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Hi, I am glad that I found this board, it has already been so helpful and I love reading the posts. I hope that you guys can offer some reassurance and advice based on some of my worries, concerns/questions Background: I live in a village with my husband, close to woods and not too far from the Lake District. My husband and I love going on local walks and enjoy going for hikes in the lake district. We have always said that we'd like to get a dog, and a border collie is my favourite breed, so when for health reasons I decided to take a long career break, we decided to get our puppy - I have lots of time to be with her and train her. We bought our black and white border collie puppy home on Saturday (9 weeks, now 10 weeks), from a local farm. Initially I wanted to do lots of research and carefully select a breeder but when we visited this farm, owned by very welcoming family, we fell in love with our puppy and generally got a good feeling about the place. Unfortunately, although she was chipped, flea and wormed, their vets advised against giving these puppies their first vaccination (as they had with previous litters) until they went to their new homes. I was told that this was due to different vaccine strains. Also having lived in a barn with her litter mates and her mum, seeing very few people or traffic she has had very little socialisation. After a few days of settling in, I took my girl for her first vaccination on Monday. It wasn't a good experience for her because she was scared due to the traffic on the way in, scared by a large dog that came too close in the waiting room, causing her to bark, and then because she was so spooked she barked at the vet aswell. Overall a stressful experience, and one that I so wish had gone differently for her. Generally I have been amazed by her, at how fast she has seemed to settle with us and how quickly she is picking up toilet training. I have a crate for her, so at night (or during the day when she's tired/ needs to calm down) I place her in it, close the door and cover it over with a blanket. I leave her with a night light, and although I feel now she could go through the night, I do get up at about 3am to take her out for a wee. I wouldn't say she is "crate trained" as she doesn't go in there of her own accord to go to sleep, but I do feed her in their for positive reinforcement and when placing her in I always reassure and praise her. Putting her in her crate is met with some whining now, but she soon settles down. In the day time, over the last few days, I have tended to spend most of my time with her. At the moment she is confined to one room, and I have a blanket that I have placed at the foot of the settee where she plays either by her-self or more often than not with me. She has soft toys, chew toys and he odd ball, but I tend to only allow a few toys out at a time and rotate them so shes not bored or over-stimulated. When I feel she is calm I do some basic command training like sit and down, with treats, which she has picked up quickly, and we have a good routine for toilet training, where at the same time I'm teaching her to sit on a mat to wait whilst I put my shoes on, and not bite the lead when I attach it. She is doing really well. My worries/anxieties are first her lack of socialisation, especially with other dogs (I have had people over to meet her and she has been really happy and affectionate), and cars. I have started carrying her down my quiet road every day, giving her reassurance but she does get very scared as we approach the main road. Is this normal for this age? Also I'm not sure how much time to spend with her. She goes in her crate when I am not there and have to do other things for myself and chores in the house. I feel that the crate gives her a safe place to be when i'm not there, and she can't be destructive when not supervised, and also at times I feel that she does get abit overstimulated so I feel her crate is good for calming her down. When I'm not giving her attention, she has started to push the boundaries and chew on things she shouldn't - like chair legs, and furniture. I tell her No firmly, or say down and place her down. I do also distract her with something else but its like its something that's stuck in her head that she wants to repeat again and again to test me. Is this normal, and am I doing the right thing with preventing her from being destructive? I would appreciate your advice going forward. I love her, she is a lovely pup, I just want her to be happy, and grow up confident with good manners. Thanks

hey guys. I'm new here and was just curious if I bought a mutt or what. the guy said she was pure bc. but I had my doubts especially when he showed me pictures. at first I was told she was daughter of b/w border mom and dad. but then I saw pictures on facebook. the mother was smooth coat black and tan dog, so if she was border she was the rare old old breed that apparently isn't seen around anymore (black and tan barely any white, or so I read on the border collie breed page everytime I google what color they can be) I can't put a finger on what breed the mom is. dad was bc. for sure. but the breeder lied about the mom. my puppy is 6 months and 2 days. very hyper barely listens and food aggressive. does herd naturally, loves to go and chase horses from behind. Loves our baby and everyone she meets, and does excited/submissive pee. I have raised her just like our current border collie who literally is the best dog ever, as I am told by everyone I meet, since i work with dogs. he has an off switch like no other, but new puppy is just not into learning or anything. any ideas of what breed she is?. I am pretty sure not Notolian shep. not great pyr. and not lab...maybe catahoula leopard? (I saw a brown and tan pup once so i thought maybe?) I'm not sure at this point. here are pics of what i believe to be the mom (after the breeder said xyz and I looked farther into his facebook and saw the real mom) this pic is the truth, the mom is the one feeding the pups (which he said was the surrogate..the white one is mine..sorry it is horrible quality. there are also pics of her growing up. thank you for all your help. (she never did the crazy border collie ear transformation from day to day like Parker sorry the pictures are sideways, idk why they are that way.) the breeder ghosted me so I can't contact gum for the truth, I even asked if she was mixed so I could feed the correct food for her size and he insisted she was pure. sorry for the overload! Thank you so much in advance. forgot to add that in the pic you can see he says these are the parents and farther down in another pic someone asks who the parents are and he pictures a completely different dog

