What other dogs were you considering before you got your first BC?

[iLLt3cK]

I've run the gamut breed wise before the Border Collie caught my eye.

 

I've also looked at Australian Cattledogs among a couple other herding breeds like GSD.

 

What were you looking at before you found your new best friend? What made you decide on a Border Collie?

[Jonun]

BC-mixes and aussies. I wanted a BC, nothing else.

[Jonun]

BC-mixes and aussies. I wanted a BC, nothing else.

[Betsy]

None. Absolutely none. I was a cat person. I didn't want a dog before I met my SIL's BC. I waited about a year or two before getting Riley (as a puppy), and he has indoctrinated me into the BC-world (now over 4 years old!). I don't think I will ever have another breed of dog (okay, maybe an Australian Shepherd, or possibly a Papillon).

[smileyzookie]

I didnt know there was a difference between collie and border collie. I wanted a rottweiler. When hubby shot me down we decided that a rescue would be great. The initial idea was an outside dog that could come inside occasionally. We knew when we took her out of the cage she was it. We didnt know anything about her, or what breed.. we just knew she was ours. The vet the next day said she was BC, and I immediately researched BC online and found the board. I learned about BC's (and most dogs) needing family and to be part of a pack. Needless to say, we never put her outside

[Kat's Dogs]

Well, at the very first I didn't know they existed.

 

Goldens, then Belgian sheepdogs, then I found the Border Collie.

 

Before THAT it was more like Paps, yorkies, shih tzus, and (little) shelties.

[pearls pop]

I was looking to replace my 10 year old wolf dog who had died suddenly 8 months earlier with another wolf dog. My GF went the local shelter one day to just look around and found this dog that the shelter said was a Aussie,that had been there almost 3 months. I was not impressed when i first saw this skinny black and white wild critter yelping and jumping at the fence. I took her out for a little walk in the fenced area they had there, she practically pulled me off my feet, but after awhile she calmed down and we made eye contact a few times and she gave me a few kisses, so i told the shelter people i would try her out if i could bring her back if it didn't work out. Next day i took her to the vet for a checkup,when we saw the vet and gave her the papers the shelter had given me, she said to me "where is the aussie?" I pointed at my new dog. She immediately said "thats no aussie, thats a Border Collie, i should know my dad had border collies when i was a kid" I had heard of BC's but didn't know anything about them. So i went home and started reading about BC's, found this board and fell in love the breed and day by day fell deeper and deeper in love with my new dog, who soon got named Pearl.I don't think i would ever want anything now other than a BC.

Currently I am a puppy raiser for a Golden Retriever that will be a service dog when she grows up. GR's are interesting dogs but do not compare to BC's. I'm a full time Border collie snob now. If its not a BC, its just a dog.

[lance]

interesting topic. I too had never heard of a border collie. When my great dane passed a yr ago in Oct, I was heart broken. I considered getting another dane, but decided against it because I knew it could never replace Mindy. A month later I started looking at Animal shelters for Lab, Golden retriever, or Standard Poodle. I found Bandit my border collie. I had never even heard of the breed before. Was I in for a surprise. I have fallen in love with Bandit and the border collie breed almost intantly.

[sandra s.]

I didn't have a plan, just an empty space in my heart for a hiking companion. Which the shelter lady decided was the right space for Kessie! How lucky can you get?!

 

I was always fond of big dogs, GSDs and so on. Kessie is much smaller than anything I'd have imagined, and I'm grateful for that now because it means that mountains aren't so dangerous for her hips.

 

All I knew about BCs was that they were some type of Scottish herding dog, and that they were black and white and really awkwardly built . Turned out they are - the barbie ones! The others, including Kessie, are some of the most graceful dogs I've ever seen. Got lucky again!

 

The biggest luck of all was that no-one gave me a "BCs are problematic" lecture before Kessie was firmly and comfortably settled in. The things people say sometimes when they see a BC would have scared me back then, but now it's way too late .

 

Sanity (what little was there) got the final kick goodbye a long time ago. I can't imagine having a non-BC anymore.

[Keegan's Mom]

My husband wanted a Border Collie. I wanted a pug. I told him that I would buy him a Border Collie 6 months before he graduated as a graduation gift so that he would have time to stay home and train it.

 

That is how we got Keegan to be my husband's dog. I know you all don't know me personally...but for those that do...they can vouch that Keegan is totally head over heels for me and I for him. Hubby claims it is because he rode home on my lap for 4 hours!!!

 

So I was hooked. Then we got Tess. I had to "convince" my hubby that we were ready for another dog. We went to see 2 pups that were left out of a litter from my previous trainer...I had my eye on Tess...but hubby had his eye on the little tri. Well, Tess picked him...she walked up to him and plopped down on his feet and looked up at him...the rest is history. So Tess rode home on hubby's lap...and threw up on him feet from our driveway!!!! I had to laugh. However, Tess is probably more bonded to my husband than me. So I guess we both got our dogs...mine just changed from a pug to a border collie.

