kevin sharples

Whoops! missed the 'i' out of Claire....sorry

Hi Clare, I live in Claregate/Tettenhall, just down the A41!

Hi there from Wolverhampton.....yes there are a few of us Brits on here, but not many considering the BC originated here! But this is still probably the best place to get the info you may be looking for!

I am somewhat dismayed by your reply 'border colliez'. Unfortunatly I do not have a handy herd of sheep for my dog to exercise his natural instints on. So I have to rely on his keeness to run and fetch the said ball or frisbee. Sorry if this reply sounds somewhat blunt but I do not fancy the prospect of telling my 9 year old son he can no longer play fetch with his beloved COMPANION. I hope your opinion is not echoed by the majority of people on here, or I have obviously come to the wrong place for advice.

As you can read from my very first post Tyzer was a rescue dog, picked up as a stray. So I have no knowledge of his history, but instantly I noticed he was really smart. From day one I could see he had some level of obedience, and when he is in close proximity to our other animals (cats and rabbit) he will naturally attempt to herd them. Out in the open he looks every bit the 'sheep dog' (minus the sheep that is) the way he plays frisbee or running after a ball. So I have often wondered if these are natural traits of BC's or if Tyzer has had some form of training (obedience/sheep trials). Has anyone else had a similar experience?

We got 'Tyzer' September last year from a rescue centre, not just border collies but all waifs and strays. We had been going along there for months looking the right sort of dog but looking back if we had the room we would of brought them all home with us, i.e. ( 1 wife 1 eight year old boy 2 cats 1 rabbit and 1 guinea pig oh and 5 gold fish). But when we saw Tyzer (the name we gave him, he was a stray with no name tag) we new straight away he was the one for us and we hoped we were the ones for him. At the time he was about 6 or 7 months old at a guess. Not nervous and very alert. The previous owners had 7 days to reclaim him (assuming somebody was looking for him). It was the longest 7 days of my life. I went along everyday to walk him, holding my breath in case I was told he had been reclaimed. Anyway lucky for us he came home with us. Since that day he has given us as much love and devotion as I think we have given him, my biggest worry was our 2 cats. He tries to herd them but they just keep out of his way and they can stick up for themselves otherwise. Anyway, I think I have rambled on long enough. I don't have any specific questions regarding the breed, there is already a hive of information on the boards. But I will continue reading the current posts and look forward to the coming years with our border collie 'Tyzer'.