Hi, I appreciate this might of come up in previous feeds, but I can't find specific answers. We are about to adopt a 12 week old bc puppy. It hasn't had much excercise up to now and current owner isn't coping with it. I was trying to find out how much excercise we can safely give him a he developes. I have in the past gone with the rule of thumb 5mins for every month, but im not sure if that is sufficent for a bc? Can anyone advice? Also, I've read that bc need a lot of mental stimulation, can you advice on what we can do? We already have two 15 year old westies, who have short walks and play fetch & find, good game for their breed, is this good for bc? Or can you suggest something for herders? Many thank in advance

Hi Everyone! First post, new member here. I have been stalking this site since I first met Lexie (my new BC mix puppy) and I have learned so much! A little bit about how I got here. My pup passed away 6 months ago from kidney failure, it was by far the hardest time of my life. Its still not easy but time will help. I volunteer at my local animal shelter and decided to become a foster after Benjie passed away (Pomeranian). It helped to fill the void of his absence. About 2 months ago we had a litter of 8 Border Collie mix puppies transferred in and they needed fosters for 10 days. I jumped up for the challenge, I was the lucky one that got the dog with poop all over lol. The first 3 nights were so hard and I couldn't wait to take her back but then something happened. She stole my heart with her silly ways and brains. She adapted by the 5th day and things started to turn around, she listened and followed command. I told myself, I can definitely do this. Not to mention how much this site helped me make the decision as well. I got a lot of great reading here that inspired me. I always had small dogs so a big dog is new to me but I have been wanting a larger dog. Anyway, I caved and adopted her, meet Lexie! She is now 14 weeks weighing 16 pounds. Some of the questions I have are about her breed. I know her mom is a BC but no idea about her dad. Everyone usually thinks german shepherd but what do you guys think? I ordered a DNA test so hopefully, soon we will know more! So excited! Which brings me to my next question, her weight. Does anyone have any expertise in estimating adult dog weight? Attached are some pics, please I'm interested to read what breed you guys think she is mixed with or how big you think she will get

Hi everyone, long time lurker here, this is my first post and I'm after some advice if possible! As an intro: Willow is a six month old female sable merle and one feisty lady! Since we got her at 8 weeks life has been a whirlwind, and it hasn't all been plain sailing; poor thing has had a UTI, conjunctivitis in her eyes, she's been one nippy madam since about 10 weeks and we cannot for the life of us get her to keep all her paws on the floor when we're in the house (she's constantly jumping up, either on us, guests, kitchen work surface, sofa, tables etc). On the plus side, she's super easy to train, highly intelligent, has been housetrained since about 11 weeks old, loves fetch, catching her ball and doing tricks. She's not remotely treat driven though, isn't very affectionate and although I took that quite personally to start with, from doing some reading on here I've seen that it can take a fair few months for BCs to become a bit more affectionate and that it may not even happen! She also pulls a LOT on the lead, which we're trying to correct in our obedience classes and we also have a gencon lead that we use with her intermittently to see if we can try to calm her pulling a bit that way (along with praise and pieces of chicken/sausage). Up until about 2 weeks ago she loved her crate. Would happily get into it when asked and would settle quite well. However, we're realising now that we have a puppy who will not settle in the evenings, no matter how tired she is, she wants to be around us constantly and if we put her in her upstairs crate (so that we can eat tea for example) she's taken to barking the house down for half an hour plus.. Same routine as she's always had, she goes in with a handful of treats, a peanut butter filled kong and sometimes even a chew if she's been particularly good! We try to keep play after 9pm to a minimum, no tuggy toys or things with squeakers, just knuckles and pigs ears for chewing, and prior to that in the evenings we usually take her out for a 20-30 min walk and chuck a ball for her in a park near our house for 10/15 mins. We're trying very very hard to keep exercise to a minimum as we don't want to wreck her joints at such a young age. We do a bit of 'brain training' when we get back, work on her tricks and whatnot but back at home she goes from lovely to BITEY in MINUTES. It's very hard to know what to do with her at that point. We tell her no, she snaps and bares her teeth at us, or she seems very happy on the sofa with a pigs ear for about 20 mins and then she's bored and goes back to coming to us and biting us again.. This is where I'm a bit lost.. If we play with her too much, she'll come to need/require the playtime, right? She should have alone time, to play by herself and keep herself entertained? We have an open plan downstairs, with her crate in the kitchen area and a playpen around it.. But when we put her in her playpen now she just wants out. She jumps and jumps and jumps and barks and no amount of toys or treats will get her to calm down, she just wants to be with us. If we let her out (after telling her 'settle' and waiting for her to calm down) she just goes straight to biting us and wanting to play (and therefore ends up back in her pen). In the nicest possible way... when I'm eating my tea I'm not going to stop what I'm doing to play, Willow! So then she goes upstairs to her crate out of the way and goes mad barking in there.. Us being right in front of her whilst she's in her playpen is probably the issue, but we don't have a separate room to stash her in, we only have the upstairs room and to be honest with you, I don't want to have a dog that we have to shut away when we're eating, I just want her to stop jumping up and biting us whilst we're eating, I want her to be able to settle herself nicely. Am I asking too much? It's hard to know if my expectations are too high or if we're teaching her bad habits inadvertently. Hopefully I have explained this properly, although I may have waffled a bit. If anyone has any suggestions or tips of how we can handle this I'd be so grateful, she's going to be a cracking dog, she's just so hyper at the minute. Thanks in advance!

