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Do your dogs like to be petted? A little or a lot? Do they solicit petting by shoving their head under your hand? Ask for belly rubs? How do they do with petting from strangers? Do they like to be stroked? Rubbed? Scratched? Thumped?

 

Is your dog most likely to greet you by soliciting petting, or are they more likely to bring you a toy or check your pockets for treats? Do they mob you for a minute and then go about their business. Do they get excited when you come home or just thump the tail a couple of times and stay where they were when you came in?

 

All these questions tend to finding out how common the physically demonstrative Border Collie is, and to see how their owners demonstrate affection. Also, I’m curious as to how much Border Collie owners want shows of affection from their dogs.

 

I would also be interested in whether your Border Collies are working bred, rescued, show/pet bred or sports bred. Also, for working stock dogs, are they kennel-kept or house-kept?

 

As to my own dogs, Sugarfoot, (7 years) is tolerant of petting, but outside of greeting rituals, doesn’t solicit physical attention much. Except that she loves being squeezed - unlike any other dog I’ve had.) Maid, (10 mos.) is the same except for the squeezing, and she adores having the bases of her ears endlessly rubbed.

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Molly does not want to be touched by strangers, period and the end. She isn't overly physically affectionate in general, either. She will hang out NEAR me, for sure, almost all the time - follows me around, sits on the couch beside me, sleeps under my desk or behind my desk chair. However petting and snuggling/cuddling is reserved for about 15 minutes first thing in the morning (in bed), and the same before I go to sleep at night. Some days we'll have a few brief periods where she comes and asks for a neck rub by pressing the top of her head into my arm or chest (depending on how I'm sitting), but wants that even for just a few seconds.

 

Overall, she wants trained, she wants played with, she loves being talked to, and she clearly adores me but she does not want a lot of physical affection. She's not going to snap and bite or whatever to make it stop, but she will certainly make it clear she doesn't want it - usually by just moving away.

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Oh, I should also say: I'm not into a lot of physical touch/physicality, anyway, so this works for me. I'd like her to sleep with me (darn you dog!) , but mostly she's about right for me. I am not even a little bit sad that she's not a dog who wants to be constantly touching/touched by me.


ETA: What is reading?


But Molly is working bred, possibly not purebred but both parents work, and she's definitely a house dog.

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My oldest, Georgia likes a hug when I get home from work. Will sometimes cuddle. Likes a little petting, but can get annoyed and end up leaving. Mostly she likes you to just pay attention to her.

 

My middle, Tex, would happily live his life wrapped around my neck. Loves to cuddle, gives bear hugs (only to me, he'd freak out if anyone else tried to hug him), he's also very kissy at times, which can get annoying.

 

My youngest, Faith, is not very affectionate. When I get home she does an awkward little dance, and runs to get a toy to throw at me. When she's very tired she'll sit close for petting. She likes to snuggle for a few minutes in the morning before getting out of bed. Like Georgia, she tolerates petting but will leave if it gets to be too much or overstimulating.

 

I'm not overly affectionate myself, so their tendencies work well for me. Tex would walk on water for me if I asked him to, so if he needs extra affection that's AOK with me.

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Do your dogs like to be petted? A little or a lot? Do they solicit petting by shoving their head under your hand? Ask for belly rubs? How do they do with petting from strangers? Do they like to be stroked? Rubbed? Scratched? Thumped?

 

Is your dog most likely to greet you by soliciting petting, or are they more likely to bring you a toy or check your pockets for treats? Do they mob you for a minute and then go about their business. Do they get excited when you come home or just thump the tail a couple of times and stay where they were when you came in?

 

All these questions tend to finding out how common the physically demonstrative Border Collie is, and to see how their owners demonstrate affection. Also, I’m curious as to how much Border Collie owners want shows of affection from their dogs.

 

I would also be interested in whether your Border Collies are working bred, rescued, show/pet bred or sports bred. Also, for working stock dogs, are they kennel-kept or house-kept?

 

As to my own dogs, Sugarfoot, (7 years) is tolerant of petting, but outside of greeting rituals, doesn’t solicit physical attention much. Except that she loves being squeezed - unlike any other dog I’ve had.) Maid, (10 mos.) is the same except for the squeezing, and she adores having the bases of her ears endlessly rubbed.

