getting a dog

[daz h]

im still really wanting to get a dog and my wife is starting to come round to the idea
ive talked to a few people about border collies and this is what ive been told about the breed , ie ( potential problems)

make sure you get a puppy that has had a fair time with its mother because the puppy learns essential skills during the first few weeks of life , they need mega amounts of exercise, can moult bucketloads, are prone to nipping owt that moves, can have lots of health problems, are real proper houdini escape artists , can drive you up the wall with there persistant athletisism ie jumping about, and they can be dodgy around children

to be honest its put me off the breed a bit
the exercise isnt a problem obviously but id like a little advise on the reality of training a collie
dont make it sound rosy if its not i want an honest opinion please

[IainR]

Collies are great, get a dog from working stock. They tend to be impure breeds and so less inbred, less health problems. Generally I'm not sure the collie has health problems though, anymore than any pure breed. labs/Spaniels/german shepheards also have problems. Generally a mongrel/first cross is a hardier dog, with less problems.

Yes they jump around, you can stop that,but it's a balance about how much you need to train the dog and how much you should. We leave ours as much as possible, they don't beg, don't chase sheep but apart from the basic 'come here' 'sit' 'heel' we don't do much else.

Frpm 6 - 10 weeks a collie learns social skills so it's best not to take a dog under 8 weeks, I think 10 is a bit too late as that's a key bonding period that you miss out on, however 10 is becoming the norm.

Re training: positive reinforcement. I've never had trouble. The main thing is sheep, expose them to sheep as soon and as much as possible, on the lead first and get them used to it. It's a pain to have a collie which chases sheep.
They need lots of attention, hours of playing/walking/running.

But I've never experienced trouble with kids, especially going dog after kids, sometimes they can get jealous when the kid comes along, but most adapt, they are clever enough to play up a bit, but be put in their places and know that they need to keep you onside to keep in the family.

[daz h]

ian would you recommend a collie that needs re homing
does anyone on here own a rescued dog

whats put me off was yesterday i saw a collie at a relay race i did and i swear the owners polled up , tied it to a post for the whole of the time i was there and it was going loopy , they were oblivious
i wandered over to it and gave it a chocolate , and it looked a bit nasty, just wondered if they really are a dog that should be kept as a working dog only and not as a pet


im a bit worried about having a rescued dog cos of its past but im desperate to have a running companion, everyone has told me this breed is okay but im unsure about how many different types of collie there are

does that sound stupid but ive seen little ones and massive ones
im a bit out my depth as ive never really thought about having a dog, just a little worried about the other dogs around here

picture bulldogs, rottweilers and those little terrier things
do they mix well with other breeds????

[IainR]

Adult rescue dogs are a risk. We were lucky. Fly was abandoned at the vets, we think just because she was pregnant, because apart from that she is a perfect dog.

Collies are protective, that's good and bad, they see you as the flock, and will gaurd your kids to the death. They are great security. Our old collie/fox hound cross is very protective of any women she walks with if they are on their own, she won't leave their side. With me she's never insight. She'll literally throw her body in the way of anything which comes at you - cows, people anything.

But others have been mistreated, and the longer they are in the animal shelters for, the more issues they have, they become institutionalised. With a rescue dog, go to see it a few times, take the kids to see it, really try and get to know it as much as you can before taking it home. A pup is a far safer bet, especially for your first dog, but one of you needs to be at home, or at least have overlapping shifts, or parents to call in and dog sit.

Re the tied up dog, that's poor. Also if you tie a dog up you remove the 'flight' option of 'fight' or 'flight'. So you leave them feeling scared and vulnerable, always be careful approaching a dog tied up/famr dog on a chain.

The collie breed is very diverse, welsh border collies tend to be smallish, so many area will put a lab into the line, or a german shepheard to add some bulk. But some collies can be as big as a lab. Ours weigh 16 kilos which is light for a collie.

As collies are generally bred for working the farmers are not bothered by KC registered, just its fit for working, so it's quite rare to find very pure collie lines in the farms.

[london exile]

Daz,

My (soon to be ex) wife rescued a JRT from Battersea just before we met. He was rather challenging. Very clever, but a real attention seeker, and it took hom a long time to get used to living with people. It helped getting another dog 4 years later, it gave him something else to focus on. (I remember coming back after 3 months abroad working and he just ignored me. Took me 4 days to win him round.)

So, he was great in the end but be prepared for a lot of work along the way, though you could say that for a lot of dogs. Personally - I'd get a whippet. Will happily run as long as you want and will then curl up on a sofa for the rest of the day. Full of character too.

[london exile]

Oh, and you haven't lived until a Giant Schnauzer has dripped half a litre of water from his beard all over your new carpet. They are cool dogs though.

[IainR]

Whippets are not good in the cold though. Whippet cross would be good.

[JohnK]

I have a smooth haired tri-colour border collie which i got from a rescue home as a three year old she had a uncertain history and had been ill treated.

The first twelve months was spent overcoming her psychological and health problems and teaching her to socialise with both other dogs and most of all humans (it was humans that had mistreated her therefore humans she trusted least).

The collie is an extremely intelligent breed that loves to work and please it`s pack leader i.e. you, therefore provided you have the time and patience to spend training your dog without screaming and shouting at it, then you will end up with a loyal obedient friend that you can depend on.

Now 3 years down the line showing her a lot of love and kindness she re-pays me by being a loyal and obedient friend and training partner that will happily cover 30 miles and more over the fells (provided i carry food and water for her) that i know i can depend on, and on a normal day she seldom covers less than 10 miles.

One small point when you get a dog please do not feed it Chocolate as it is a poison to a dog.

By the way all breeds of dog have rogues amongst them that are just plain useless but to be honest nine times out of ten it is the owner that is to blame in fact i often think that some people should be trained in dog ownership before being allowed to have a dog.

Just remember a dog is a pack animal and as such needs a pack leader to look up to and respect, let your guard down and let a dog have too much of its own way then you will have problems.

Good luck

[JohnK]

By the way thats my collie in the Avatar (in case you had not Guessed)

[clodhopper]

Daz firstly dont feed chocolates to dogs as it is actually poisonous to them. Suprisingly there are a few common foods that are poisonous to dogs as well as chocolate such as onions, garlic, macadamia nuts as well as :

Pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core pips (contain cyanogenic glycosides resulting in cyanide posioning)
Potato peelings and green looking potatoes
Rhubarb leaves
Mouldy/spoiled foods
Alcohol
Yeast dough
Coffee grounds, beans & tea (caffeine)
Hops (used in home brewing)
Tomato leaves & stems (green parts)
Broccoli (in large amounts)
Raisins and grapes
Cigarettes, tobacco, cigars

All that said I have a 15 year old collie called Meg. She has been the best friend I've ever had and whom I've known longer than my wife. Ok, shes been a pain in the arse at times ( Meg that is) but shes run thousands of miles with me.
We've shared a tent and a sleeping bag when she's soaked and we're wild camping in winter. Shes growled at me when I dared to move while shes curled up by my feet and shes coverted my food when shes eaten her own
but I think I can honestly say she's made me laugh every time I go out with her with her peculiar little idiosyncratic ways.
Now she's old and cant run anymore in fact she's deaf as a post, poor eyesight but still full of beans despite the ravages of a couple of strokes, but I still love her and cherish the memories I have of times shared with her.
What I'm trying to say is Daz, you will love having a dog and it will give you boundless repayment for the can of meat a day. Remember though that one day when put on your running shoes she'll no longer want go with you and that is the inevitable tragedy of being a dog owner.