Little backstory first: I had no clue what a Border Collie was approximately 1 year ago. Never really was that interested in dogs period either. I knew my brother had a Border Collie for about 4-5 years, and always used to tell me stories about her, but I still didn't really have an idea about the breed. Then this past Christmas, I actually got to meet Daisy. I fell in love with her instantly, and the rest is history. 7 months later (after doing a lot of convincing to my wife :D), in mid July, I went to the breeder to pick up my little 8 week old puppy, Zoey. I used that time to do a ton of research, and needed to figure out how to make my situation work (we live in an apartment), and so far everything has been going really great. She's actually almost 14 weeks now, but I'll start with some photos from the first couple weeks or so.. (sorry, I was lazy and mostly took cell photos during this time, lately i've been using my DSLR and will post those later) Day of pickup- we picked a little Red/white female with a mom known for her agility skills, which we plan on taking up when it comes time.. She slept a lot those first couple weeks We started socialization really early, which started at my parents house. We take her there often to play in the backyard and interact with their German Shepherd (which is great with other dogs) She got to go to work with me (which is a dog friendly place), and meet a million people, here's Zoey with Dad around 9 or 10 weeks: We started basic obedience training/crate training/play very early too Crate training was fairly easy with her, a huge YES! moment was when she went to take a nap in her crate willingly (door open and all) Here's a few more random photos from 8-10 weeks More to come soon!!

Hi everyone! I’ve been a longtime (and I mean really longtime) lurker here, but never made an account till now! So hi! I live in southern Ontario, and at the start of September I’m about to pick up my first border collie! 1. I need some naming help! Hes a male blue merle who’s got lots of nice big spots on him (see photos) Right now I’m really liking the names River, Haiku, Dipper (as in the Big Dipper constellation — I have a cat named Orion), and Quinn (this one the least). I like the nature/outdoorsy names for sure. I like how River reflects his blue but im not totally set. And other ideas?? 2. Advice for when I first get him Ive gone through the various first time/puppy threads but I’m just wondering what you would suggest as the first things I should do with him! Trainingwise, socialization, leash, etc. I’m hoping that he’ll be able to be off leash, to be outgoing and not fearful.. any thing I can do to start shaping that? (Obvs some pups are more sociable than others, but there are things we can do to help!) i grew up with 2 Siberian huskies so I’m well aware of the whole “when your dog is smarter than you...” complex. Thanks in advance!

Hello, I am new in the forum because I don't have a BC, yet. We are thinking of introducing one to the family, but lots of practical questions keep popping out. Since both parents are working (and kids go to school), we are worried about the young BC left alone at home. We have no other pet at the moment. One possible solution would be to build her a spacious wooden kennel in our big (fenced) garden so that she would be able to stay outdoor and use the kennel (with food, water, toys) if she wanted (e.g. if it rains). The kennel will be without door obviously, just a safe space for the dog. As soon as one of us get back home, she will be able to come into the house and enjoy some play/run time at the park. She would spend the night indoor, with us. The real question is: how old she would have to be to go through this routine without minding? I mean, to be left alone in the garden in or out of her kennel for few hours? Ideally, we would like her to be the youngest possible, but I want to make sure she is not too young for this... Any advice will be highly appreciated. Cheers

Hello everyone! I'm new here, so I thought I'd introduce myself and my pup and ask a few questions while I'm at it. My name's Aidan and this is Odin. He's 3.5 months old and the first border collie I've ever had. He came into my life shortly after my previous dog had passed away unexpectedly. He keeps me on my toes a lot more than Freya ever did as a puppy – which is fun. While he's not my first dog, I do have a couple of questions. Question #1: The ears! He's only just started teething so I reckon they'll change later down the road, but his left ear has adopted a very labrador-esque appearance and has decided to stay that way, while the right ear's opted for a more border collie look – it even perks up sometimes! Odin's funky ears don't bother me one bit, but I wonder if his left ear will ever perk up again – it's been stuck like that for a while and hasn't shown any signs of »correcting« itself. Have your dogs' ears ever flopped over like that? Question #2: He's received his shots and he's soon going to be ready to explore the world. I plan to take him for a walk around the city and show him around. There's also a dog park that we could visit, and I was wondering if that was a good idea. What's everyone's opinion on dog parks, especially with puppies this young? I've heard very mixed opinions. Some say it's good for socialization, others say he could learn bad behaviours from other dogs. I'm taking him to obedience training in September, so he's not going to miss out on dog-dog interaction if we don't go, but I thought it'd be a fun experience. Question #3: Does anyone have any experience with puppies and dog beaches? We're taking him camping with us in August. The beach is relatively small and usually packed with dogs. I plan to introduce him to a shallow and calm body of water first (early in the morning when there's no one around). How did you guys introduce your pups to water? Did they take naturally to it? I bought a cooling pad and a beach tent so he'll be able to cool down even if he doesn't want to swim. Question #4: My mother's dog, Sif, is very loud. She gets spooked easily and she barks at everything. Is there any way I can prevent Odin from learning that behaviour from her? I've been rewarding him for being silent when she barks. He's not a fearful puppy and I think with proper socialization the problem should eliminate itself before it even begins but I want to make sure! Question #5: If memory serves me right his parents had a medium long coat so I reckon he'll take after them, but some of his siblings were a bit fluffier. What do you think? Will he have luscious long fur or a nice medium coat? Thank you in advance!