 

 

 

Dean likes a little bit of petting, but prefers to just lay snuggled up next to you during down time. Usually if you actually pet him, he gets wiggly and then jumps up and finds a toy. He loves being petted by his non-family human friends, but he's not still - he wiggles around and even flops on his back if he can.

 

Tessa loooooves to be petted. Any way she can get it!! Her favorite thing every morning is to be snuggled up to me on the sofa, as I run my hand over her head and ears, while I throw toys for the boys. She also likes to turn around and wiggle her rear end at me while I scratch above her tail. She does not allow strangers, or even most people who aren't me, to touch her at all.

 

Bandit likes having his head scratched and he often gets snuggly and likes to have a belly rub. Like most Border Collies, he doesn't want to be petted when he's in active mode, but during down time, he really likes scritches. Strangers? Depends. He loves most women and likes upsnuggles and any attention they will give him, including petting. He can be more reserved with strange men.

 

Greetings:

 

Dean used to pummel me when he was young, but he long ago grew out of that. Now he runs up to me and I say, "Hi Deanie Dog!" and he runs to the front door.

 

Tessa runs right to the front door, but when I get there to open it, she waggles at me and usually yaps a greeting.

 

Bandit comes running out of the crate, yowling. Sometimes he will stop a second for a greeting, but usually runs to the door.

 

Obviously, I let them out when I first get home. When they come in, Tessa gets snuggles on the sofa and the boys bring me toys to throw.

 

I welcome shows of affection from my dogs, but I don't insist on them. I've found that all of my current dogs have their snuggly - wanting petting times - and times when they are more hands-off.

 

Dean is working bred and a rescue, Tessa is a rescue of unknown origin, and Bandit is working bred.

 

They all live in the house full-time.

 

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My first Border Collie was a male who was a farm puppy that ended up in a puppymill. He was given to me due to his shy/backward nature. I got him when he was 12 weeks old. I socialized the beejeepers out of him and that was what he had lacked. He became a great dog (with A LOT of work.) He enjoyed people and was friendly without being pushy. He was always near me and slept on the foot of my bed at night. He preferred being played with to petted but enjoyed people petting him also. He really was (to me) a perfect dog.

The next Border was a female who was returned by people who bought her for their children. They brought her back saying she was "aggressive with the children and way too hyper." We had to peel the puppy collar off of her neck, they had never thought to loosen it in the weeks that they owned her. She was given to me also. She was 4 1/2 months old when I got her. She loved my littlest cousin on sight and never had any issues with children. She loved being petted pretty much by anyone. I took her to a "dog wash" one time and she just loved being bathed and scrubbed by a pack of little girls, tried to lick any face in reach! She was in heaven! She would sit beside me for hours to be stroked.

I had both the first Border, Cory and the second, Cass at the same time. Cass never slept on my bed as Cory wouldn't let her. They would both be at the door when I got home, ready for action! Cory rarely solicited petting but Cass would head butt. She also enjoyed sitting on my lap and helping me with my back stretches (usually by sitting on me.)

The current two Borders, Logan (age 9) and Ziva (age 5) I got as nine week old puppies that were farm raised. (The previous two were also from farms originally.) Logan is all action!!! He likes people but is just too busy to be petted. Once, at an obedience trial, a child wanted to pet him and he kept looking around at the floor. The girl asked what he was doing and I said "he wants to give you something so you can throw it for him" at that moment he found a huge, dog hair dust bunny and tossed it to the girl who threw it back to him. He was thrilled!!! He rarely ever wants to be petted acts like it is embarrassing to hold still for it. He'd rather have people toss him things, anything. He used to sleep on my bed until I got Ziva.

Ziva is the most obnoxiously affectionate dog I've ever owned. She loves everyone. Flunked her Canine Good Citizen test the first time because she thinks "sitting politely for petting" means jumping into the examiner's lap, flopping upsidedown and getting a bellyrub. She gets so happy when people rub her belly she flails around like she's having a seizure! Each person thinks they must be really special that this strange dog loves them so much but I think she'd act like that with the devil if he appeared in front of her!!!!! She is a total pest to me. Sits on my lap (she is 28 pounds), gets under the covers at night to sleep, head butts her way under my arm when I am trying to read. She loves to be stroked for hours and hours and will head butt if you try to stop. She was a pesty puppy so I knew what I was getting but she is a little much sometimes!!!! I feel bad because it is hard to give Logan any attention when she is so demanding of it but he'd rather I threw a toy anyway. Both dogs are at the door when I come home, ready to go!!!