[Zoe]

I wanted a medium-sized to biggish dog and I didn't care what it was. I just wanted any dog so bad. I initially went to a shelter and they didn't have anything but small dogs ( this is Japan ! ) and they were allotted on a lottery basis. I wanted to be able to choose my dog so gave up with that. I then decided I should get the breed I really wanted through a breeder. I have had a little bit of experience working with "working" BCs on a friends farm and so they were high on the list. I was also thinking of a golden retriever. But I kept seeing BCs around here and my heart leapt every time I did, so that is what I went with and I have no regrets. I would get another BC but I am also curious as to whether I could train/have such a great relationship with another breed/mix. I have a few doggy friends around here and I love them and they me. I'd like to keep my mind open.

[Meg's mum]

I wanted a tri-color female BC. I didn't want a dog.

[Root Beer]

We considered getting a GSD or another mix like Sammie, but I really wanted a Border Collie.

 

Even if we had ended up getting something else, I would have ended up getting one because I really really really wanted a Border Collie even though I knew absolutely zero about them!!!!

[Lunar]

I was 12 at the time. My other breed I was looking for was a Norweigian Elkhound. o.O What a different place I'd be in now, huh?? But I ended up with Oreo, a BC mix... mainly because my dad told me that BCs really really neat dogs.

[border_collie_crazy]

I wanted either a skye terrier or a CKCS, my mo convinced me that I wanted to do dogsports therefore I should get a BC lol I didnt actually WANT a BC, I honestly didnt think I would be able to handle one, i wanted a little dog, I slo almost adopted a GSP from the shelter but he had been adopted by the time we came back with Shadow to see if they got along. after I got Happy I was in love in love with the breed, my mom is the little dog, no BC person now

[Anda]

I was looking for a dog to resemble my Blackie, the dog I grew up with. She was a very beautiful mutt, which I took of the street in Bucharest, she had puppies under a stairway and she was super aggressive towards everyone walking by. I was the only (crazy) child to dare go into her den and feed her, touch her and her pups. She spent the next 13 years with me and my parents in our appartment Cannot tell you the heat I took from everyone for walking a mutt on a leash, they all thought one could only keep a pure bred dog in house! :mad: Stupid, ignorant people!

 

Few years ago, I saw some Border Collies at a fair and I was mesmerized! Not only of how much they looked like Blackie, but also by how the moved, how intelligent they were, etc.

 

Then my husband called me at work last Decemeber and said he saw Ouzo and "What's the name of that breed that you realy like? Is it Border Collie? I think I found one for you!". Since then, my life has never been the same!

[Bordercentrics]

I wasn't looking for ANY dog before we got Border Collies. We photograph adoptable dogs at a Spokane animal shelter as volunteers, and when I took lovely Meg out to photograph her, I just flat out fell in love. When no one adopted her in ten days, we took her home to foster and couldn't give her up.

In January, 06, we got a call that there was a beautiful red Border at the shelter. I had her named Ruby before I met her and again, we pulled her to foster. She got a bad case of kennel cough and she had giardia, so she was very sick for a while. While nursing her back to health, Kathy fell in love and we decided that we couldn't give her up.

Owning the girls is a challenge because we also have an ADHD Bouvier bitch who must be separated from the Borders at all times. But we agree that it is more than worth the effort and inconvenience. The hardest thing now is seeing Borders in the shelter and not being able to keep them.

[Kelliwic Border Collies]

My family had imported successful field trial Irish Setters (who were also successful in the show ring) for the first 20+ years of my life and they were great--totally unlike US show dogs, just as working Border Collies are very different to show-bred BCs. Even so, I wanted something different. I considered many different breeds when researching for my first dog...Doberman, Boxer, Basenji, Akita, and Border Collie...I think there were about 10 breeds on the list but I can't remember them all. I ruled most out either for general breed temperament or general breed health reasons. And, the more I learned about Border Collies, the more they seemed to be the best fit for me.

 

If I owned a home and had room for lots of dogs, I would consider adding another breed to my pack, but while my ownership is limited by space and landlord, I'm totally committed to Border Collies.

[nancy]

Way back in 1967, when we had a 9 month old cat and a 4 month old daughter, Chuck really wanted a dog. He found and adopted Vamp, a little black bundle whose Mom was a German Shepherd and Dad was a black lab. She was with us, and help raise our kids (and another cat) for 15 years. We were heart-broken when we had to admit that strokes, liver and renal failure, and heart problems were just too much for her. We couldn't even bear to think of another dog - she was so perfect.

 

Then, in 1995, we went to Yorkshire (an All Creatures pilgrimage). And, in Dalton, on a farm who's vet was Alf Wight's son - Alf had been their vet until he retired - we met Fergie, a working and pet border collie. We fell in love. Then, as we headed into the Dales, we saw border collies working sheep on the moors.

 

Back home, we started noticing border collies on our bike rides. But we still weren't ready. We did note that, although Vamp was larger, border collies looked like the right size for a semi-retired couple with a blessedly empty nest.

 

In March of 1997, we met an adopted a fat little black and white Fergie. OK, she had been named Sarah, but we had to honor the dog who got us into this. And the whole idea really was Sarah Ferguson. And she has been the perfect dog for who we are now.