Hi Border Collie Community! I wanted to post this to the forum in case anyone was interested in submitting their puppies. I'm working on a paid commercial print shoot in New York and we're seeking puppies for an August 1st shoot in Manhattan. I wanted to see if you had any puppies 9-14 weeks old that we could consider for the shoot. We can review by emailed photos / videos. If theyre ultimately selected you would be paid $750-1000 depending on the # of dogs provided. Im including the project details below which includes dates, rates and specifics about what we're looking for. Our deadline is fast approaching so if you're interested please email me ASAP so we can review and confirm your puppy! Email to: MatthewWulf@WulfCasting.com Details below - Type: Print Client: Major Dog Food Brand Rate: Puppies: $750 / Half Day Session & Usage Litter Upgrade: +$250 If Breeder brings whole puppy litter for shoot. Usage: Buyout - Packaging shoot. Shoot Date: August 1st / Half Day Session (Approx 4 Hours) We will be booking directly from media submissions (photos / videos) with no live session. If submitting please do so on the condition you'd be able to report to the Manhattan area on August 1st and you're OK with the usage terms / specs, etc. Possible that Mileage and parking can be compensated for animals outside of the NYC area that would like to be considered. Casting Puppies! About 9-14 Weeks Old Male or Female / Roughly 9-14 Weeks / Of these specific breeds - Tan / Brown Border Collie Puppies Good tan, honey, or brown coloring in their coat - Healthy Body weight & excellent hair. Ideally we're booking one, but additional rate would apply if entire litter is selected and booked on shoot. Should it be necessary, owners should be willing to trim fur around the eyes so we can see them clearly. Mileage and parking can be compensated for animals outside of the NYC area that would like to be considered. We will be booking directly from media submissions (photos / videos) with no live session, so lots of media on the puppies would be great. As I mentioned we're shooting soon so time if os the essence. If you have any puppies you'd like for us to consider, or know anyone who has a puppy/puppies that would be applicable please email me ASAP. Subject: PET FOOD & Puppy's name Include Name, Ages, Current Photos, Cell Phone Video clips, Breed, Location and confirm availability for August 1st. -- Matthew Wulf Casting Director | WULF CASTING | 646.926.4383 | MatthewWulf@WulfCasting.com

I'm relatively new here, with my first PERSONAL dog, 7.5 month old Kilo (key-low). 1) I'm currently working on switching him from prong collar (Save The RANTS: he was on it to curb his attempts at chasing cars while on leash) to a front hookup harness (Kurgo brand) and he pulls like a mad man. I stop when he pulls, change directions, PRAISE like crazy when hes doing well, etc. Is there anything else that I might be able to do to make the switch EASIER AND PLEASANT for both of us? 2) He chases the cat. It's gradually getting better, as he comes back and generally abides by my commands to leave her be, but is there any thing I'm missing in this? I mean, he generally will chase and I will call him back and praise him when hes calmly playing again. 3) HE BARKS IN THE YARD. I really don't want a noise complaint and was looking for solutions as to how i can curb this nuisance barking. I HAVE been looking into bark collars and usually will tell him to quiet down or bring him in when he starts incessantly barking. He has never been an incessant barker in the house or in his crate. Because of this, I'm opting out of an experience to take him camping with me in the beginning of august (for 5 days) and instead am staying home with him) 4) I now work 40 hour weeks on a bi-weekly rotation schedule (2 weeks days, 2 weeks afternoons, repeat) and was curious as to the thought of others as to my daily schedule with him (below). It seems to work for us and he seems to be happy with it, but I feel that someone with a bit more puppy/BC experience might think otherwise. WHILE ON AFTERNOONS: 9am: Wake up for me, 1st pee break for the puppy and breakfast in kitchen (in one of his puzzles/kong/snuffle mat) while i eat and get dressed 10am: Walk (25-30 minutes) 11am-1pm: Quiet play while I study for my exam mid-august (I'm a recently graduated Veterinary Technician with hopes to specialize in animal behaviour, and the exam is to be registered as an RVT) 1:30-2pm: Walk (25-30 minutes) 2-2:30pm: Fetch or quiet play 2:30-2:50pm: I get ready for work IN BETWEEN MY MOM LETS HIM OUT AS HER AND MY BROTHER WORK DAYS, SHE ALSO FEEDS HIM HIS DINNER OUT OF HIS DISH. 3:15-11:15pm: Work 11:30pm: 15 minute walk 12pm: bedtime Here's a picture of his puzzles/kong: WHILE ON DAYS 5:45am: Wake up for me, 1st pee break for the puppy and breakfast in kitchen (in one of his puzzles/kong/snuffle mat) while i eat and get dressed 7-3pm: work (in crate) 3:30pm: Pick up brother from work 3:45pm: he gets tied in the backyard (we have a short fence on 2/3 sides and he can ALMOST JUMP IT) as I shower 4-5pm: fetch/walk depending on how tired i am from work 5:30pm: dinner in puzzle/kong/snuffle mat for pup in kitchen while we eat 6-8pm: quiet play while I study 8-9/9:30pm: evening walk (it's been too hot this summer to walk him long periods when I first get home) 10pm: bedtime 5) He gets neutered on WEDNESDAY (July 11th) and I was curious as to if it would be wise to purchase a plastic cone SUBSTITUTE (a fabric one or such)? Being a VET TECH I am aware of the need for him to have calm play while he heals. Any recommender quiet activities? 6) Also, I am waiting on an AUTOMATIC BALL LAUNCHER to be delivered to the house, curious if anyone has any experience (good or bad) with them... I will be using it to tire him out on rainy days or on exceptionally hot/cold days (Canadian weather is crap) or when i am studying for my exam. 7) Also, his recall off leash is CRAP, does anyone have any tried-n-true methods of improvement, I would love to be able to walk him (nature trails, or puppy play) off-leash with reliable recall, but would like to take a hand at it prior to paying a trainer (just out of college and trainers would make money tight). 8) Lately he has been turning his nose up at his breakfast, HE IS STILL EATING, but in lesser quantities and it's curious. I typically will offer him 1 cup in the morning for breakfast and one cup at night of ROYAL CANIN MEDIUM PUPPY. The bag states a 35lb, 7-8 month old pup should eat about 2 1/4 cups and he's only eating 1.5-1.75 cups. He's maintaining weight and isn't hungry or begging. Just curious how much you all feed your dogs. Thanks again, Dakota,m Lyric (the kitty-cat sister), and Kilo

