Border Collie Love, and new addition.
Discussion
So he's currently my best mate, and it's normally just the two of us in the house, so I decided I'd get him a sibling. Spent ages looking for a similar age gun dog or collie in local rescues (and even further afield), but I've not had any luck finding any compatible. My dog is pretty laid back but he has taken a liking to the rescues I've introduced him to
So I've gone and decided to go for a collie puppy! Photos will be forthcoming! Wish me luck!
Dibble said:
Fantastic pic! Look like they will be best buddies. What's the age difference between them?
8 weeks to 18 months. The older boy has been a proper gent with him, he normally gets quite possessive over toys but he's been very tolerant (you can tell he wants them back though).Now the goal is to crate train him, he's been showing his displeasure so far though!
A bit of collie-based art I've been enjoying this evening: Extreme Shepherding.
Dibble said:
They both look like like fantastic dogs. I'm not sure I could cope with a Collie, never mind two, but I bet they're super entertaining.
I reckon the energy/wildness of the collie is over emphasised, yes they need plenty of interaction and exercise, but as the owner you don't have to walk them for hours and hours, you just need to be creative and they can tire themselves out. My favourite is hiding toys around the house and telling him to go find his ball etc. If I have work to do on the computer I sit on a table facing the open French windows at the back of the house, and throw his ball into the garden, he gets plenty of exercise this way. I generally only walk 4 miles a day with him, but as he's off the lead he's sprinting backwards and forwards so covers multiples of the distance I do. When I have more time on the walk I'll take a ball, and then I can really wear him out. He'll demand your attention all day, stuffing toys right in your face (I had a tennis ball dropped on my face at about 3am Monday morning!), but he's really obedient - if you firmly say to him "that'll do", he'll calm down, sitting next to me on the sofa or on the floor. As he's so obedient he gets to come out with me loads of places I couldn't trust other dogs.
Collies are exactly what I want in a dog at this point in my life, at 29 I need a dog that has a high activity level. My parents have a couple of Cavaliers, who I love greatly, but their activity levels are low, and they never really responded to training, perfect dogs for my parents though!
Here's my old boy, Kesh, 16 years old. I've had him since he was brand new and it'll be a sad day when he leaves us. He's been a great friend over the years. Always well behaved, bright as bright can be. Deaf as a post now though and suffering from arthritis but still mobile enough for a gentle walk in the morning.
He had such an engine on him until about 2 years ago. He could run for miles. A Winter walk up Snowdon for me would be 15 miles of running in big arched circles around me for Kesh (sheep down off mountain).
He has a new best friend. Tinker, a Patterdale/Jack Russell cross. Fiery as a jalopeno!!
Pencil for scale.
He had such an engine on him until about 2 years ago. He could run for miles. A Winter walk up Snowdon for me would be 15 miles of running in big arched circles around me for Kesh (sheep down off mountain).
He has a new best friend. Tinker, a Patterdale/Jack Russell cross. Fiery as a jalopeno!!
Pencil for scale.
redddraggon said:
We also have a Border Collie, but I've never seen him do that. Is it a trick you've taught him - like... "lie down and close your eyes"? Very impressive. How many seconds can he hold it for?
Edited by R E S T E C P on Tuesday 6th September 23:27
My idiot Jussi is similar to yours OP - I'll take him out and do a couple of miles, but with a bit of Kong action and general running around like a loon, he easily does double that. Slightly similar situation that there is just me and him (most of the time), so he can be a bit overprotective but I'm slowly training that out of him. I'm lucky that my OH is a vet, so she gives me lots of great pointers. And Jussi loves her more than he loves me, the bloody fickle bugger!
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