Dirk CA]

It was Hazel's first ever trip to the beach. I thought she might be more intrigued, but she was rather indifferent. Neither bothered by the waves rolling in nor drawn to them. But we'll certainly go again if in the area.

How does your BC react at the beach?

 

 

[urge to herd]

Samantha was my first border collie and that girl LOVED water. Puddles, streams, ponds ~ she gloried in getting wet, unless it was a bath. I took her to the beach a few times, but she got too focused on 'catching' the waves. So no ocean after that.

My other 2 previous bc and the current one? All sure they're being slowly and painfully murdered.

Ruth & Gibbs

[D'Elle]

Cheyenne, the border collie who lived with me on the beach in Mexico (and then later in the US) loved the ocean, and we played with the waves every day. My Jester, with whom I lived on the California coast at the start of our time together, was the same and we always played you chase me I chase you on the beach. He also loved to chase the waves out and get chased back in by the next wave,  and was very adept at the game, never going very far out, keeping his feet on the ground. It was a joy to watch.

[Nuance]

Mine likes the ocean , she is more a floater than a swimmer at the moment.

[Dirk CA]

6 hours ago, urge to herd said:

Samantha was my first border collie and that girl LOVED water. Puddles, streams, ponds ~ she gloried in getting wet, unless it was a bath. I took her to the beach a few times, but she got too focused on 'catching' the waves. So no ocean after that.

My other 2 previous bc and the current one? All sure they're being slowly and painfully murdered.

Ruth & Gibbs

That's funny.

I'll say this. It seems as if Labradors were made for the beach. There were plenty of them out there and they were having a ball.

[Dirk CA]

6 hours ago, D'Elle said:

Cheyenne, the border collie who lived with me on the beach in Mexico (and then later in the US) loved the ocean, and we played with the waves every day. My Jester, with whom I lived on the California coast at the start of our time together, was the same and we always played you chase me I chase you on the beach. He also loved to chase the waves out and get chased back in by the next wave,  and was very adept at the game, never going very far out, keeping his feet on the ground. It was a joy to watch.

Thanks for your input.

[Dirk CA]

5 hours ago, Nuance said:

Mine likes the ocean , she is more a floater than a swimmer at the moment.

She's a cutie.

[adadrian]

Loves the beach. But doesn't care for the water

[Dirk CA]

18 hours ago, adadrian said:

Loves the beach. But doesn't care for the water

That makes for a cleaner dog when getting back in the car. Except for the sand of course. = ]

[Braden]

Braden (our full Border Collie) loves jumping of the sand dunes and running back up...then jumping again. Both of them (Braden and Eli) are scared of the waves though.

[SS Cressa]

My crew has mixed reactions.

Cressa(RIP) used to love the water and would dive into the water with the goal to swim across the lake to Canada.

Valek is indifferent. He knows it cools him off so will head to the water when he is hot but typically needs a reason to get in the water aka bumpers or balls.

Parker non-border collies loves the water and loves to make a splash.

Felix my Golden boy first time seeing water was to run in head first and was so surprised when a wave hit him. He loves to have fun and views the water as a way to have fun.

[Dirk CA]

On 5/28/2021 at 6:37 PM, SS Cressa said:

My crew has mixed reactions.

Cressa(RIP) used to love the water and would dive into the water with the goal to swim across the lake to Canada.

Valek is indifferent. He knows it cools him off so will head to the water when he is hot but typically needs a reason to get in the water aka bumpers or balls.

Parker non-border collies loves the water and loves to make a splash.

Felix my Golden boy first time seeing water was to run in head first and was so surprised when a wave hit him. He loves to have fun and views the water as a way to have fun.

They look like they're having a blast.

[DrPhong]

Topic is right on time! We are taking our 6 month old to the beach with us next week. She loves the streams and lakes near our house, so it will be interesting to see how she is in the Salt water. 

We are going to a dedicated dog beach, that has umbrellas on posts with d-rings to snap a leash into. They give you a big water bowl and a dog bed that's like a small mesh chaislounge so your dog can get off the sand. They also have nice showers to wash your dog off with. Pretty cool. 

[DrPhong]

Queen of the beach. 

[Dirk CA]

On 6/6/2021 at 3:48 AM, DrPhong said:

Topic is right on time! We are taking our 6 month old to the beach with us next week. She loves the streams and lakes near our house, so it will be interesting to see how she is in the Salt water. 

We are going to a dedicated dog beach, that has umbrellas on posts with d-rings to snap a leash into. They give you a big water bowl and a dog bed that's like a small mesh chaislounge so your dog can get off the sand. They also have nice showers to wash your dog off with. Pretty cool. 

Sounds like a great place to take a dog. I'm jealous!

So she liked it? She's a beaut!

[DrPhong]

On 6/19/2021 at 6:45 AM, Dirk CA said:

Sounds like a great place to take a dog. I'm jealous!

So she liked it? She's a beaut!

Thanks Dirk!

It's been a great experience for all of us. She's 6 months and we just started working with a trainer, so we were a little nervous about all the distractions there. She went in the water up to her chest the first day and was swimming like a pro the next. Watching her absorb everything around her is quite interesting. Truly an amazing dog. 

