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Hey guys! New to BC forums but figured I’d post my now 13 week old border collie mix pup! Meet Sam/Sammy. She’s such a sweet heart, super calm and obedient, already hanging off leash in our yard! We’re honestly pretty shocked at how great she’s been at so young. Any ideas of what she may be mixed with? We hear a lot of people saying boxer, which I can see! Her mother is pure bred BC. Thanks guys! - Drew

I have a 1.5 year old desexed male bordercollie and we have a daily dog group who meet after work and let our dogs play off leash at the local oval. My dog has been going since we was 14 weeks old so knows a lot of the local dogs. Recently we have had a huge increase of dogs including a lot of puppies ranging from 16 weeks to 11 months. Recently, my dog has shown aggressive behaviour towards the puppies who constantly lick his face and jump on him. He will tolerate the first few times but then all of a sudden he will snap and lunge and bite them. He hasn’t injured any but I am worried it might get worse. He doesn’t seem to have any patience with younger dogs of any breed and I want to correct it. Is my dog ok with telling the puppies to back off or should I be doing something to fix it? Any advice would help.

Hello! I live in The Netherlands and I am planning to move to Idaho. However, I have always wanted an Australian Red Border Collie. I found a great breeder in Belgium a while ago, but since I want to move to the United States it wouldn't be an option. Does anyone of you know if there are Australian Red breeders in or near Idaho? Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone! I've been browsing this site and forums for about a week now, and I figured it was time to join so I could ask a few questions of my own and have an outlet to share pictures so I don't overwhelm my Facebook feed with my new border collie interest! I'll share briefly who I am and why I am here. I'm 33, married, 4 kids that are between the ages of 14 and nearly 8. I have worked in a small non-profit vet clinic for about 2-1/2 years now (in reception). Through work, I have had the opportunity to get to know a few adult border collies that are owned by a co-worker. Between the two of us, we do educational programs on animals for the community at no charge, and we have programs on dogs, rabbits, exotic birds (owned by my friend) and reptiles (owned by myself). I also do a lot of photography for the clinic, and because of that, I go to my friend's dog program. I have been impressed with her border collies from day 1. I loved how attentive they were, how they intently watched their owner, and I really enjoyed taking pictures of her dogs catching discs at the end of the program. But admiration hadn't caused me to research owning one yet. I knew things about border collies from being a dog-crazy kid and teenager. I had owned various breeds of dogs, but never a herding breed. I just really admired her dogs (and I see a lot of dogs at work)! Here are 2 pictures I took last summer of one of my friend's dogs. And another ... Her dogs work her sheep, but they also love to do disc competition! The dogs are ABCA registered (Sundown Border Collies). On Thanksgiving day this past November, one of her dogs had a litter. Before they were born, I had a dream about the puppies and how many she had. I still wasn't considering owning one, but I was excited for her! When they were a few weels old, I took pictures of the puppies with "Santa" (my friend's husband), and it was right around then that I wished I could have one but I was pretty sure they were all spoken for. Shortly after this I was showing my husband the pictures, and he said, "don't get any ideas!" I told him they were all sold anyway, but then I thought I'd ask her. She said no, one was left ... and at that moment, I knew I wanted one. I told her what I was thinking, eventually got the okay from my husband, and here I am, waiting about 3 more weeks for our puppy. I named him Solo! (I'm a Star Wars fan). Here are a few of the pictures I've taken of him so far. In Santa's hands! Santa with the litter of 8. Solo is the third one from the left. Solo singled out. Two of my girls at my friend/breeder's house on Christmas eve. Pups were exactly 4 weeks old. This was the night we picked him out of 3 remaining males that were claimed but not individually spoken for. Solo is on the left. Middle white puppy is a female and going to the sire's owners. Puppy on the right was one of the choices (at first was mine but my husband liked the other. Both pups are super cute so I picked the one that my husband liked best. The breeder said either would be fine for our family.) These pictures were taken this past Sunday: My son and Solo. My youngest with Solo. A t-shirt rope tug toy that we made for Solo. We brought a bunch of them over, and he took one from the group and went back to his puppy pen to chew it. So cute! I think that's it for now! I plan to keep reading and researching and then asking questions, but if you have anything helpful you think I should know, let me know! I am not unfamiliar to dogs, but it's been a long time since I've had a puppy. And as I said, I've never had a herding breed of dog. I have a great friend/breeder that is confident that this puppy will be great for us, and being that I generally work one day a week and I homeschool my children, we are nearly always home. We live in the country with a lot of land, and we are a pretty active family. We've aleady been invited to come along to disc competitions, which will be fun for all of us! We don't have any livestock and probably won't get sheep, but we will be getting ducks and chickens this spring. Solo will be trained on the breeder's sheep though, so that'll be great for him! I think that's it! Thanks for reading!