[Allie+Tess&Kipp]

I did research for about 5 years to decide what kind of dog would suit me.

 

I thought beagles were cute, so I did research on them at beagle rescue web sites, read books, joined a beagle mailing list... I decided that the beagle was probably not for me based on the discussions there.

 

Then I looked at GSDs but decided that while that was an active enough dog, I did not want something that big. Or that feared. Everyone on the list I joined for that breed, at the time I joined, was discussing how everyone fears GSDs and how some people could not find a vet to treat their dog or a company to insure their house. :eek:

 

I did some kind of test thing where it asks how active you are and all that and the only breed listed for me was border collie.

 

As I learned more, the border collie appealed to me partly because it was the only breed I liked that still existed in its mostly original form, with original purpose still intact.

 

Allie + Tess & Kipp

http://weebordercollie.com

[MrSnappy]

I was not allowed to have a dog growing up and the two times I conned my parent into getting me one, they ended in disaster (she euthanized both). I wanted a sheltie for years and years until I met a BC when I was about 15 and that's all I ever wanted. When I moved in with my partner when I was 18 we took his family dog, a basenji mix, and I quickly figure out sighthounds were not for me!! I got my first BC when I was about 19 and never looked back. I lost her young, and got my second (RD). Later I briefly contemplated adding an Aussie pup and had one lined up through a breeder in the US, but then I ultimately went with rescue instead and got Tweed (who turned out to be an Aussie mix anyway!. Piper followed and now I have Woo ... and I don't know what Woo is! But I never really wanted a different breed before I got my first BC; I knew I wanted a border collie or something in the herding breed family.

 

One day I'd like to have a Kelpie; I never want a cattle dog! And I don't think I would have an Aussie again. When I am ancient and can no longer handle BCs, I will likely finally get a sheltie or two. But as I am only in my mid thirties, that's a long way off.

 

I will spend the next 40 years looking for another Red Dog, most likely. As much as I love my other dogs, I LOOOOOVE Red Dog. If only I could replicate him.

 

RDM

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I loved and wanted a collie. But that was because I thought Border collies were collies. I read a lot of English literature and always pictured LAssie when they said "sheepdog" or "collie." Boy was I disappointed the first time I met a real collie . . . But my boss told me the working sheepdogs in the UK were BORDER collies and she had one. I met him and the rest is history.

 

When I am ancient and can no longer handle BCs, I will likely finally get a sheltie or two.

Hmm. You need to meet a lady named Ethel Conrad. I don't think there is such a thing as too old for BCs if you are really into them. I sure hope not.

[Liz P]

I wanted a GSD so badly growing up but Mom was afraid of dogs except for BCs, which her family had owned for many generations. I had no idea what the breed was and had to look them up! I named my first BC "Duncan" after the last BC owned by a close relative. Years later I found a pic of the first Duncan and the two could have been twins. I owe my Duncan so much. I always imagined he would be around when I finally bought a farm, but I guess that wasn't meant to be.

[MrSnappy]

Originally posted by Rebecca, Irena Farm:

Hmm. You need to meet a lady named Ethel Conrad. I don't think there is such a thing as too old for BCs if you are really into them. I sure hope not.

Let me clarify. When I am so ancient that everyone expects me to keel over and bite the big one, this is when I intend to adopt senior shelties I'd be hardpressed to own anything other than a BC for many many years to come. Except for Woo. Woo is the exception to all rules.

 

I wish I knew what he was. I did make contact with his previous owners. They didn't know what he was either.

 

RDM

[Sue R]

I grew up in the "wilds" of Long Island and spent most of my youth with the most wonderful dog a child/teen could have - the vet called her an "upstate farm collie" but she was mainly (if not completely) Border Collie.

 

Lady had been a stray, was smart as a whip, devoted, protective (maybe a little English Shepherd?), and I think my folks loved her as much as they loved me, for good reason! She set a "benchmark" that very few dogs I've met ever came close to.

 

When we were farming in NYS and had cattle, we got an Aussie, but he wasn't very bold as a worker, although he was used for stud to sire working Aussie pups. When he was gone, my hubby came home one day with a pup, Rocket, who was a Border Collie/Aussie farm-bred dog (looked like a 55# Border Collie would look) and he was a marvelous dog both for our family and farm.

 

Our son got a working-bred Aussie that became our MacLeod, who's now 14 1/2, and who has been our cattledog for all his life. But, with the four kids grown and gone, I needed a gathering dog not another driving dog! We saw Border Collies at several demos and I really felt one would be the ticket. I talked to several breeders at demos and spent several years contemplating and considering what to do.

 

Then we met Celt and Bute's breeder at a demo where I was really impressed. We were also very impressed at how well her dogs interacted with our little granddaughter as a child-safe dog would be a must. After getting Celt as a small pup, we adopted Megan when she needed rehoming.

 

I can't ever picture myself with another breed, although I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Airedale Terriers. I enjoy other dogs but I just love the Border Collies and there's nothing else to help the same way on the farm.