CalamityJess Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 So I have Brody outside last night and this little 10 week BABY starts prancing on his toes, nose up, ear pricked and points. Then he runs, ears pricked, on his toes, a little futher and points again. Repeat this about 10 times, each time with him coming to sit politely at my feet after. What in the world?? I know he's a BC mix, as per his shelter papers, so maybe there's a pointer in there...lol English Pointer Brody BC puppy Maybe the mystery of BC(X) is solved...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Wow. That top picture does look like a pointer. Maybe you have a dog that can hunt birds and work sheep at the same time. I can't remember any of my dogs pointing like that. If they see a bird they do the border collie creep. Shelter people usually don't have any idea what dogs are if the people who bring them in don't know for sure. They call a lot of puppies border collies that aren't. They just have the black and white markings. This sounds like a nice puppy no matter what the genetics are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalamityJess Posted September 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Wow. That top picture does look like a pointer. Maybe you have a dog that can hunt birds and work sheep at the same time. I can't remember any of my dogs pointing like that. If they see a bird they do the border collie creep. Shelter people usually don't have any idea what dogs are if the people who bring them in don't know for sure. They call a lot of puppies border collies that aren't. They just have the black and white markings. This sounds like a nice puppy no matter what the genetics are. My dog is actually in the middle picture. The top pic is a pointer. They actually had these guys as Collie Mixes. But Having been reading and looking at Border Collies for ages, when I saw them I immediately thought Border, The BC rescue lady that was also there agreed, so now they're listed as BC mixes. He does the creep now on our other dog and the cat. It cracks me up. She'll start moving he'll creep...then lay flat as soon she she turns around like he was just innocent all along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Well, you know that both herding and pointing are behaviors that were refined from the whole predatory sequence of eye, stalk, chase, grab-bite, kill-bite, dissect... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmbc Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 it is hard to tell from the middle pic, but Brody does look all BC. I have a 2.5 year old BC that does a behavior that is similar to pointing. Just last night, he did it while waiting to be sent on an OR. He looked just like a pointer. My training partner and I had a good laugh at it. I have seen other BCs do it as well. They have typically been dogs with a little more eye. Not sure if that has something to do with it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Some people here know a lot more about the history of these dogs than I do. But I'm sure I've seen where way back when the shepherd's dogs were bred back to English or Gordon setters. They really do have a lot in common. I take care of 2 English shepherds that are both very "birdie" and they really remind me of my dogs. Only my dogs are "herdy" instead of birdy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalamityJess Posted September 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Some people here know a lot more about the history of these dogs than I do. But I'm sure I've seen where way back when the shepherd's dogs were bred back to English or Gordon setters. They really do have a lot in common. I take care of 2 English shepherds that are both very "birdie" and they really remind me of my dogs. Only my dogs are "herdy" instead of birdy. Mix them together and you get a Birdie Herder? it is hard to tell from the middle pic, but Brody does look all BC. I have a 2.5 year old BC that does a behavior that is similar to pointing. Just last night, he did it while waiting to be sent on an OR. He looked just like a pointer. My training partner and I had a good laugh at it. I have seen other BCs do it as well. They have typically been dogs with a little more eye. Not sure if that has something to do with it or not. He is so hard to get pictures of! He's just full of "gotta run gotta move!!" Here's a closer angle at least Well, you know that both herding and pointing are behaviors that were refined from the whole predatory sequence of eye, stalk, chase, grab-bite, kill-bite, dissect... True! Strangely there was nothing visible to do any of that to. BBut he certainly smelled something. A little scary...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxi Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 He looks all BC to me.. as the other said, a working collie comes in all shapes & sizes. As pups develop, they practice their hunting skills - even if there is nothing actually there to hunt. My pup when she was a bit younger than Brody watched my older dog stalking a spot the grass & then pouncing on a shrew. Since then, the pup has bounced head first into EVERY grass tuft she can find. Initially the older dog was really interested in what the pup may have found and her subsequent look of disgust that there was nothing lerking in the ground was a picture to behold (unfortunately I didnt have a camera with me) - now the older dogs just completely ignore the pup's antics - though I still find it very amusing to watch, because even 2 months down the line, she clearly still finds it a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 You can.not.tell with certainty at that age what a pup of mixed or unknown heritage is. I adopted a 6 month old pup a couple years ago, thinking that she looked like a border collie puppy but with wonky ears. But lots of border collie pups' ears are wonky at that age, so I didn't think that much of it. She grew up to be a lurcher. I still think there's a good chance the herding breed in the mix is border collie, though I'm not sure what the sighthound is. She's definitely not PB border collie. My first thought when I saw the first picture posted above was that the OP had a pointer mix! Then I read the caption. I agree the pup looks like it could be a border collie mix now. But time will tell. Shelters often have no clue what they have. 7 years ago I adopted what had come to the rescue from the shelter as a female Aussie mix. When they picked the dog up it was clearly an intact male border collie. Well meaning people, but obviously not too on the ball. And as border collies are high on the adoptability list, many shelter folks will label dogs as border collie mixes just to increase their chance for adoption, when they really have no idea what the dog is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Gideon will pause to point every few steps when he is stalking something. I guess I just think of it as him freezing in place for a moment, and then continuing on his way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford Dogs Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 Out of the 3 BC's I've had to date two of them pointed. One of them was from flyball lines (gag) with no working ability and the other has great working ability if you could get her to stop trying to eat the sheep (she's blind and a couch potato now). My only BC that doesn't point is my Loki from working parents. Loki stalks and does "the creep." I've been told that "way back when" herding dogs had been bred into Border Collies so some lines tend to point. Whether that's true or not I cannot say. But congrats on your cute puppy! Bethany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMP Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 My current puppy is so BC - from two lines which contain some fairly illustrious ancestors (in the same way that most good race horses can find a Northern Dancer link somewhere) - that a more serious human might mind the number of people who inquire as to what breed she is and then as to what *other* breed she is mixed with. I just smile. I have a t-shirt with a drawing of a ragged Border Collie and words in typewriter font that say, "I'd rather be a mangy looking working dog than a spoonfed lap dog." It's a take off from a Red Dog Beer t-shirt, I believe. It's so old and so ragged and been worn so many times that a better person would have parted ways with it eons ago. Me? Hell, I might get buried in the damn thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 I would love that shirt! I get the same question even though, looking at Brady, he is so obviously border collie, but many average joes are used to the standard black and white with a white blaze and a collar. He definitely has a lot more white than that, so many people assume him to be a mix. It used to annoy me, but now I just kind of roll with it. I've never seen him point, but he does do the "creep" and, when he's "hunting" a toy, he does a bouncy pounce like coyotes and wolves do for lemmings and mice. Your pup is adorable! I guess you'll really know if he starts exhibiting more herding behaviors, but he certainly does look the part! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.