None of my dogs are really that food motivated. All of them enjoy pesting company with toys. If company ignores them, they go away and lay down. It company throws a toy, the game is on and can be hard to stop. All four dogs were allowed on the furniture but Cory, Cass and Logan only occasionally would be on any furniture, Ziva, on the other hand, acts like she is just too good for the floor and adjusts pillows and covers to suit her.

Sometimes Logan does seem to enjoy a good back scratch.

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I have two BCs: Natasha, 18 months old that I brought home at nine weeks, working bred. Mattie, approximately two, a rescue found as a stray. Both are house dogs.

 

Natasha likes affection first thing in the morning and just before bedtime. During the day she loves to be around us but would much rather work (fetch, agility, silly dog tricks) with us than receive affection. She loves getting attention from strangers, especially children. At agility class this summer the instructor had two of her grandsons at class and Natasha allowed them to hug her and rub her tummy (with my daughter she was all business and wanted to get to running the agility course).

 

Mattie is my affectionate dog. She checks in all day for pets. If I am working at my desk she will go under the desk and rest her head on my lap to get my attention. If I go out to the garage or go outside for a minute she always greets me and wants a pat of reassurance that I am back.

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Kenzi is a rescue of unknown origin and is a Golden Retriever in a Border Collie suit. Never met a stranger. She'll crawl in anyone's lap to solicit attention. She's very touchy feely and it's been a bit overwhelming for me at times. She's Therapy dog material - at least now that she has enough self control to pass the obedience portion of the test.

 

Kolt - working bred, enjoys attention, will solicit it but not nearly as pushy about it as Kenzi. He's fine curling up next to me (or on my lap) and falling asleep. He has a serious edge to him. He's fine with a variety of people but checks in with me before looking for attention. Much more my style!

 

As far as greetings go, they're both quite laid back when I get home from work. Kolt is crated and I generally ignore both dogs until I change my clothes. So they just stay quiet until I'm ready to take them out. I tend to encourage calm behavior inside so they're much more likely to just greet me than bring me something to play with. Outside Kolt is very in your face lets do something. Kenzi has to go off and investigate the farm then she comes back and joins in when she hears Kolt doing stuff.

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My current BC has never met a stranger as long as there is nothing moving fast around him to kick in his herding drive. He ignores people if there is another dog, squirrel, sheep, Frisbee, etc. in the area. He has developed this little trick around people. He walks up to people wagging his tail so hard you wonder how he walks a straight line. Then when he gets to them the first thing he does is sit and stare up at them. Them he accepts petting as if it is his due. Then if the person is not careful they will get slimed by what I think is the fastest tongue in the state. I've had him over 4 years now and he has never met a person he did not like.

 

At home he will meet me at the door for a quick pet, but the first thing he wants to do after that is go outside. He does not get on furniture, even though I don't care if he does. So he does not really cuddle at home. He will come up to me and stare if he wants out. Overall he has a very nice off-switch in the house.

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Risk is asleep on my feet as I type but he can take or leave physical fussing. Greets everyone happily though. Likes to be close but not needy. Working bred and living in the house. Bought as a pup.

 

Kye likes a fuss from time to time but only from his own humans. Probably only about 4 or 5 people in his life he trusts enough to relax with. He would like others to stroke him but fear takes over and he is likely snap. He hangs out with my daughter when she is home but not so much with anyone else. Almost certainly farm bred. Adopted at 8 months. Living in the house.

 

Both will plonk a toy on your lap to be thrown with varying degrees of response from me as I don't want pestering dogs.

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Keeper is a ham. I got him at 9 weeks old, "working bred", parents ran sheep and cattle on a small scale farm. He was crate trained, and no longer needed it after 9 months or so.

 

He wants to be touched all day every day. Petting is less desired compared to "cuddling". He'd prefer to have me wrap my arms around him. He's very big on being close to me, he usually is curled up right next to me, extending this to a spread-eagle-head-plopped-on-lap maneuver.

