border collies & exercise

phil2 · 04-05-2007, 10:01 AM

do these need as much walk and excercise as a husky,i seen one at my dogs trust and had my eye on them for a while now and there just beutiful especialy the brown and red merle,allthough i still love black & white.how much excercise etc do they need?
also are they long haired dogs and do you need to get them trimmed,like springers?

lozachops · 04-05-2007, 10:40 AM

I have a Border Collie cross (Blue heeler) and he loves to walk. I walked him for an hour and a half today and when we got back he picked up the leash in his mouth as soon as I put it down as if to say I want another walk please! I was like are you kidding you should be tired out! Saying that though, when we arent walking he is not acting all crazy he just lies down, loves a pat, has a sleep and just gets all excited when the leash comes out. He doesnt mess up the garden or destory anything if we arent available to walk him, he just waits patiently. Awesome dog!

phil2 · 04-05-2007, 01:32 PM

thats lovly,what he crossed with?
i look forward if we get one

lozachops · 04-05-2007, 02:15 PM

He is a Border Collie cross Blue Cattle dog (other wise known as aussie blue heeler). He looks like a Border Collie predominantly although his spotty blue legs give him away. Border Collies are lovely and very intelligent. Mine is so obedient and I havent really had to train him. Ive only had him a fortnight, he is an adult rescue dog.

phil2 · 04-05-2007, 02:39 PM

great so what sort of things can you teach him,we want ours to go in the garden and do his buisness on the pavement round the corner not the grass,how can we do this and what other cool things?

lozachops · 04-05-2007, 02:55 PM

Maybe take him to the place you want him to do his business often and when he does it in the right place make a big fuss over him, good boy/girl etc and he will learn quickly. You can teach him to say please its really cute. You hold a treat just over his head and lift it slowly until he has to sit on his back legs to reach it, looking like he is begging with his two front legs then say
"say please" then give him treat. Repeat it over and over till he recognises the words say please. Get a kong toy and fill it with treats he will have a ball for ages! Ill try to think of more and post later. I live in Sydney Australia and it is 5am crazy i know! Going to work. Let me know if you decide to get a BC dog!

Maybe take him to the place you want him to do his business often and when he does it in the right place make a big fuss over him, good boy/girl etc and he will learn quickly. You can teach him to say please its really cute. You hold a treat just over his head and lift it slowly until he has to sit on his back legs to reach it, looking like he is begging with his two front legs then say
"say please" then give him treat. Repeat it over and over till he recognises the words say please. Get a kong toy and fill it with treats he will have a ball for ages! Ill try to think of more and post later. I live in Sydney Australia and it is 5am crazy i know! Going to work. Let me know if you decide to get a BC dog!

Cassie Nova · 04-05-2007, 03:09 PM

My BC mix, Cassie, ran for 3 hours once and came home, picked up her tennis ball and begged me to throw it for her. I did and she took off, full speed. BCs have more energy than you can ever imagine, and being mixed with the heeler, you don't have a mellow dog.

They also need mental stimulation...I'm sure you know that, though.

lozachops · 04-05-2007, 03:42 PM

Yeah I know as I said very energetic! Im loving it, he is helping to keep me fit as well as having fun together! Im going to enrol him in an obedience class and maybe dogs sports to keep him happy!

Wimble Woof · 04-05-2007, 04:29 PM

Ihave a purebred BC and they need immense amount of physical and mental stimulation,
The biggest "problem" with the breed, is their undying desire to work. They are NOT a sit at home kinda dog. TRUST ME.
With my boy, it has been mentally exhausting for myself to try to come up with new things to teach him. He learns SO quickly and excels at his "jobs" that it is almost a weekly thing trying to come up with something new to train.
If left to his own devices, things will get DESTROYED, boredom and BC's is NOT a good mix.
They are a wonderful breed, but please do as much research as humanly possible before aquiring one.
There are some who are less "intense" than my boy and do well in "city" life but my guy would never make it. He's the extreme I guess?!?! But be prepared that you too may end up with one like mine.
Great breed once again, loyal, loving, hard workers who strive to please you (the task you have given them)
Training can be a bit hard too.
I have trained Meik with hand signals because I found that when allergy season hit, my voice changed( pitch of it) and he almost has no idea what I am telling him to do) They pick up on so many little things. IT really keeps it interesting thats for sure.
Hope you have something to go off of now. and if you have any further questions i'll try my best to help !

tirluc · 04-05-2007, 05:04 PM

if you are willing to give at least 3 hrs of physical exercise + throw in lots of mental stimulation (training anything and everything that is not bad habit) then i would say a Border Collie may be for you......i have 3 girls and a male; the 3 girls go (pretty much) everywhere i go and i am doing alot in the way of having them bring things, obedience work, tricks, agility, ball playing, and to top it off they have a job (we do goose work).....one of the girls and the male have hip dysplasia, and the male has severe noise phobias (both of which can come w/ the territory, especially the noise phobias [most are very afraid of thunderstorms and can get quite destructive]) but the girl is able to do the stuff yet where as the boy isn't (too much pain)......

