New dog help

webmonkeyuk

webmonkeyuk

webmonkeyuk

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Stockton-on-tees
Im looking to get a dog and ive been looking at getting a border collie, ive never owned one before some im after alittle help on the breed so if anyone owns one id be greatfully for some help. ive read that they dont like been left on there own as they get bored and distructive now im in the house all day apart from say having to go and do some shopping or stuff like that for say 1-2 hours so would a collie be ok left for this long. im sure i could take the dog for long walks so that wouldnt be a problem but i was just wondering how hard are they to train so thay dont run off when the lead is off. i was allso thinking of getting a labrador if the collie wasnt suitable for me so is there anything to lookout for with this type of breed?
 
We used to have a collie and while they are great dogs i think you have to remember how intelligent they are compared to something like a lab. Because of this they tend to be easy to train and are very obedient. Ours would never stray more than 30 meters or so from us before laying down and waiting for us to catch up.

Any dog should be fine left for a couple of hours really so i wouldnt worry about that.

I have had a couple of Labs since the collie and to be honest i much prefer them as a breed. They tend to be much more fun and easy going if a little more wild compared to the collie. Every dog is going to have a differnet personality though so this is only a generalisation.
 
ALL dogs need something to do (stimulus) or you will get destruction: give 'em plenty of excersise and something to challenge 'em and you'll have no prob' ...... leave the dog for several hours without anything to do and it will find something .....

No dog should be left for more than a few hours ....... if you don't have the time to give to either a child or a pet ..... DON'T have one.
 
Lots of people say that you can leave a dog for a few hours, but I think they mean when they've grow up, which takes about 1.5-2 years. Between puppy hood and adolescence they are prone to destruction, so best of not left alone.

They are a full time job,the first 6 months is seriously intense. We had a timetable from 7-9.30, which covered socialisation, training, naps etc. We used a crate for until he was 9 months old. This was everyday for 6 months!
Its not fun either, because they bite, like all the time, with their razor sharp puppy teeth. Puppys are fun, if it isn't yours!

Our dog is a cocker spaniel, so not as active as a border collie. My advise is pick up an older rescue dog if you cba with all the hard work.
 
webmonkeyuk said:
Im looking to get a dog and ive been looking at getting a border collie, ive never owned one before some im after alittle help on the breed so if anyone owns one id be greatfully for some help. ive read that they dont like been left on there own as they get bored and distructive now im in the house all day apart from say having to go and do some shopping or stuff like that for say 1-2 hours so would a collie be ok left for this long. im sure i could take the dog for long walks so that wouldnt be a problem but i was just wondering how hard are they to train so thay dont run off when the lead is off. i was allso thinking of getting a labrador if the collie wasnt suitable for me so is there anything to lookout for with this type of breed?
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We've only ever had border collies, I don't know a lot but they are awesome dogs, very active and fun to play with and extremely intelligent, they do need a lot of exercise, we live next to a park so its ideal.

1-2 hours is perfectly fine, anything over 6 consistently wouldn't be fair on the dog imo.

They are fine with other dogs, but don't be worried when they arch their back when they see a dog and lie on the ground ready to pounce, its just their nature.

All dogs need a lot of training for the rewards and benefits, with regards to the dog running off when you let him off the lead, take him/her for a walk at first where there’s no dogs around and let him/her off with no distractions and gradually build it up.

Also dog classes are very good, we took our dog to them for a couple of years and it did help, she became more obedient with other dogs, though collies are friendly naturally. She learned to sit, use her paw, lay down and come to certain commands.

Try a few different classes though we found some trainers were to strict and could see our dog wasn't enjoying it and getting more angry.

All trial and error really, just make sure he/she knows who’s boss! (mainly the person who feeds him/her and takes him/her walks the most) show the dog lots of love but you’re the master and they make great companions and become very loyal to their master.

Absolutely lovely dogs.
 
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webmonkeyuk said:
nah i hate cats and my dad wouldnt let one in the house as he hates them even more than me!
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I can't stand dogs, but my wife has 2 border collies - they come from working breed lines. We are out at work all day and so long as they get plenty of exercise, morning and evening they are ok. Also we have a dog flap and they have access to the garden. You can never say I can't be bothered to take them for a walk as they become impossibly frantic. As said above, they are very intelligent and need some outlet - my wife does agility with hers

They are very trainable and even me, with a complete lack of empathy for dogs have no trouble getting them to do what I want

One thing I would say is that every BC I know (and that's lots of them) are neurotic to some degree or other.

If you were going to get a BC you need to be very careful about what sort you want. You need to know where it's come from and get some idea of it's likely temprement. One bred for showing is likely to be much less hassle. My strong advice would be not to get a rescue collie since if they have been mistreated or even just incorrectly trained in the first few months of life, this combines with their neurotic tendencies to make them very very difficult to live with - I have experience of this

Oh yeah, watch out for hip scores and other genetic defects - because lots of owners are particularly fussy about their dogs a whole raft of genetic tests have been developed. If you find a decent breeder they should be able to tell you all about this

One final point - BCs tend to be long haired - how do you feel about dog-fur tumbleweeds blowing through your house?

Mmm...that all sounds pretty negative - their saving grace in my eyes is thier intelligence...although my wife's dog is quite short on the brain front. The bitch on the other hand is very clever...in fact my experience is bitch = clever, dogs = a bit thick

<<edit>> to give you the benefit of my wife's extensive experience with dogs, when someone asks her what sort of dog you they should get, her default reply is a lab - easy & companionable, but scaving buckets on legs
 
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Just want to say our cocker spaniel is a dunce. He is a show type, which probably explains it. He struggles on simple things, like when playing fetch, and there is an easy to pass obstacle in the way to the ball, he will sit there and look at the ball and growl, because he cant figure out how to get to it. Funny to watch, but hardly what you want from gun dog.
He is a head turner though, which makes up for the stupidity though!
 
Collies tend to be very intelligent, very active and can be a bit skittish, they've also unsuprisingly got the habit of rounding up anything in the vicinity so be aware that they will often herd people or other dogs around if they can. They can make lovely pets but they need some sort of mental stimulus usually otherwise they will create their own amusement which can be rather destructive.
 
My sister has a black lab and it's pretty awesome, he's about 7 months old now but never bites, not known him to bite anyone even by accident!

Bit daft though, i've been teaching him to play catch and he does OK :)
 
I love collies. Had two n the family as I've grown up. The first was friendly and loved walks and the usual stuff. Was quite aggresive to other dogs though. The second was from the dog home type place again and was a shy dog but me and my dad take it long walks and keep it amused as much as possible(it's my aunties dog). It isn't aggresive at all towards other dogs,other dogs seem confused as he just want to play with them.....

Both dogs came from rescure places so it shows just how different they can be. To be fair the newest one isn't very shy now and loves going on long walks and getting in about rivers.

We have two cats aswell and although cute and cuddly....they are pretty ****** boring. Can't take them on walks,don't show you any form of attention(unless for food) and aren't very loyal.
 
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