I have a working line, farm bred border collie, she was showing strong herding potential from just 9 weeks old.
She is 2 and I have a 6 year old ds and an 11 month old dd - she is so friendly and gentle with all children.
She loves absolutely everybody and is an absolute sweetheart.
She lives with a cat, they love each other and play together, groom each other etc, however, being a collie she has a relatively high prey drive and therefore, play sessions are kept short otherwise she can get overexcited and start nipping and we don't want any accidents.
She loves other dogs but after some very traumatic experiences she is now nervous of other dogs although still wants to socialise.
She approaches them crouched down stalking and I have to remind her not to incase the other dog objects. She greets this way out of nerves I believe - it's worse with bigger dogs and she always used to approach other dogs fine prior to her attacks.
She is very clever and learns new commands usually in 10 minutes or less.
Exercise varies hugely - some days I take her out all day, some days just for a quick 10 minute stroll and some days not at all.
She hates rain and wind and doesn't like to walk in inclement weather although she loves snow.
I don't do lots of mental stimulation, sometimes I feed her with a long or puzzle toy, sometimes I play brain games with her but not that frequently.
I basically treat her like your average pet dog - I believe it's detrimental to the breed to overstimulate them with masses of exercise and training everyday.
I think it's very important early on to teach them to be calm and settled in the house and also not to herd people as it can be a very dangerous behaviour to engage in.
She doesn't bark but is very vocal with lots of (friendly) growls and grumbles and noises.
Very obedient and eager to please.
She is completely non destructive, even as a puppy she got a pair of my shoes (because husband wasn't paying attention) and that's it.
Her negative points -
She is high drive, initially I wanted to do sheepdog trials with her but one thing and another and it never materialised. She had to be taught early on not to herd people, when she was a little older but very much still a puppy and knew not to nip, eye or crouch at people she took instead to head butting us right in the back of the knee to try and herd us into the kitchen....
She is okay with the odd car or the odd cyclist but absolutely cannot be walked near very busy roads of groups of cyclists as the more cars or bikes she sees the more determined she is to dash in front of them and stop them moving.
She is clever and sneaky and needs to know you mean business.
She is not as obedient for my husband as she is me because my husband does not enforce commands whereas I most definitely do I.e if she doesn't sit the first time I force her down into a sit.
If she knows a behaviour is not allowed and your not there or she thinks not paying attention she often will do it.
For instance, she knows I don't allow the stealing of toys, she has been known to look at me when I'm busy on the iPad for instance then snatch a toy right from under the cat.
She has also lip curled and stared down a dog wanting it's toy when I was engrossed in conversation with its owner, when I turned and saw she stopped immediately.
Manipulative dogs.