Border collie vs old english sheepdog

[Alaaya]

So, DH and I are planning a dog. Currently we're stuck on breeds. I was raised with border collies and he with old english sheepdogs and I think we are both drawn towards the dogs of our childhood.

Re lifestyle - we both work flexible hours, partly from home which means there is someone around 6 days out of 7. We live quite rurally with a fair sized garden and tend towards active sports (hillwalking, hiking, camping, photography rambles) at the weekends so I'm pretty sure we can exercise a dog enough. Both of us have trained dogs before and we would take any dog to obedience classes.

We have 1 DD who is 6 but used to dogs and sensible around them (Dsis has a golden retriever who we see regularly). No other pets.

Any advice? DH thinks a border collie might be too boisterous and isn't ideal with kids. I am worried about OES health conditions and how much work the coat is. Owners of either breed - advise me!

I wouldn't recommend a border collie as a pet to anyone. They are very intelligent, inclined to be neurotic, and need lots and lots of exercise and stimulation. They are a working dog who need a job to do, and without one tend to develop issues.

If you like the pastoral breeds, and think you can do a decent walk 3 times a day plus playing/training, how about a bearded collie? I had a greyhound x beardie foster pup last year and he was delightful - very intelligent and needed activity around him. I also spent some time with a pure bearded who is now sister to another of my fosters and she was lovely.

I work from home, and do love that my lurchers are super happy to go running at lunchtime and then snore the rest of the time! Don't underestimate the disruption of a puppy on working with the 5 squillion times a day you need to take them out, remove things from them, play with them and so on!

Please dont rule out a collie, we have just adopted a 5mth old Border collie after lossing my Old English sheep dog in April. Yes hes full of energy but so was my oes at his age.

OES need brushing daily, i had mine clipped as he wasnt a show dog but this needed to be done every 6 to 8 weeks, ended up buying my own clippers.

The pup we have is farm breed, my dh has always owned collies where i was bought up with OES, parents show dogs. Health wise I would only have a health tested pup now, too interbred, if i had the money i would import from America.

Do lots of research on both breeds talk to breeders. Health tests on both breeds like hips, eyes, elbows.

Good luck both breeds are great with children.

I would second the idea that collies are a working breed and should be worked. TBH I often think the same of the gun dugs I see looking totally bored.

Have you thought about a lurcher? It might fit both your needs- shaggy coat, bright, long walks.

Have you thought about a bearded collie? Still a collie but look similar to an Old English sheep dog. We had one years ago, it was a lovely dog, didn’t moult, was great with kids and other dogs. Needed a fair bit of excercise but nothing more than an old English or a border.

Bearded collies are something we are considering but neither of us have had them before - would love to hear from anyone who has re - temperament, exercise, living requirements. Am I right they are slightly healthier than OES?

My friend has border collies & also see fair few at work, they’re all fairly quirky on the whole & do need lot of mental stimulation not just physical and many do agility or other dog sports to fulfill both. Friends dogs are very used to settling down at work all day but can tell if they’ve not had much outlet (weather/injuries etc) as get noticeably more vocal/quirky.
They vary loads in size/looks/behaviour so would need to pick breeder lines carefully & also make sure health tested as someone I knows pup has hip dysplasia along with another litter mate.

Personally I think there’s easier breeds to own and while exceptionally trainable it also means they can quickly pick up the things you don’t want and train you, so less forgiving if not an experienced trainer.

If you can go to discover dogs event or big dog show may help investigate other less known breeds which maybe a better fit for your family now. I did think of smooth collie But I don’t know if they are similar nature to rough coated ones or not.

Smooths are a bit more robust in nature than some of their Rough cousins - both make great family dogs though, as long as you buy from a decent breeder and ensure temperaments are sound.

Smooth collie has been on the list. Basically I think the old herding breeds are where we are at in terms of size/activity level/temperament. It's just narrowing it down from that.

Border Collies are certainly very busy and need mental exercise as well as physical exercise - show lines less so than working/farm lines, which I would definitely avoid.

OES are a biiiiig dog, and obviously quite some commitment to coat care even if you do take it off regularly.

Smooths obviously look far easier coat-wise, but lordy they can moult. Very good all-round dogs though and seem excellent family members, intelligent and engaging but not too 'wired'. We have a couple of new Smooth owners on here who can no doubt give you their experience.

I have Roughs - coat care is not nearly as onerous as you would think. Buy from a breeder whose adults have correct coats (harsh texture and not too much of it), and a half hour run-through once a week will keep on top of it well.

We had a rescue collie cross who was wonderful but not needing as much exercise as a full collie.