To think if you can't cope with a husky you can't cope with a border collie?

[BumpowderSneezeonAndSnot]

A neighbour did the right thing and rehomed their beautiful husky a few months ago as they couldn't commit to the amount time it takes to properly care for it. Today they proudly showed off to us all their new border collie puppy. It's beautiful but really?! Out of all the dogs you could get...

Aibu to not be impressed and hoick up my judgy pants here?

Collies can work in a family home. We have one and he is wonderful. However, I live in a very rural location, next to a huge beach and lots of hills and moorland, & enjoy running and or walking with him for miles every day.

Collie in a town environment, it is never going to work out well.

Poor dog

Urgh how depressing

The mental stimulation is almost more important than the exercise. I have to go to the local big town to us once a day. I take the dog with me & we do lead training, walk round a busy environment.

He loves it, totally different to his other walks, sniffing out leftover Chinese takeaway wrappers dumped in a bush!

I have a husky border collie cross. She is incredibly clever but because of her breed can be a worrier too. I don't think they have given any thought to what they were doing!

Actually, what breed would you recommend to lazy humans (I'm thinking of myself)?
My 7 year old daughter would love a dog, but we're not the most sporty people in the world, and would prefer a dog with a chill/mellow temperament.

Whippet or Shit zu (altho the shitty will need brushing daily)

@Laureline we have a rescue jack Russell- lazy!!!! She refuses to go on walks if it's wet or too cold!! Loves to play fetch with the ball, we have a busy household and she willl happily go walking for hours but equally no bother if she doesn't have a walk for days!

We make her work for her food and she gets loads of cuddles.

If you're lazy get a greyhound- an ex racer not a puppy.

Having owned both breeds I would say collies are actually harder than huskies, they are extremely intelligent and need lots of mental stimulation as well as physical exercise.

I@Houseinthemouse it’s funny that you mention ducks. We had ducks and a collie when we were kids and the dog did used to herd the ducks. It used to fascinate us. The reason we ended up with the dog was because the farm she came from thought she wasn’t quite clever enough to deal with sheep.

She took some walking though and would occasionally escape. We’d usually find her at the neighbours house with their dog. She never wanted to be alone. We’ve got a rescue dog now. Our best guess is some kind of whippet/staffy cross. She’s the best behaved dog ever. It makes the duck herding collie look even crazier.

@Laureline @RandomMess

Jack Russells are notoriously high energy. Yours must be an unusual one to be so mellow. I have a JRT crossed with a breed that's meant to be relatively low exercise and if he isn't walked to the point of exhaustion every day then he becomes horrible - biting your ankles is just the start of it; his reactivity also worsens. For context, a normal weekend walk is 2-3 hours long off lead, and even if we're playing non-stop fetch, it's 45 mins of non-stop running just to get the worst of the physical energy out of him. Today we walked for 7 hours (inc. a bit of time on the tube and a pitstop) and yes he's clearly knackered... but 7 hours!

The Kennel Club breed finder is a good starting point www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services/public/findabreed/Default.aspx

@OP Border Collies are one of those breeds that I know I couldn't cope with as there's so incredibly demanding and intelligent. The collie will go the same way as the husky, I have no doubt.

I’ve got springers and I’ve spent 3 hours today (as I do every day) walking them. Separately so they can each have my undivided attention and training (otherwise they just play with each other - one teen and one baby dog). Unless your neighbors are prepared to put in the time with a working dog in a family home this isn’t going to work.

My two are brilliant family dogs. But they take a lot of commitment and they get bored if not exercised and then they are destructive.

Your neighbours should have got a lap dog.

Week four, I think they just need to herd something! This collie was dumped by a farmer because she lost concentration with the sheep, but she’s great with “her” ducks. 2 x 20 min sessions a day and she feels her job is done and she can relax. All the walking and games we could do with her wasn’t enough to get her to settle, and she would start herding furniture, or sticks, or teddies or washing!

Urgh! It’s idiots like this that make me all the more certain we should take exams before being allowed to own a dog.

@AvocadosBeforeMortgages I think she gets the mental stimulation inside the house but she waves everyone off with glee on a Monday back to school and work, had her Daddy to herself and sleeps like log for 5 days. School holidays exhaust her...

This is the advantage of taking on a rescue you do have an idea of what you're getting. She would love to be out for hours every day for sure but so long as she gets to cuddle up instead is happy.

@RandomMess - I wonder if yours is quite a lot older? Mine's under 2. A rescue (I knew exactly what I was getting myself into as I knew him for months before I adopted him) but still hard work!

He's surprisingly good when he's left during the day (must sleep all day once he's emptied his Kong etc) but he goes daft if the time outside of work isn't dedicated to him. Still wouldn't recommend a JRT as a low maintenance breed.

Our neighbours had border collies. Such lovely gorgeous intelligent dogs. So needy, high maintenance, prone to running away really fast, boisterous etc.

Your neighbours are idiots who shouldn't be allowed dogs by the sound of it

@AvocadosBeforeMortgages she was 2.5 when we got her and had been a badly treated puppy then adopted at 12 months but they had 4 dogs and she was nervous and got bulllied by their teen Labrador so landlord said she had to go (submissive weeing) perhaps she just knows where her bread is buttered but obviously overly keen to please due to background.

Wonder if you can get them to read this thread?

My nan and grandad used to own collies.

Big difference for them, they were walked along the river bank twice a day. Off lead. With a ball thrown for them to catch.

They were also very well trained and a couple of them did agility so were exercised very well and therefore very well behaved.

Whilst a husky is usually worse than a collie, they are by no means a low maintenance dog.

I expect it will be gone in the next few months

We had a border collie when I was a child. Needed a long early morning off lead run on the cliff path or beach (mum), a lunchtime game of ball in our garden ( gran) an after school walk ( me or brother or both) and another off lead in the evening (dad) DAILY. man that dog was lively. We all loved her though. But they need ALOT of exercise.

Our border was also a farm reject bless her. Lived to 19!

Random I also have a lazy Jrt. Went for a walk Friday with him he slipped his harness off and ran home after 200 or so yds. He is crossed with possibly a chihuahua though ( rescue so not sure) so maybe that explains it. He also will NOT entertain the thought of going out in the rain!

My grandson had a collie German Shepherd cross, she needed at least 5 mile walks twice a day, but was happier with a full-day out. We often walked 20 miles or so and she would do two or three times that . So not a family pet if you haven't the time like that

@Baubletrouble43 perhaps they come in 2 versions? Precious or not precious??? She is happier now she has a shortie and onesie fleece!

I was told that terriers are generally "What's in it for me?" Which pretty much sums our princess up...