Hi everyone, I hope I do this right....here's a picture of my new pup, Finn. He's 12 weeks old and joins my 16 year old BC Jezebel, 3 house rabbits, 5 chickens and 2 horses. This is my first puppy ever in life and so far, so good!

Hello, Just wanted to introduce myself any my pup. This is Link, aka Mr. Floof, a male 18 week Border Collie. He is a bundle of energy and full of personality. Currently he loves squeakers, our 300 gallon fish tank ( loves to bark and chomp at the fish through the glass) and anything and everything he can chew. He also loves our daughter's high chair and tries to climb in it, so I humored him one day We are new to Border Collies, but not to working breed. We've had Siberian Huskies for 12 years, and after recently losing one of our beloved dogs to cancer, we wanted a very active partner for our other husky. So far, they get along great I welcome any advice or tips along the way We are located in SE Wisconsin.

Hey Hey, Kilo and I would first off like to say thanks for welcoming us into this wonderful community. Kilo is my first BC and is 4 months old. He's a joy to have and I'm learning as much from him as he is from me everyday. It's been a learning curve, but he's nearly house-broken, he knows MANY basic tricks (Sit, Down, Paw, Other Paw, Roll-over), and I'm working on introducing him to the Halti. Before anyone says anything in regards to my choice to keep him as a companion pet, I have done my research and am aware of the high energy and drive behind this breed as well as their needs to be worked and mentally stimulated. Also, I am a (almost graduated) Vet Tech. Currently our schedule looks like, as I'm in college (well exam time for 2 more weeks): Morning (upon wake up at 6:30-7:30am) a 10-15 minute walk outside to get him a chance to use the bathroom he gets his breakfast in a Kong Gyro treat puzzle ball while I eat my breakfast and get ready for class 5-10 minutes of trick training/practice in crate with frozen peanut butter to top the rest of his breakfast in a standard puppy Kong. (I don't leave till almost 8-9) Lunchtime (12-1pm) 20-30 minute walk break from crate to play fetch or play with toys and cuddle 2-3 baby carrots in crate for afternoon Early Evening ( following class at 4-5pm) 1 hour + of walking and fetch/run in a fenced soccer field depending on weather Dinner in Kong Gyro Training of tricks Play throughout the evening Bathroom breaks as required throughout the night Before Bed (9:30-10pm) 20-30 minute walk for bathroom and to wear off any last energy crate at 10:30pm (he tends to sleep through the night fine) I'm just here to see what else, as I'll be out shortly for the summer, I can do with him or teach him. I'm interested in getting him the Jolly Ball Egg to kick around our backyard at home with my parent's dog (12 year old miniature cockapoo). Also, I'm looking to get into running again this summer (a knee injury threw me off track this past year) so that I'm back up to par for next summer to start running with him (so that he doesn't over-stress his growing joints) and I'm looking to build him an agility course also to start next summer. Currently,m we are working on the stay command, not chasing my cat (2 year old tuxedo cat) and, as I said, slowly working on integrating the Halti so we can progress to having him focused and WORKING while we are on walks. This schedule seems to work best for us both, but I'm up for any additional thoughts on providing added enrichment. Thanks from both of us,

