BC in apartment

[ame8199]

Hello, 

Ive been interested in border collies for years now.  Ive only ever had dachshunds.  I know dachshunds and border collies are far from being similar, i understand that.  Im in the agility scene.  Ive fell in love with agility. My dachshunds are fairly successful in agility. My puppy is pretty driven and she not running yet. 

I understand all the border collie quirks and issues that can develop. my issue is that i just moved into an apartment from a house (pretty much started over in my life) Im not looking for one YET.  My older dachshunds has to pass first. He wouldn't do well with a high drive border collie.  So Im just looking and exploring options. 

Ive looked into rescues as a puppy would be hard to have in an apartment and my apartment won't allow it.  Id love to know the activity level and drive of the adult. Do you know any rescue that would allow a border collie to be adopted into in an apartment knowing that i do agility and other dog sports?  Or a breeder? We do have a fenced in area and walking trails. My female dachshunds has a lot of drive and mental stimulation needs but im sure less than what a border collie would need.  

Just exploring my options here.  Been wanting a dog with legs and being in agility, ive falling in love with border collies. 

[Michael Parkey]

Adopting an adult or near-adult dog is a great idea because you can know the energy level of the dog before you adopt.  A good rescue group should be able to help match you with an appropriate dog, and allow you a trial period.  And good rescue organizations always want and/or require that you bring the dog back to them if it doesn't work out.

Of course, be honest with the rescue about your situation.  But it is perfectly OK to emphasize your agility experience and show them some ribbons if you have any!  Please post your location so people can refer you to a good group if they know one in your area.

[ame8199]

Tons of ribbons! My 7 year old dachshunds competes in AKC masters level.  He has 11 double Qs, just not a lot of points. Been doing it since he was 7 months old. 

I live in Evansville, IN.  I have a somewhat connection with Mo-Kan Rescue. 

Thank you for your reply! 

[GentleLake]

Welcome to the Boards.

4 hours ago, ame8199 said:

Do you know any rescue that would allow a border collie to be adopted into in an apartment knowing that i do agility and other dog sports?

That will depend entirely on the rescue but I think many, if not most, would be receptive for an appropriate dog as long as you're prepared to meet the dog's needs and can provide your landlord's approval. A lot of the rescues are thrilled to have someone interested in doing serious agility.

Wishing you the best.

[D'Elle]

I adopted a 2 year old border collie when I was living in a small space in LA with no yard. The rescue let me have Jester because they had gotten to know me over the course of several months and they believed I would do right by the dog, and I did. It meant I spent every moment that I was not working or sleeping doing things with the dog, and he got two very long walks a day that included frisbee retrieving. I had to be dedicated, but it worked fine. Some rescues will not adopt to someone in an apartment but it should be taken on an individual basis. As a rescue worker I have approved adoption of a border collie to an apartment dweller when I believed the person would make the effort to give the dog a good home.  Your agility experience will go a long way toward convincing them you will.

In case you have not, please familiarize yourself with the info on these Boards concerning breeders and how to choose a responsible breeder if you intend to look into that as well as adopting a rescue. 

[alligande]

I think because of your agility experience you will stand a good chance. When I was involved in border collie rescue in the US we always struggled to find adopters who wanted to be active with their dogs.

I would start networking with potential rescues, so they start to get to know you and understand that you would be a good home for a border collie

I spent 4 months living in an apartment on the 6th floor with no elavator, with my border collie he adapted really well, we are all glad when we moved out though those stairs were brutal! 

[gcv-border]

I concur with the general advice above. If you are ready to involve, really involve, a BC in your life and train it to satisfy the mental requirements, apartment living with a BC is doable - but probably more work than if you lived in a house with a yard.

I volunteer with a BC rescue, and we will adopt to people living in apartments - depending on their plans for exercising the dog, their work schedule, and the personality of the dog. For example, a sound-reactive dog would not do well in an apartment setting (and BCs are quite notorious for being sound reactive). 

I strongly agree that adopting an older BC (or BC mix) would be an excellent option in your circumstances. (Older being defined as 6-8 months or older). You then have the advantage of a pretty good idea of the adult size and personality (sound reactivity, drive, focus, etc.). Puppies are such a black box. You can get a pup from an excellent breeding and do all the 'right' puppy training, and sometimes end up with a dog with 'limitations'.

Since you are in the Midwest, check out Clancy's Dream Rescue. I am not a member, but I do follow them on FB. They are a very active rescue group.

[Pat P]

agree with all the above! It will be harder to get yourself a bc, but should be still quite do-able. 

