19 replies to this topic

[RigoCR]

Hi everyone, this is my first ever post in this forum.

I have a 5 and a half month old BC called Nico and I want to clarify that this is just over curiosity because he's an amazing dog regardless. When I bought him I saw his sister and she's almost all black. Now, he has very stranfe coat features... He has the pointy ears and looks about right, but with his smooth coat, plus his colors, it's very difficult to know for sure if he's a real BC. I spoke to the girl that I contacted about him a few days ago and she called the breeder again and he said his dad is a brown and white BC and his mom is an almost black BC.

He's almost completely black and has White chest and brown paws, but the has very little white in his face and has "spots" on his front paws and chest... hehe, vey strange.

So, my question is, if I post some pics can someone that REALLY knows about this help me find out please? I posted this on another link and did't get one answer but a bunch of different ones... Some said purebred and some said Kelpie or Blue Heeler mix, hehe.

I just want to find out, hehe.

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[bc4ever]

Hi everyone, this is my first ever post in this forum.

I have a 5 and a half month old BC called Nico and I want to clarify that this is just over curiosity because he's an amazing dog regardless. When I bought him I saw his sister and she's almost all black. Now, he has very stranfe coat features... He has the pointy ears and looks about right, but with his smooth coat, plus his colors, it's very difficult to know for sure if he's a real BC. I spoke to the girl that I contacted about him a few days ago and she called the breeder again and he said his dad is a brown and white BC and his mom is an almost black BC.

He's almost completely black and has White chest and brown paws, but the has very little white in his face and has "spots" on his front paws and chest... hehe, vey strange.

So, my question is, if I post some pics can someone that REALLY knows about this help me find out please? I posted this on another link and did't get one answer but a bunch of different ones... Some said purebred and some said Kelpie or Blue Heeler mix, hehe.

I just want to find out, hehe.

Congratulations on your first post! Interesting ears. I'll take an uneducated guess, just for fun. Doberman\German Shepherd?

[rufftie]

this ismy friend deb's dog. as you can see she is very similar in coloring and she is ALL bc.

[Maralynn]

There is no way to know for sure seeing as you have't met the parents, etc. But he most certainly could look like that and still be a purebred Border Collie

[Gloria Atwater]

Hi there!

Nico is sure a cute guy. He very definitely could be purebred border collie. There is no one "look" that defines a border collie, and the tri-color, short-coated, prick-eared look is not unusual in BCs at all. I have a short-coated BC (see Nick in my avatar) whose mother is a prick-eared smooth tri, but he came out straight black-and-white with flop ears.

So, as Maralynn says, you can either go meet the parents in person and see, or just take their word for it. There's really no other way to know for sure. Does he exhibit any stalking or staring behaviors? Anyhow,enjoy your boy!

~ Gloria

[RigoCR]

Hehe, nah, I really don't think there's any german dog in him, I don't think they have any at the farm. She said he's very likely a Blue Heerler mix. Still he's an amazing dog and I am starting to make him interested in frisbee and he's been getting good, he's too young to actually jump and catch, but he fetches perfectly. Some have also told me to wait and see how much he chnages because he's only 5 and a half months and he's changing his coat aswell so I guess I'll wait and see.

I saw a tricolor BC online that I hope he grows to look like, he's very handsome, I'll attach the link, very cool!
http://www.123rf.com...e-tricolor.html

[RigoCR]

Does he exhibit any stalking or staring behaviors?

~ Gloria

What do you mean by this? stalking or staring?

I don't know what you mean by that but the stares at me when I am doing something that looks weird to him, and tilts his head to the side, it's actually very cute.
I'll attach a pic where he's looking at me in case that's what you mean, but I think you mean the very expresive eyes and face they have.

The pic was taken quite a long time ago!

P.S THX I am enjoying the little guy, he can be a handfull at times but he's great most of the time!

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Edited by RigoCR, 19 March 2011 - 10:32 PM.

[markleblanc]

My trainer has a dog that looks almost IDENTICAL to this one and it is a BC/Australian Cattle Dog mix.. Super smart.

[workindogs]

He could very well be purebred border collie....or a mix. You'll never know until you put him on stock...if he works like a border collie, then he may well be a border collie. Have fun with him...he's lovely.

[pammyd]

He is lovely
The colours and coat and ears and everything could easily be a pure BC
But from the fotos I would guess at a cross
He actually looks very like my friends collie cross basenji (who I cant fornd fotos of at the moment)

[Gloria Atwater]

What do you mean by this? stalking or staring?