Hi, I'm new here! I've been reading up on some of the boards, and I have one question I haven't been able to find an answer to, and maybe there isn't a definitive one. I recently lost my 9 year old border collie rescue (got him at the age of 2) after an almost month long battle with pancreatitis. It sucks, and he left a rather large hole, and things just aren't the same with only my 12 1/2 yr old lab mix as the only dog in the house. So, I've been looking for a reputable BC breeder. I considered other breeds, and ultimately, I just loved so many qualities of the breed and they really are a good fit for us. About us: I take my dog running (well did, my lab is too old), hiking, and we played a lot of frisbee. We go to the lake where the other homeowners on the lake front and us let our dogs run and mingle together and they got along well enough- my BC was a bit of a snob. He was known as the frisbee dog that wouldn't quit out there and everyone loved him. We spend a great deal of time at rodeos and softball/baseball games and tourneys in the summers. I tried to bring my BC several times, but he was very "reactive." He would lunge and snarl at horses, spooking them, and bark incessantly when other dogs were present at these softball/baseball games (or really most places). My 16 year old rodeos, so when we go, we are there for the weekend and sleep in the horse trailer. There are farm dogs everywhere. I now understand this can be part of the breed and I should have managed it much, much earlier. I plan to prevent these behaviors by early, careful, and frequent socialization, which is why I want a puppy to bring home by early summer so I have ample opportunities. We will also be doing puppy classes and going forward, CGC for any new dog in my world. The issue is that we don't live on a farm/acerage with these livestock and horses. My daughter barrel races, and the horses she uses are 30 minutes away at my sister's home. My sister's pit bull has attacked both of my dogs, so I will not take my pup there. I do plan to visit other friends with livestock and horses. So, is it best to pick a BC from a breeder with proven working or farm dogs? That maybe has seen a cow or horse before I've ever brought it home? Or can I pick one from the breeder I like best that trains BC and uses them for agility, obedience, and what not? Is that dog going to potentially be more reactive in these situations? Thanks for taking my rookie question

Hey gang! I feel like I know so many of you since I've been lurking on these discussions for the past year, and now I'm asking a question of my own! Finally, it is time for me to get a border of my own once again, as now I'm graduated from college and will have a fairly free year (or two!) before heading off to vet school (where she will obviously accompany me). I had a BC/Siberian growing up, and I desperately miss having a pup that WANTS to be busy, wants to hike with me, wants to learn with me, and wants to work. I have a rescue Chihuahua mix now, and while he will do about 5-8 miles (when in shape, not after the winter we just got out of!) with me on the trail before I'm carrying him the rest of the day. We did this for a month on the Appalachian last summer, and we had a blast. That being said, he is true to his breed in that he is very cautious of new people and dogs, moody, bratty, and generally the cutest thing. He has done exceptionally well with dogs his size, puppies of all sizes, and some large dogs. Other large dogs he is fearful of. For that reason, I thought I'd avoid his size-related fear by getting a pup so he won't notice her growth as it gradually happens. This will also be of benefit to the cat, who is good with all small dogs, even when I foster up to five at a time, but one big dog comes in the house and he's not coming out from behind the fridge for a week. Starting from puppyhood, for a permanent resident, I believe is my only way to set up for success. After two years of having puppy fever, I am done with college and ready for my baby! I can't agree with breeding an animal for ANY reason other than the BETTERMENT of the breed, and as a volunteer in the rescue scene, I know theres a perfect match for everyone if they are willing to search, willing to drive, and willing to see the adoption process through! I have been approved to adopt this little pup, and plan on making the drive from Ohio to Illinois, where they have her reserved for me, to get her this week after my last final. She was found along a road in southern Illinois, and the rescue doesn't know her breed, but to me, she looks like a good smooth BC, if not just a wider at the base of the muzzle than typical. I don't have any BC baby experience, and I don't know what they usually look like at 10-11 weeks. What do you think she is? Lab mix? Pointer? (also I have attached a couple of my Chi, cause I heard we all love pictures)

Hi all! I'm new here so forgive me if there is already a thread devoted to this topic. I've been lurking on the boards for a while now and have read a lot of good advice. I'm hoping you all can give me some advice on helping our new BC puppy, and share your experiences with fearful puppies/puppies going through fear periods. We adopted our puppy from a rescue group last week. The group believes he is a full blooded BC and he certainly looks it! We are familiar with herding breeds and the challenges and joys of puppy-raising, and are very excited to introduce our puppy (Beau) to the very best life we can. When Beau came home, he was 8 weeks old and initially showed normal signs of puppy-leaving-litter separation anxiety. He cried most of the night, but by the next morning was beginning to warm up to my husband and I. However, as we have had him over the past few days, we have noticed he is intensely fearful of other people, unfamiliar places, car rides and children. He will struggle against the leash or our arms, and even growl when someone unfamiliar pushes his comfort zone too far. He hates walking anywhere unfamiliar and will sit down and refuse to move when we go too far outside of familiar territory, even within our own immediate surroundings. I'm assuming he's going through a fear period, but as I don't have experience raising a puppy this young, I am not quite sure how to best handle it. Of course we correct the growling, and I expect he will grow out of some of his fears with confident handling and time, but I don't want his fear to escalate into something more dangerous, especially with the children in our neighborhood. I want to make sure to manage this fear appropriately and get started early, so that we can encourage Beau to develop into a happy, confident dog. I figure even though we've only had him a week, it's better to address this early on rather than potentially letting it escalate further/ leaving it unaddressed. Do you all have any advice as to what is normal for a BC puppy during a fear period and what we should be concerned about? How did you help your puppies through this time? Thanks in advance!

