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Looking in the near future for a Puppy... Need advice


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Hi,

 

Sadly last Thursday we had to put my partners dog Jack to sleep. He got diagnosed last October with Advance staged congestive heart failure.

My collie and Jack where very close. Eventually my partner will be looking to get another four legged companion.

 

I do not think my partner is looking to get a Border Collie. Max my Collie is 7 and has always been alpha out of him and Jack and Jack just wanted to laze around and chill :)

 

I am hoping you can advise me on a breed / breeds of dogs that would have a temperament that would get along well with a Border Collies.

 

Look Forward to any and all replies.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Mark C

 

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I actually find that border collies often don't get along with Labs and goldens. Too in-your-face for them. I'd be more inclined to think another herding breed or mix. More similar play and greeting styles.

 

That said, I've also found that what's generally true as a rule often doesn't hold in a family of dogs. IOW, brought up together, border collies may tolerate and mesh well with the Lab in their own pack even though they wouldn't when meeting a similar dog out and about. It doesn't necessarily mean they'd play together though.

 

My condolences also on your loss.

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True statements, GentleLake - I was thinking about raising the new dog, in which case I'd expect Max to get along with it and perhaps teach it some of the 'Border Collie ways', and also that the OP said that Jack just wanted to laze around and chill...another herding breed might not be so inclined ;-). I do agree that most of the Border Collies in my life tend to prefer their own breed to others.

 

Good luck!

 

Amy

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Have you considered a rescue? - a young dog between 6-12 months old. Based on your description of your situation, the highest priority is a dog that will get along with the resident dog. With a rescue, your dog can meet with candidates, and you can get a read on if they will get along.

 

Puppies are a black box. Even though a pup will be raised with the resident dog, there is no guarantee that they will get along.

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I agree with the above post.

Getting a rescue dog is the best way to find out if your current dog will get along with the new one. This may be more important than the breed.

 

some border collies and BC mixes are low-drive and mellow; every dog of whatever breed has his or her own personality.

 

My Jester generally wouldn't generally interact with another dog who was not a border collie, but met a Golden once and they instantly became joyful play buddies.

You just never know, which is why getting an adult dog from a rescue with a couple of meet-and-greet sessions before adoption would be the best way to go, IMO.

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One other consideration is that, if you have a male, you might look into a desexed female. I find that often two of different sexes get along pretty well whereas two of the same sex might not. That is totally dependent on the dogs, of course, and how they are handled and managed, but I find it holds true for some dogs.

 

Best wishes!

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I second the idea of thinking about a rescue, so you'd have a better idea of their temperament and how Max and the new dog will get along. Being as Max is used to being lead dog, I'd be thinking less about breeds and more about what individual dog would be a good match.

 

Border collies can be touchy about bouncy, happy, in-your-face dogs who just want to play too much, as they can see it as an invasion of space. But if you got a somewhat older rescue, you could arrange meet ups and get a sense for how things might go.

Best of luck! :)

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Hi just an update, Jack was a rescue but he was the only dog in the family for years so he could get comfortable before we introduced Max a bouncing border collie puppy.

I appreciate the advice but I am not considering a rescue this time purely for the reasons im gonna mention.

Max was bit as a puppy so is apprehensive with other dogs he does not know. He has however with the right dogs made 6 or 7 friends and gets along well with them and has fun playing with them.

 

Max however adores puppies and gets along with them famously, it doesn't take him long to warm up to them and become buddies. This will be my partners companion and it has to be a fit for him as well as getting along with Max. I think getting a working type Labrador puppy is the right move.

 

I know you can get two types of Labradors e.g. The more popular seen the tank built one who is more boisterous in its play and the latter the working type who is more slender, sensitive and easier to train. The latter is the one I am opting for.

 

I have sourced a very high quality litter, KC Registered, Both mum and dad have excellent temperaments. Mother is 6 weeks away from giving birth and then it will be another 9 weeks before the puppy can come home, so giving us time to process the loss of Jack.

 

I am going to see Mum this Friday and ask the breeder any questions my partner or I have. At 4 weeks the puppies will start to show their personalities and we will be visiting then as well.

 

Once again, thanks for the advice.

 

Mark C

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The right kind of Labrador puppy could be a good choice for you. I personally prefer the labs bred for field work, such as the ones you are looking at, but some of those can still be pretty bouncy, in your face types of dogs. Pay attention to the behavior of the mother, and the sire if he's owned by the breeder too. There are never guarantees, but the behavior of the parents is at least one pretty good clue about what the puppy's basic temperament will be like.

If for some reason the Lab litter you are considering doesn't work out, I would recommend you look at other herding breeds. It's not just a matter of being boisterous or not; the style of play is different among herding dogs than among bird dogs or hounds or terriers. Shelties can make nice companion dogs, are plenty active, but also are sensitive enough not to be overly pushy. In my experience the "oversized" shelties are generally more sensible and less barky and less hyper than the ones at the smaller end of the spectrum, although obviously that's just a broad generalization. Cardigan corgi's are also generally nice companions, and less barky and snappy than some Pembrokes tend to be. I hate to recommend show lines, but aussies from show lines can also be nice mellow dogs, and "Lassie" type collies are also generally pretty laid back, and the smooth coated ones don't require extensive coat care. I'm basing all this on my observations of breeds in North America. I'm guessing you are from Great Britain, so you may find some of my generalizations don't hold up.

Also, I agree with others that if you have a male, a female that you will eventually spay would be a better choice than another male. I have had multiple males and multiple females that all got along just fine so it's certainly not a hard and fast rule, but virtually anytime there was a squabble in my pack that escalated beyond a curled lip and a bit of muttering it was dogs of the same sex that would get into a shoving match.

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I am new to border collies so I can't help there but I had two field goldens (at different times), they were females and besides the puppy phase, they were not bouncy in your face dogs, they would play tug and such with me but they were pretty serious and respectful around other dogs. They would tolerate other bouncy dogs but they preferred behaved dogs.

 

Perhaps the field lines are a bit different? Maybe helped I started training them around dogs in classes young?

 

I think you could find the right pup of lab/golden if that is what you want. My last golden's relatives worked as therapy dogs and her aunt was a search and rescue dog so I would believe breeding was helpful.

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here is Spillo few years ago with another dog (lab-border collie mix?) he just met:

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1B0sXfSbvy-gB2bmVyVelgV1xblZvfQMb

 

hope the link works.

 

I consider my dog quite in the face himself ;-) so I think it just depends on the personality of the dogs.

mine is not always playful like that, he has issues when he is unsure about the other dog, but he can plays with labs and goldens. German Sheppard I had mixed reactions.

he has issues with flat faced dogs, and for some reason I still can figure it out, poodle.

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GentleLake, In my original post I was asking for ideas about a suitable breed of dog to get along with Max. It was always going to be a puppy for the reasons state in my previous post. So although I can see why the forum members suggested a slightly older rescue... that was never a consideration from my stand point.

 

Rescues are great as Jack was one but like I said he was allowed to be the only dog in the house for 4 years before we got Max. If it was the same scenario then I would consider a rescue.

 

If a breed of dog had of been pointed out that would get along famously with a border collie and I could source a quality litter of puppies then I would of considered looking into that breed some more. That was the point of me asking.

 

Thanks for your good karma sending my family and our four legged companions way.

 

Mark C

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