yes, when mine are home or at work w/ me they "chill" but they are always keyed and ready to go at the drop of a hat.....a good place to go to learn more about this fabulous breed (i will never be w/out one) is bcrescue.org ......most of the people there will give you plenty of good advice.....i would, also, recommend fostering one b/4 making a commitment to getting one; this way you know if it's the dog for you.....

and in answer to your ? about coat...they come in both smooth and rough coats w/ the rough having varying degrees of "type".....here's a good site to check out http://www.gis.net/~shepdog/BC_Museu...ks_Health.html .....also, the American Border Collie Association (ABCA) has tons of info....

i hope this helps.....

phil2 · 04-06-2007, 02:17 PM

are girls less active.well anyway itl be a while yet as you may have read ages ago my sister wasnt ready,slowly she was better but last night my mum said im fed up without a dog (as we all are) we may go and look at some the weekend ,but then she wouldnt speak and this morning she was all we can get one when i say im ready(she thinks she is queen of the world) me mum and my dad want one.so we were originaly looking to get one in about a month but that may be longer now,all i want is another friend as i miss my last dog so much.im upset.

tirluc · 04-06-2007, 06:27 PM

i wouldn't say either one is less active, it all depends on the individual dog.....of my 3 girls i have one that is so mellow that if she got any mellower she'd be dead, but then, all of a sudden she explodes into total energy.....my oldest female is so wired that she can't even concentrate to do agility w/out barking the whole way thru...and even w/ HD she is total speed--if i could get her focused better she would clean house w/ her agility....then the youngest one i have, well, what can i say, she's young yet.....

my male is the "calmest" of the bunch....but make any indication that there is fun/activity coming up and he gets just as wired as the girls do....and the males do tend to be the more laid back, easy going of the sexes and they tend to be better for a kids dog....the females take their job much more serious than the males do and tend to be more intense/strict about the rules....but like i said, that depends on the dog itself.....

if you plan on getting a BC i would recommend fostering one and see if it's right for your family and get on a good BC site like the rescue one i mentioned and get tons of advice from people that have "been there".....they really aren't a dog for just anyone and can drive you nutz if they don't fit or if you're not willing to maybe change you lifestyle to accomodate them more....yes, they can/do learn to adjust to your rules but you also have to adjust to their needs as well.....they do great w/ compromise

also, another thing....if your sister doesn't want a dog and you get a BC, be ready for it to "single" her out and be a royal pain w/ her....they like harmony in the house and they will pick up on her "dislike" for them and try to change that.....

Wimble Woof · 04-07-2007, 11:59 AM

Great way to put it tirluc.
Good post.

tirluc · 04-07-2007, 01:17 PM

if i had to put my dogs in a human catergory, i would have to say that Tipper, my male would be the court jester....he likes to be the clown and get attention; Lacey, (8 yr f) would be an A+ honor roll, perfectionist.....if she can't get it right the first time and has to have any correction (even just a soft "no" and redirected) she gets wired....she is my spelling dog (67 words) and VERY much into pleasing; Tir (3 yr f) is....well, she has attitude...she does things in her own sweet time, and pretty much in her own sweet way....she does do what she is told, she's just not in a hurry to do it and likes to make a game of it (i think she tries to keep people from being to serious cuz this always gets her laughed at).....and Saoirse (1 yr f) is my space case...she does great in everything she does--if you can keep her focused on what she is doing (like i said in my last post, she's young, yet)...

they all are very intense in what they are doing (their work) but in their own ways....i almost didn't keep Tir cuz for about the first yr i had her we really did not fit, but she came around and i became more relaxed w/ her little quirks (her nick names are Lil' Mis Attitude, Snot Puppy, Mud Puppy and Divot Dog...and all are for good reason)

but b/4 i got BC's i was pretty "laid back", didn't do much in the way of outside activities, but that definitely changed w/ getting them Borders....but they have also learned (at least the 3 older ones, Saoirse's still learning) that at home, they are to be mellow till i say cut loose (we let them "ruff" house quite a bit and 4 way tug-o-war can be quite entertaining)....

phil2 · 04-08-2007, 09:17 AM

im sure when we get one my sister will fall in love with it.

anjamaka · 04-08-2007, 09:42 AM

I have a border collie and husky mix (mom was husky dad was bc). I love him a lot but he begs for exercise all the time. We took him for a 2 hour run/walk then up to petsmart, and a few other places to let him socialize, and hopefully get tired out, well... when we got home he paced and barked for hours to have more exercise. I love my Border Husky, but he can be very destructive if he is not occupied, and from what I have heard, almost all Border Collies behave this way.