I don't know what you mean by that but the stares at me when I am doing something that looks weird to him, and tilts his head to the side, it's actually very cute.
I'll attach a pic where he's looking at me in case that's what you mean, but I think you mean the very expresive eyes and face they have.

Sorry, I was away for a while and just saw that you'd left a question for me!

The "stalking and staring" I referred to is a classic border collie trait, where the dog expresses keen interest in a thing (sheep, toys, other dogs) by lowering their head below the shoulder blades and staring at it intently, sometimes dropping into a crouched posture while waiting for something to happen.

For example, if I go to throw a ball for my boy, he drops into that crouch, stares intently at the toy, and even creeps towards me to freeze perfectly still, waiting for me to throw. But if your guy doesn't do that, it doesn't mean he's not a border collie. My old dog, Jesse, has never exhibited that behavior and he's worked sheep for 10 years.

~ Gloria

[RigoCR]

Hi back to everybody!

It's been ages since I've logged into the forum!

Nico has grown to be a very cool dog!, hehe, I am actually thinking about getting a full pedigree rough coated BC now!! a female to spend time with him, I´ll just fix one of them, probably the girl! jeje

His coat is getting longer everyday and he has become a very good disc dog! he's extremely fast! he outruns dobermans and other dogs we've encountered at the park, he kinda looks more like a BC now but he's still very strange, so I am 90%sure he's a mix.

I actually want to start the "second phase" of his disc training now to say it some how, I want to teach him to jump on my back and do zig-zags between my legs defore going for the catch! so if any of you know a good guide let me know!!!
I am attaching some pics so you can see my extremely odd but ver cool and agile semi-border collie!!!!

About the staring, he definitely does it! but nos as much as you may think because I live very far from any kind of cattle... One thing he does make is that he tries to herd my friends a lot, he bites the back of their legs (not hard, very soft, like calling on their attention), I've read it means he's trying to control them.

I'm trying to upload images but it won't let me...

[RigoCR]

 Nico catch 2.jpg   123.34K   72 downloads  Nico catch 1-B.jpg   51.78K   55 downloadsHere are the pics!  Nico catch 1-B.jpg   51.78K   55 downloads

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[Liz P]

Biting is completely unacceptable. You need to stop him from doing that immediately, before you have an unhappy person who wants to take legal action againts you on your hands.

[Sue R]

One thing he does make is that he tries to herd my friends a lot, he bites the back of their legs (not hard, very soft, like calling on their attention), I've read it means he's trying to control them.

This is rude behavior and you should be discouraging him from any of this sort of behavior. Other than this, it sounds like he is coming along nicely!

Best wishes!

[Rave]

He looks like a Kelpie to me, the working types you see a lot of in Canada and the NW.

[juliepoudrier]

I have a young dog here right now, purebred border collie, that looks a lot like him, except she's a medium coat. I see nothing about him that would make me think he was not a border collie. If you told me he was a known mix, I'd accept that, but if you told me he was a purebred border collie, I'd have no reason to disbelieve you either.

This dog doesn't look substantially different from your dog, and she's a purebred border collie.


J.

[Rozuma]

Wow! that looks sooo much like him! so cool to find a dog that looks like him, she looks as skinny as he does, jeje, he eats a lot but exercises even more. I am changing his food to extreme fitness by Science Diet today to see if I can get him to gain a kilo if I can.

I am actually planing to get another dog now, I want a female BC, Merle if possible, but this time I definitely want a rough coated one. I was thinking about adopting a BC but it's kind impossible to find a BC for adoption in Costa Rica, so I will probably buy her (want a female) from a breeder.

[juliepoudrier]

If you want to help him gain weight, sometimes just adding some cooked oatmeal can help. I had an old guy who was on special food, and he lost weight on that food, but the oatmeal helped him put it back on.

Lark (in the photo above) is a small dog and that photo was taken 2-3 years ago. She just turned 6 and finally has managed to put on a bit of weight. She has also, finally, become less of a picky eater. Her grandsire is also a tri, but has a very broad chest and a very broad head. I suppose someone could look at him and say he's got heeler or kelpie in him, but working border collies are so variable in how they look that aside from knowing the pedigree there's no way to say yes or no based on looks.

Anyway, I don't think you have any reason to believe that Nico is anything but a border collie.

J.

[Liz P]

Be careful. The vast majority of merles are from puppy mills, back yard breeders and the less than ethical.