hey guys,
just wondering if anyone knows if it would be a good idea for me to get a border collie or not. it would be my first ever dog, although i do work with dogs so i do know how much work they need, but im still not sure, are they really really hard work? or if you put in the work at a young age does it pay off?
the other breeds on my short list are;
dal,
dobie,
flatcoated retreiver,
shar pei ;-) (ok this is on my would love to have...but dont think i could cope list!!!),
which breed do people think would be the best for me? i have a really big house which is all my own, and i live in deepest exmoor so theer would be walks-a-pleanty!
cheers
carol

hi, i would definately recommend buying a border collie. One of my relatives had a beautiful border collie who lived for about 14 years. He was extremely obedient as most other collie will be if you train them from a young age and a good size for your large house. They are also relatively cheap compared to other bredds say about £40-£60 compared to about £250 for the majority of other breeds. Collies also make very good companions and are suprisingly good guard dogs. overall i think having a collie is your best bet.
hope that helps, feel free to email me agin if you have any other enquiries,
Liz

Sorry but if your buying a border collie for £40-£60 then you will not be getting a registered health screened well bred puppy.What you may be getting is a work driven manic collie who is surplus to requirements and as a first ever dog I wouldn't recommend it.Collies do make good companions with lots of training from day one and plenty of mental stimulation.Also when they are old enough they will take all the exercise you can give them. Best Wishes Gillian

I don't mean to upset or aggravate Gillian in any way but from experience i know that it is quite possible to get extremly good quality collies form reputable bredders for about £60. it makes no different to a dog's temperament if it was born on a farm or not. Although there may be some cases where a border collie puip bought off a farm may be undernourished etc the majority of border collies from farms make excellent pets. also even if you do not wish do buy a collie pup from a farm for what ever reason it is still possible to buy a good quality collie from an experienced breeder for about £60 as iv already said. we had no problems with our first dog who was a border collie made an excellent companion, good with children and relatively east to train.

hope that helps, of course take Gillians advice because she does make a valid point but i would still recommend have a border collie, though i'm sure whatever dog you chose will make an excellent pet. (sorry if i seemed to go on)
Liz

Hi Lizzy you aren't upsetting me I have 2 farm bred collies here but most farmers do not hipscore some dont eyetest and definitely most dont register their puppies .As for reputable breeders selling pups for £60 then I would like to know where you live as the going price for a border collie definitely depends on where you live and at the moment ranges from about £200 - £500.Also there can be a big difference in temperment between farm bred dogs and others you will however get exceptions to all rules.Gillian
Owned by 2 working sheepdogs 2 border collies and 2 rough collies

hi gillian! this seems to be turning into our own little forum! i live in the midlands region and just recently a friend of mine bought a border collie bitch off a farm for only £45 which suprised me because i expected the price to have gone up since we bought our dear collie 14 years ago. she took the colli to the vet to have her final vaccinations and when the vet asked my friend where she had bought her he was suprised becasue he expected the dog to have compe form a reputable breeder because she was in such good condition. Obviously there are some farmers who don't properly take car of their pups but i think occasionally you can get quite a good litter of puppies produced on a farm. Though i have to admit there are quite a few farms around where i live and i suspect that on the farms that do produce good quality pups it is the farmers' wives that actually do the breeding and are the reputable breeders rather than the farmers! hope my long paragraph is understandable- i tend to waffle on!
Liz

Lizzy I don't know how a puppy can be sold at such a price when even without the cost of KC registration and stud fee to rear well a pup from an average size litter will cost £125 plus to rear???

My pups cost me on average £250 each to rear, but that includes stud fee, hip and eye testing for the Dam, and KC registration and tattooing.

I didn't realise that Britains farmers were adding the breeding of their dogs to teir loss making actiivities.

The best of food, eye and hearing tests, and hip scoring all cost a lot.

i don't know either as i'm not a farmer, i can only relay the story of my friend. the only explanation that i can think of is that some of the dogs although pedigree may not be KC registered?

Hi,
I think ALL the dogs on your list are fairly demanding dogs to own.

If you do want a border collie, then do go to a breeder, rather than a farm bred pup. The chances are, a farm bred pup will be far too work orientated to make a relaxed family pet. Unless of course you want a pup to work!
I dont actually know ANY border collies/working sheepdogs that arent farm bred, al the ones i know are itching to work. Those that do are happy dogs, relaxed when not working and lots of fun. But those that dont work, they are bonkers, leaping off the ceilings and very demanding, pushy dogs, some of them are also fairly nippy, and 'herd' their family members around, nipping ankles to get their own way.
That is not to say that the border collie is a bad dog, not at all, but one from a working environment will have far more drive to work than one from a show/pet environment.

Em

Hi Barbra yes farmers do quite often have litters mainly because they don't generally get their bitches spayed and nature takes its course and yes they care for the animals as a good working dog is valuable to them but there is obviously an overspill that they don't need hence they sell them cheap and although they maybe well cared for to some extent they aren't always health screened and usually not registered and are therefore known as working sheepdogs some make good pets and others don't.When the working instinct is very strong it can be very difficult for a first time dog owner to cope with hence nipping chasing and destructive behaviours become a problem.
Going back to the original question though A border collie that is well bred,well socialised ,trained early and mentally stimulated makes a wonderful pet and I would love a load more:D Gillian
Sorry it sound abit like a lecture :D :O :D

Carol; I would definately recommend a BC, we got ours recently and she is an absolute darling! I'm suprised that they are sold so cheaply; ours came from a reputable breeder, KC registered, and she cost £350. They do need a lot of exercise, love and 'mental teasers' as they are very clever, but it's definately worth it! Putting in the work young does make all the difference.
Good luck with whatever breed you choose!
Bridget

Hi Carol

Can you find people who have these breeds - preferably as adolescent youngsters (ask your vet?) and visit to see how you like them at this, which is often their worst) age. This might help narrow your choice

Christine