[Dirk CA]

1 hour ago, DrPhong said:

Thanks Dirk!

It's been a great experience for all of us. She's 6 months and we just started working with a trainer, so we were a little nervous about all the distractions there. She went in the water up to her chest the first day and was swimming like a pro the next. Watching her absorb everything around her is quite interesting. Truly an amazing dog. 

That's awesome!

[D'Elle]

On 6/21/2021 at 12:30 PM, DrPhong said:

Thanks Dirk!

It's been a great experience for all of us. She's 6 months and we just started working with a trainer, so we were a little nervous about all the distractions there. She went in the water up to her chest the first day and was swimming like a pro the next. Watching her absorb everything around her is quite interesting. Truly an amazing dog. 

Isn't it fun to watch them have their first experiences with something good? The slight hesitation at first, checking it out, and then the full enjoyment of it. I have always loved this with dogs, but with border collies it's the best, because they are so intelligent and entertaining and enthusiastic about everything. :-)

[B-and-B]

Shadow, our older BC LOVES the water. When she goes to the beach she will run non-stop fetching whatever we toss in the water for her, to the point of shivering (Lake Michigan water can be pretty cold all year long). We have to make her lie down on the sand to warm up. Dustie on the other hand doesn't like getting wet and will pace along the shoreline until Shadow gets within reach, then she'll try to steal whatever Shadow is bringing back.

 

[Root Beer]

Our Border Collies have always loved the beach.  Dean was part fish and he loved to play in the surf, and would even swim out and ride the waves back if it wasn't too rough.

Bandit is a little more leary of the waves, but he was on his own when we took him to the beach this summer, and he stepped up!  He played nicely in the surf, and he enjoyed himself.  In the bay, he enjoys retrieving a bumper.  He prefers more interactive play over a lot of swimming out to get the bumper, but he does enjoy it.

[Dirk CA]

On 7/5/2021 at 9:43 AM, D'Elle said:

Isn't it fun to watch them have their first experiences with something good? The slight hesitation at first, checking it out, and then the full enjoyment of it. I have always loved this with dogs, but with border collies it's the best, because they are so intelligent and entertaining and enthusiastic about everything. :-)

It absolutely is fun!

Sorry for the delay. I wasn't notified of a reply.

[Dirk CA]

On 7/23/2021 at 7:27 AM, B-and-B said:

Shadow, our older BC LOVES the water. When she goes to the beach she will run non-stop fetching whatever we toss in the water for her, to the point of shivering (Lake Michigan water can be pretty cold all year long). We have to make her lie down on the sand to warm up. Dustie on the other hand doesn't like getting wet and will pace along the shoreline until Shadow gets within reach, then she'll try to steal whatever Shadow is bringing back.

 

They definitely have their different personalities.

[DrPhong]

On 7/5/2021 at 6:43 PM, D'Elle said:

Isn't it fun to watch them have their first experiences with something good? The slight hesitation at first, checking it out, and then the full enjoyment of it. I have always loved this with dogs, but with border collies it's the best, because they are so intelligent and entertaining and enthusiastic about everything. :-)

Sorry for responding so late, it's been a crazy time. 

It has been quite a ride with our BC. I love the moments that you described, and it seems to be a daily thing. I have never seen a dog that behaves like our Lucy. You can always see the gears turning behind those eyes. The hard part is keeping a constant attitude of training opportunities, my wife has tried everything and is always experimenting- but she is often frustrated, until recently. It turns out, out of our neighbors used to be a trainer and loves our dog, so when ever he has time off he asks if he can have her for a few days. A nice break and she comes back with new skills. Also, she's physically strong and fast. Our girl is 13kg of solid muscle. She loves other dogs and people, we live in the foothills of the Alps so she gets plenty of exercise and exploration. Anyway, for the better part of a year, we have felt overwhelmed by her physically and mentally. The good times are good and the difficult times are difficult. However, at about 11 months, she started to change. She has settled down, behaves well off leash, more affectionate more disciplined. A friend of ours with a toddler came for dinner one night, we were worried that she would lunge or jump all over the child- the exact opposite happened. Lucy was so gentle with that child, we couldn't believe it. Anyway, I know this is a wall of text and I apologize, I think all of us turned a corner some months ago and can easily say that we are so happy to have her as part of our family. She still does some crazy things, but I love letting her off the leash when we are in the woods- I have never seen a dog more full of pure joy. 

[D'Elle]

Your Lucy sounds like a delight. Border collie puppies are usually a handful at first, but they take so well to training the majority of the time that it really is a joy. You just have to be able and happily willing to put in all the time and effort. When it pays off, it pays off big, because a well balanced and trained border collie is the best dog in the world. (Not that I am biased at all!).

I know a border collie who tends to jump on people and be too enthusiastic until she learns that that particular individual cannot be jumped on either.  She seems to have to learn it with each new individual. So when a three year old child came to visit, her owner was keeping a very sharp eye on her. The child walked up to the dog, balancing a plate of (human) cookies in one hand, and formally introduced herself by name to the dog, and the dog just melted at her feet and was entirely gentle with her the whole time they were visiting. These dogs are sensitive and it can often be seen in how they respond to others, especially the very young and the elderly and anyone who is infirm. It is a treat to see that.