Hello Team BC! I must once again draw from the pack wisdom of the group. As suggested in many forums, and after much hemming and hawing, I contacted Dwight at Blue Ridge Border Collies, a ranch that also breeds working dogs. I explained that I was looking for a dog on the lower end of exercise and energy range to be a companion pet, and did he know of a dog of any age like that looking for a home. He said he had a six month old pup he had traded one of his $800 puppies for that he's looking to sell. He described the dog as very level, quiet, calm, and not having any of those obsessive quirks that border collies sometimes have. I don't think he's been started on herding (or maybe he wasn't cut of for it?). Anyway, I'm going to meet him next week! I also contacted Red River Border Collies in TX, but they seemed really eager to send me off with a 8 week old puppy, no questions asked, which made me a bit wary. Has anyone worked with Dwight before? He seemed like a stand up guy. Are there any specific things I should look for during my visit? Any questions I should ask? I'm definitely asking about exercise requirements, how he is alone, and whether I can bring him back in the event of a catastrophe. What do you think?? This has been such an ongoing process and I feel like I finally did it the right way. Comments for other non-working types looking for a BC: I was totally scared to call farm/ranch people (as so many on these forums suggest) to ask about their dogs because I though they'd look down on me for wanting one of their crazy amazing work dogs to be a cuddle buddy in the city. O contraire! They we very friendly and open, and listened to what I was looking for in a dog, and genuinely wanted to help me make a good match. Moral of the story: city pup, don't be scared to talk to you friends the country pup. Disclaimer: I have also spent a LOT of time trying to get a dog from a rescue, but of the three in my area, only one wants anything to do with me (I was basically told "no foster parent is going to approve you because you live in an apartment" and I straight up never heard from the other after multiple emails). If only I lived near Glen Highland Farm; I'd be a certified rescue dog hoarder by now! And I kind of have a dog deadline since I want to spend my last year as a student bonding with him while I still have so much free time, and before the realities of moving/full time job hit in.

Thanks for taking the time to review my board. I am in the very early stages of starting my own breeding program. I have researched border collies extensively and have looked at multiple breeders from mainly herding lines. I have researched some from performance lines and I have come across Lock-Eye Border Collies on a few of the pedigrees. Does anyone have experience with this breeder? I contacted her asking what sports/activities she did with her current breeding stock and have had no response. In my opinion in order to better the border collie it is important to WORK that dog. She seems to breed for color instead of ability and she breeds large amounts of dogs. I've also noticed that when I contacted her she has a waiting list arranged by 'color' people want versus what traits/goals they want to accomplish with the dog. Just curious on the feedback, good and bad. Thank you in advance for your time.

Sorry - Duplicate post. Not sure how to delete:)

Hello all, Our family just adopted a puppy from a herding dog rescue in Oregon. He's a ten week old BC/McNab. Currently we have 9 year old female Aussie/BC that we got from rescue six years ago. Does anyone know much about McNabs? I have read the history online and I believe they are descendants of Scottish BCs bred to work in California. Although the history seems a little fuzzy to me. Mainly I am interested in their temperament. Does anyone have experience with McNabs? We are very excited to bring this handsome guy home and I am hoping to eventually train him in agility. It's been a long time since we have had a puppy in the house, so any tips are appreciated. Also, I got him from Herd U Needed A Home rescue in Bend, OR. They are doing great work in the Pacific Northwest. Kind regards, Shadow and Maggie's Mom

I have been involved with dogs for much of my life. The majority of that was spent with European-line GSDs and training and competing in Schutzhund. I got out of that about 10 years ago when I noticed a huge change in the politics of the sport and the breed in general and didn't like the direction that it was going. I focused back on my horses (which have also been a big part of my life and, sadly, are not any better than what is going on with the GSDs at this time) and got a nice Red Heeler that was my buddy and companion for 11 years. I ride reined cowhorses and while Cowboy, my heeler, was a wonderful companion, he was backyard bred and untrained- I was so disillusioned with the dog world at that point that I was a bit of a rebel. Cowboy passed away last October and I swore I would not have any more dogs. That lasted almost a year!!! lol I was on line one day and saw an ad from our local Humane Society for a BC that was up for adoption. I just felt a strong connection to this dog but when I called on him, he had already been adopted. Two days later, during a family BBQ, a BC wandered into our yard and, again, that connection was there- he was playing with my grandkids and greeting everyone, even my grumpy Chihuahua liked him and he usually hates any other dogs!!! I asked all of my neighbors and no one had seen him in the neighborhood or knew anything about him so I thought that we would keep him over night and get ahold of the Humane Society in the morning and see if anyone was looking for him, if he was chipped, etc. Not too long after we decided that, a guy that was visiting someone in the neighborhood claimed him. That was it, I was interested in Border Collies!!!! I began researching and learning everything that I could. since I had a background in working line dogs and that is where my heart lies, I knew that I wanted a working line BC and I knew that I would need to decide on some sport or activity that would keep my dog's mind sharp and boredom down. At first I was thinking obedience and agility but as I was researching, I kept going back to the cowdog lines. I was reading about other people who ride cow horses and use their dogs to turn cows back for them, etc and settled on that line of work for my prospect. I found a breeder that I liked and put my deposit down!!! I spent some time hanging out with the breeder at trials and I am hooked!!! I have had my puppy now for a month and I love her!!! So far she is all that I could have asked for in a pup. I do have a few questions, though. I have taught her to sit, down, stay and come to her name- all for food and all puppy stuff, of course, but she is doing really well. I have a friend that has experience with stock dogs and she has a pup that is about 2 weeks older than mine and she started an obedience class and told me to bring my pup so I did. The first class, she explained that they would learn to heel, sit, down, recall, stand and do a one minute stay. In my past experience with Schutzhund dogs, we would have never put that much obedience on such a young puppy and I wonder if that is too much for my herding prospect also. What do you guys think? The other question that I have is that I want to eventually do the horseback trials with my dog as it will be a good marriage of the two things that I love. So I don't want her to be afraid of horses and I don't want her to try and work my horses- I hate that!!!! I've taken her out to the barn with me, on leash, a few times and just let her hang out with me around the horses so that she gets used to them. The cows are quite a ways away from the barn so she doesn't even see them. Is this OK to do with her? Or should I just keep her away from all livestock until she is older?