 

He's pretty much the same with strangers, unless there's a toy involved. Them its a quick "hi" and get back to the game. He finally is getting self control down with strangers. He was never a jumper, but he'd wiggle and fuss and lick. Now he sits nicely in place for strangers with a big grin on his face. With kids? Not so much. He thinks kids are the greatest things that ever existed. He starts wiggling and crawling as soon as he sees them. I made a down his default behavior for petting when he was trying to make out with everyone, so now he sees a kid and drops down and starts trying to crawl.

 

He usually greets me by flying towards the door with a big "woo", a drawn out howl. I can choose if I'm going to let him be excited and put his paws on me, or I can make him sit quietly. He does both very reliably. I don't always mind a dog that's excited to see me, so I let him be excited if I give him the OK to do so.

 

Keeper was from a little of 9, and 6 are working in Oklahoma, one is an agility dog, one is a certified therapy dog, and Keeper is the only full pet.

 

Trooper isn't into pets. We got him at 9 months, "working bred" again, but he lived outside until we got him. He's very into affection, however. He jumps up on the couch a couple times a night to flop in your lap and thrash about happily. But he moves away if you're just petting him. When we got him he'd give not-quite-growls-but-not-happy-sounds-either when we'd pet him. That has pretty much gone away. He will put his paws up on you a couple times a day just to make sure you still like him. Usually we'd stop this, but you know, he's cute and stuff....

 

Greetings are minimal, he jogs up wagging his tail and wants a quick pat before going off to pester the other dogs. Strangers are pretty much invisible to him. Usually he's out with the Boston Terrier or Keeper, both of which are much more inviting to strangers, so he usually never has to greet somebody.

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Fun Topic Geonni :):wub: !

 

Otto LOVES to say hi and be loved on. He will go out of his way to find a strange lady or child or guy and stop them in their tracks, sit right at their feet and wag and flirt. We have to work on only doing this only when "released" to do so. But many find him irresistible. This and other qualities make me think he'll be a good therapy dog.He is working bred and has siblings who are ranch and/or trial dogs. He himself is gentle with baby lambs and goats, but has had a rough start on sheep (rough for him, rough for the sheep).

 

Otto enjoys head, ear, neck ruff and belly scratches. He gets really "blissed out" when I stroke his front legs. It's like hypnotizing for him. He gives licks (face and hands) and I limit that to a few "kisses" at a time. He usually affectionates me before going to the foot of the bed to sleep in his own spot, or onto the cool bathroom floor.

 

Greeting is usually low key as he's in a hurry to get outside and look/sniff for squirrels, or play. Otto does spread-eagle and it cracks me up- he sleeps that way, but sometimes it seems like a solicitation for belly rubs. He sometimes pushes his head in under an arm, but so far it's not obnoxious/demanding. It seems sweet. Some affectionate BCs seem a bit fawning and needy, but I enjoy Otto's level of affection and usually I'm glad that he spreads it around... there's a bit of "I am the center of the universe" perhaps that a working dog shouldn't have... but, like I said, he's very sweet about it :-)

 

 

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Golan loves physical affection. He cuddles on the couch until called to something important like herding a cat. Solicits a quick scratch or pet before going back to his business (often herding the cats). Effusively greets me at the door with tail rotating like a helicopter rotor, elicits pets, then goes back to what he was doing. On walks, he'll trot ahead to greet people and solicit their petting. Occasionally goes down for a belly rub. He likes all kinds of physical affection from all people.

 

Interestingly, when my wife comes home he greets her effusively at the door, does a quick sit (which she requires) to get petted, then heads out the back door to get her to follow and throw his ball or frisbee. Everytime she comes home, he heads out back expecting to play.

 

During the day, he may go out, then come back to scratch at the door to draw me outside to play with him. Less often, he'll bring a toy to me in the house. More likely, he'll bring a bone to show me before resuming chewing it nearby.

 

Often, like several times in the last few minutes, he'll come into my study as if 'to check on me', accept as much attention or petting - or as little - as I'll give him; then back to somewhere else until it is time to 'check on me' again. My old Aussie/sled dog mix would do that, too.