Hello! Long time lurker, first time poster! I have been waiting on a few litters of working bred border collies puppies and they have all finally made it safely into this side of the world! Now comes the hard part: choosing! Litter 1: Working bred rough coated Red tri male (45lbs) x Working bred black tri smooth coated female (38lbs). CEA clear/clear, hips good/excellent. The bitch is out of incredible lines, bred and brought up for one year by Norman Close as his pick of the litter. She ended up not being pushy enough for the trial environment and was sold to their close friend who has a small sheep farm. She is athletic and FAST! Lovely temperament and structure. I have pick between two females. This is the female's first litter. Litter 2: Same sire x Rough coated red merle female (50lbs). CEA clear/carrier, hips good/excellent. I love the temperament of these dogs! Litter produced mostly red merle and one red tri, I have third pick of females. Puppies from previous litters of this same pairing appear to be lovely dogs in mind and drive, and are successful stock/ sport dogs. Originally when I started my search, I loved the idea of a red border collie, the red merles are also pretty, but as I have been researching, color is my last priority. This pup will be my sport prospect, especially in agility and dock diving, with intention to work stock as well, possibly trial. I am leaning toward the smaller black tri pups, but I still can't get over how gorgeous those red merle puppies are. I know there is a lot of prejudice with the merles, and worry about that in an active sporting/trial career. Thoughts?

double post, please delete.

Hi everyone, I have a 7 month border collie puppy named "Gogo" and he has changed my life. I want to play with him and make him happy. I want to help him get his endless energy out. So I tried to play fetch with him. But I have encountered several setbacks during the training. I have tried lots of methods but none of them seem to work really well. He only drops a ball when I have no eye contact with him. When he does bring it all the way back to me, I'd throw it immediately to continue the game. But if I do look at him on his way back, he stays away from me and won't bring it all the way back. Shall I just never look at him while playing then? When he has the ball and is away from me, I would ask him to "release" the ball. But he seems very reluctant every time. If he drops it and I try to approach it, he will pick it up again. In such situations, I tried to ask him to "release" again. It sometimes work, sometimes doesn't. When it doesn't work, I'd go back to my bedroom and close the door -- as a signal that "no release no game". He will learn the lesson for the next few minutes but return to the old patter before. I've tried treats. And treats don't work for him in play sessions cuz his attention is so fixated on the game/toy. I've also tried playing with two balls, he would drop the ball without any cue, but he would drop the first ball very far from me on his way back, and has his attention fixed on the ball in my hand. What have I done wrong? Or what shall I do better to do the "perfect" fetch? Please help us!~ Thanks a lot!

Merlin is 10 months old and his training for the most part is going very well. He has good food and toy drive. We have trained him with intent to keep him calm and as a pet not a working dog. Simple commands and lengthy requests are understood and followed through on. His morning walk is still about discovery with intermittent brief training sessions along the way. Afternoon and evening training sessions are also brief between playtime. Recently he has learned to swim and loves it. He can be difficult on recall when he really gets involved in activities; like swimming. Within our fenced property he has earned off leash privileges by responding very well. As we live in an urban environment he is leashed everywhere else, except swimming. My query is when do we increase the obedience intensity without dampening his enthusiasm?

Acorns to be exact. Garry Oak acorns. Merlin is 9 1/2 months old and has been eating the odd acorn, green, for a few months now with no apparent ill effects. He is a dainty eater so all food gets chewed thoroughly. We are about to have acorns rain down from our cops of old trees. Should I be concerned

This is Kenzie. (that's a hunk of deer hide, I think, in her mouth. Have no clue where she got it) She's a drop off dog as we call them out here. Basically, people from the small cities around here get tired of a dog, can't afford to feed it, get kicked out of where they were living and the new place doesn't accept dogs etc so they drop them off out in the country. We live across the road from the Nat Forest. I guess they figure people out in the country want all the dogs they can get? Her belly was loaded with seed ticks so I put some Heartz, advantage/frontline type drops on the back of her neck and she's much better now. That and I happened to have sprayed the yard with permethrin just before she showed up. By the markings we assume at least part BC. She's one hyper puppy unlike anything I've ever seen before. She barks her butt off at my little tractor and tries to bite the tires. Is this herding instinct? She's very attentive and seems smart which is why we took her in but the hyperness is beyond belief. Try to pet her and she'll jump on you, twist and turn, paw at you and twist and turn until she ends up falling on her back at which point she runs away turns around and comes right back to jump on you. She may also pee herself but not near as bad as if you try to reprimand her. I've always had medium sized dogs and have gotten most of them at 4 years old or so and I've never trained for anything but decent behavior. No jumping on people, sit, stay, walk on a leash without pulling etc. The breeds I've dealt with are full blooded Chow Chow and a Pit Bull mix. I can see right off that this little thing is going to be totally different. Swatted her on the hip once and that's not going to work. Instantly scared of me for the rest of the day every time I moved my hand/arm. I've read about and understand the positive reinforcement thing but heck, I wasn't even raised that way myself so it doesn't come natural for me. I've got a son that has mild Asperger's/Autism so I've learned quite a bit in that regard. No being tough on him. He's too tender. With the Chow dog, since it was full blooded and a puppy and my first dog, I bought a book and went by that for training. It said for jumping, gently step on their back toes or grab their front paws and walk towards them which throws them off balance which they don't like so they stop. It worked fine but not on this BCish dog. Too fast for stepping on the toes and touching means play, play, play evidently. I read here to just turn away so I'll do that. Indigo, the chow, was he best behaved dog most people have ever seen, especially for that breed. Some of that had to do with the fact that I was single and self employed so she was with me 24/7 but I also have always had a way with dogs to an extent. When I'm not on a keyboard, I'm a man of few words which I think helps. We had a few dairy goats a few years back and the plan now is to get some meat goats to breed and of course for meat. Even though I planned on keeping this dog almost the moment I saw her due to her attentiveness(which usually means intelligence), I was thrilled to find that it may have some herding instincts. I myself have no clue as to how to herd animals and the dairy goats were so tame and socialized that we could call them. I don't plan on getting that friendly with goats I plan to eat. We're not even fenced in enough for goats yet so it will be a little while. We should at least have a breeding pair or trio this year. So with the background info, intro done etc, a couple of questions and I realize that every dog's personality is different and that this may not be a true BC or have herding instinct but be that as it may... Is there anything I can do in the way of training towards herding at this early stage? I know having a dog mix with the stock as early as possible is recommended but I can't do that right now unless I can talk a neighbor into letting me walk the dog on their property amongst their goats. I don't know them but there's a couple of people with goats around here. I do have a buddy with a few cattle if that would help, even for observation. Does barking at the tractor and trying to bite the tires possibly have anything to do with herding instincts? (I think I have her pretty much broken of car chasing - just by saying ahh ah, no etc) Any advice for a super duper hyper puppy? I think some of it has to do with eager to please and learn and wanting to be accepted and/or not wanting to be dumped off again. I'm thinking about keeping her on a leash and with me pretty much all the time for a little while and having her with me 24/7 to keep her from getting confused trying to please and/or learn from me, my wife and two teens. My son isn't into dogs and my daughter is in the teen attitude stage so the commands aren't commands by any means. No consistency at all. I had some other questions but I think I answered them myself by typing all this out. Ahh, age. Definitely first set of teeth and the gum space between the teeth is about 1/3 of the teeth size. Any guesses as to age? My guess is a few months at most. Any other indications I can look for? Upper gums are dark grey. BC thing? Random? Mix breed thing? Thanks, John