The thing I wanted to add is that you'll need to make certain that the dog you adopt is not overly rambunctious with your dachshund (some bc's are standoffish and not much inclined to play with other dogs, but others are total play machines), because the dachshund will be more vulnerable than most other dogs would be to being injured (bowled over, squashed, folded rapidly in half by a pounce, etc).  I have found I have to be careful with my 9.5 month old rescue BC (who is more towards the total play machine end of the spectrum, and probably always will be) when he's playing with my 16 lb dachshund-chihuahua cross. Fortunately my guys go to the chiro every 3 wks for maintenance *anyhow* (agility dogs), and knock wood nothing too traumatic will ever happen, but the long back really is an injury magnet, considering my particular BC's style of play.  So, just another thing to add to the checklist

Good luck have fun,

Pat P.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Pat P
clarity

[GentleLake]

3 hours ago, gcv-border said:

(Older being defined as 6-8 months or older)

I have to disagree that a dog's personality is set by 6-8 months. I've seen too many who develop completely different personality traits at 10-15 months that can make them unsuitable for certain situations.

For example, I adopted a 6 month older border collie mix who I hoped would become another therapy dog. I spent a lot of time socializing and she even came along to some of our group's visits where she did very well. At around 14 months old she started exhibiting increasing anxiety in unfamiliar situations and developed a fear of unknown dogs that manifested itself as fear aggression. 7 years later we still struggle with these issues and I can't envision her living comfortably -- for either her and me or especially neighbors -- with her barking at sounds outside and her reactivity to unfamiliar dogs, especially if they appear suddenly.

I later adopted a 13 week old border collie puppy. Again, lots and lots of socialization and he was doing really well until about 9 months old when he began to develop unpredictable aggression. By 10 months it was so bad I returned him to the rescue, where despite medical and behavioral intervention he became worse and was eventually euthanized.

I really don't mean to be an alarmist and both of these situations are the exception to the rule. But I'm looking for another dog now and because I need to be sure of its temperament I'll be looking for a dog a minimum of 1 1/2 to 2 years old.

 

[herscheleh]

I don't know that my Border Collie is typical, but I adopted him from a herding dog rescue into an apartment  (though there was a small fenced yard for the triplex), then moved to another apartment with him, now live in a duplex with a yard. 

He  was about 1.5 years old when I got him.

He is sound reactive -- but in the second-floor of the three famiily, pretty much just barked when people came in the front door or up the stairs past our front door. Occasionally when he heard foodsteps upstairs.

In the next apartment, he barked far less, even though it was a big building with lots of people coming and going! It had concrete floors and heavy doors on the apartments and was more soundproof.

He's most barky in the current place -- he barks at people walking by on the sidewalk, anyone coming in the creaky front gate and sometimes barks after neighbor dogs bark. It can be a little frustrating at times. I haven't made a concerted effort to train him out of it with the pet corrector spray.

My Border Collie does not need massive amounts of exercise. In the first two places, he walked about an hour a day. Now with the yard, we've gotten a little lazy, and it's more like 35 to 45 minutes a day.

My dog is reactive to strange dogs, and even that was okay in the big building. 

[KevTheDog]

Hi! This was a question we debated a lot before adopting Kevin (who we took home as a puppy, my first BC pup after two rescues). I think the key thing to consider is that you're committing to a BC lifestyle when you adopt a dog who needs to have brain work and physical exercise every day. But if that's your jam, then awesome! And with agility as an interest, it sounds like it is. The space inside the house isn't where dogs get physical exercise anyway, I'd imagine. So the fact that a living space is small shouldn't prevent you from choosing to get a high energy dog - as long as you're into dedicating a couple hours a day to giving doggo what he needs. Kevin gets at least 40 minutes a day of brain work (games, training, etc.), off leash running time, and  a longish walk or two (4 or 5ish miles a day). When he's ready, he'll be my running buddy too (though his leash skills aren't quite there yet - but improving by the day!). We live in a city apartment most of the year, with summertime in a house in the country.

Also, fun fact: of the 3 borders I've had in my life, 2 were besties with dachshunds and didn't care about any other dog breed! (except other borders). I think it can be a nice combo! Yay dog friends.

 

[Secho]

I have an 8 month pup living with me since 2 months old that a friend passed to me. I live in a small one bedroom apartement with a 1.5m x 5m terrace. I do give him a lot of time and have a lot of spare time, currently not working so we are separated only 4 hours daily and they are maximum 2 hours at a time so he really manages well. Daily walks and each 2-3 days a 10 km hike (5 each each way) . He's got a great mood and is kind to other dogs no barking unless they are really small and bark first (chihuahas, schnauzers) he is really sociable. No off leash walks still though only in the hikes where there is no distractions in the roads.