 

As far as motivators, it is pretty clear to us that although he responds very well to treats; he is really interested in human interaction. Treats, petting and praise, play - it's all the same to him as long as there's a person on the other side of it.

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I would love nothing more than for Callie to be my snuggle buddy, but she's not so keen. She likes very limited affection on her own terms and she'll come lean on us or snuggle up close for very short periods of time. She tolerates children touching her really well (far better than adults), but she still gets fed up with too much grabbing and starts nose-poking them away.

 

Her cuddling on her own terms even extends to the baby. She won't tolerate me putting him on or near her, but she does crawl up to him if he's on his play mat on the floor and she'll rub up on him when he's in my lap. She likes to sleep by his crib and be in close proximity to him, especially if we're not in the room. I'm very curious to see what she's like when he starts to touch her on his own...

 

I've learned to just leave Cal be when she voluntarily snuggles up and enjoy the closeness and maybe rub her ears a little so I can lengthen the amount of time before she hops up. Her favorite is laying on our feet or snuggling me when I'm asleep.

 

She does love to be greeted affectionately right when we come home though and will accost us for attention (despite our "four on the floor" rule for no jumping). Belly rubs especially. She seems to be more affectionate with friends and new people she meets than us, but then again, we terrorize her with love on a daily basis. She'll wag her tail and ask to be petted by every person she meets (except our next door neighbor...she hates him and he gets a vicious growl on sight...GOOD DOG!).

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Jade is a border collie/black lab? mix that I fostered then adopted. The longer she is with our house the more she seeks attention which is mind boggling to me. She loves my mom but mom has a hard time getting around and is in a lift chair most of the time but Jade will lay across her lap and wait for mom to reach down and pet her and scratch under her chin. She has most recently decided that jumping to the end of the chair and then putting her paws on my mom's shoulders for a pet is the thing to do. She is very gentle when she does this...again I am amazed. For her and me, she has started to lay beside me on the couch and scoot as close as she can get. If I am engrossed in something, like having a discussion with my mom, she will reach up and take her paw and scratch very heavily on my arm until I pet her....we are working on this. She also loves to get up close to me early in the mornings before we get up and have her stomach rubbed...she actually would lay all day and let you rub her belly. I do like a dog that likes attention.

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Each of my three boys is different.

 

George loves to snuggle and lick. The snuggling is when we are on the bed or the sofa. Most of the day he just insists on lying down in sight of you, sometimes resting his chin on your foot. He adores ear rubs and butt scratches. He will try to pin your hand, arm, leg etc under a paw and lick, and lick, and lick..... If he is lying on the rug in front of the sofa, and some bare feet come near him, he gives amazing foot rubs with his tongue! He has also earned the nickname Nurse George because he always wants to lick your boo boos. George relentlessly tried to lick my partner's blisters from new shoes, even under a band-aid and a pair of socks!

 

Oscar is the demanding sort. He will nudge his head under your arm or hand, or rest his paw on your knee (or simply paw at you) until you commence or resume patting him, loving ear rubs and belly rubs the most. Sometimes he will stand next to you and lean against you until he gets a butt scratch. On the bed or the sofa, he will paw at you for pats, then while you are patting him, he will push you away with his paws. If you stop patting him, he will paw at you or nudge you with his muzzle until you start again, and then immediately recommence pushing you away with his paws.

 

Bailey, the youngest of our dogs, is both the most cuddly and the least. He will spend most of the evening at a distance staring at the other dogs. We may be on the sofa with Oscar, and Bailey will be lying with his head peeping around the door frame, very focussed. You can try to pat him and he ignores you. But when he jumps on the bed in the morning (and it is pretty much always in the morning) he will lie fully on top of you, will gently paw at your phone or tablet which is interfering with his pats and will snuggle right up under your chin and give you a hug. In the quiet times, he loves ear rubs the most, and rubs around his collar. Bailey will lick you hand and then gently start mouthing it, never hard enough to even leave a dent on my skin. He always looks at your face when doing this. I am not sure why he does this, whether it is an affection thing, or something else.

 

One thing that all three of our boys love is a gentle rub with a single finger between their eyes. They lean into your finger and the look of bliss on their face! Is this unusual?

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