It's hard to believe that Cricket is coming up on five months old! He's turning out to be, as my husband likes to say, "a good little pup". I'd say about 95% of the time we can correct his over-exuberant interest in the cats with a sharp "ah-ah" or "eyes on me" command, his mouthiness is decreasing, and he's calming down considerably. He will now have periods where he actually lies on his bed in the kitchen while I cook, or while I work at the kitchen table and we are SO happy to see that. He was a perpetual motion machine for so many weeks (we brought him home when he was 8 weeks old) that I despaired about whether he would ever learn to calmly flop around like our old dog did. One current issue we have: our closest friends have a three-year old male dog who is roughly the same size as Cricket. They love to play with each other, but Cricket just won't quit when it comes to playing. He constantly engages the other dog, pulls on his ears, leaps onto him and, as of our last visit (they were over at our house), will mount the dog! He makes himself a complete pest. The other dog won't separate himself from Cricket, and while he will growl at Cricket, his tail is still wagging while he does it. We put Cricket in his crate for about an hour and a half so we could have a peaceful dinner on the porch, but then when we let him out he was right back at the behaviors. We love to hang out with our friends, and we'd love for Cricket and their dog to also be friends who will play AND chill out together. Is there anything we should be doing, other than crate time? Will Cricket eventually calm down in this dog's presence? He has been socialized with other dogs in terms of being exposed to them, and on walks he behaves pretty well, all things considered, when he encounters another dog. Also, we correct him for mounting, but obviously this is embarrassing behavior and we don't want it to become a habit. It seems connected to his heightened excitement level when this dog is over, or when people he doesn't see often visit. He tried it on my father-in-law last weekend when he was visiting. Very awkward. My FIL just sat there and looked amusedly on while he did it, which was frustrating, but understandable, I guess. I told Cricket "ah-ah" and put the leash on Cricket straight away and took him out of the room. Do we just keep correcting and hopefully this behavior will disappear as he matures? Thanks! Oh, and here's a recent photo of our little guy: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8XMeMYzWMjxbHdpOC0td0pDMzg/view?usp=sharing

Cricket is finally 16 weeks! He had his final series of puppy shots this past Friday. I was disappointed to find that he weighed in at 13.7 pounds at 16 weeks, which seems to me to be on the small side. He's a shelter puppy, but I'd been hoping that the border collie genes would result in a larger dog to match his border collie personality Any guesses on how big he'll be? I'm hoping he'll be at least 25 lbs, but now I'm worried he might end up significantly smaller. Is it normal for there to be a growth slowdown during teething (he's in the thick of it). How much more active growth will he go through? After 8 weeks of "look at me" training and redirection, and clicker-rewarding, he FINALLY seems to be making some progress in the not-chasing-cats department. He has been rough housing with our boy cat for weeks by pouncing on him - Benny doesn't help by lying down right in front of Cricket, rolling over, and inviting play. Cricket's showing some real signs of self control and impulse control! This morning Benny was by kitchen door leading to the screened porch and I didn't notice. Cricket could have cornered him to "play", but instead he stopped, looked at Benny, looked at me, and came over to me to sit and get a treat. We're working on "down" and mouthiness. I have to say this puppy is exhausting at times, and it hasn't been all roses and sunshine. Moments like this morning though give me hope that with persistence and consistency we'll move through these puppy days and out the other side! Here he is at 16 weeks: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8XMeMYzWMjxZFpMZG1CY284S3c/view?usp=sharing His ears are normally tipped (I think they are likely to stay tipped since they haven't changed by 4 months) but they stand up when he's super-alert: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8XMeMYzWMjxSU5TTllsUXFrd2M/view?usp=sharing He looks worried because we're at the vet, waiting for his 16-week check-up.