Collie owners, talk to me about your dog?

[Orcagirl]

I’m not a first time dog owner.

Thinking about a new pup, and looking at different breeds. I’ve always loved collies.

Thinking about possibly a show line collie- would be good to hear from other owners?

What they are like with children? How affectionate are they?

Before anyone asks, I’m looking for a responsible breeder that health tests, the dog won’t be left for longer than 2-3 hrs max a week, can commit to walking at least 1-2 hours a day too.

Also- I know they love a job, but do they have an off switch too?

Thankyou

So many beautiful collies!

Ours is now 12. She has bags of energy once you get her playing but once it's over or the walk is done she's happy to sleep. (Although now she can't run and play for as long as she used to and she definitely takes a while to recover from lo her walks etc)
She's been fabulous with our daughter but I do keep close watch especially if she has friends over, squealing girls running about can stress her out. Ours is definitely a people dog, she's very wary of other dogs and will lip curl and snap if cornered. She is a farm dog reject who was badly treated.
She's lovely and affectionate at home, will come and curl up pretty much on my lap and sleep there but will move at the slightest sound or movement in the house and basically follows me everywhere!
She is the quietest dog I know. I have heard her bark roughly 5 times in her entire life.

We have a collie cross. Not sure what the cross is as she is a rescue dog. She looks like a collie but she is brown and white not black and white. She's slightly smaller than the average border collie.

She is very submissive (badly treated in the past) and very obedient. She's fantastic to walk off lead as she comes to heel the second you call her and then lies down next to your foot and waits for her next instruction.

She sometimes herds us a little if we are out for a walk and she thinks that we are too far apart from each other.

She's gentle and very sweet but a little nervous around unpredictable children / toddlers so I don't trust her with them. She isn't aggressive at all but if she is scared she would probably snap her teeth together which could be frightening for a child (she isn't bitey at all).

She is very loyal to me - I'm definitely her human but she goes on holiday to my PIL when we go away and is quite happy with them and no bother at all.

We live in the country so she gets loads of off lead exercise but if sometimes we can't get out a lot she is patient and will have a lazy day.

Her main quality which is probably also her main fault is that she is incredibly well mannered. This means that she doesn't like bad manners in others - she will snap at rude boisterous dogs who run up to her and she doesn't like noisy people much either (will go and hide).

We adore her and she adores us.

When I was young we had a very similar dog and I think collie crosses can be fab dogs. Obviously not the same as a pure bred though if that is what you are looking for.

Forgot to say, our dog is also very quiet. She will politely and quietly woof twice at the door if someone has left her outside. If no-one lets her in on the 2nd woof she will let herself in (she can open the door by standing on her back legs to operate the door handle with her front paws and then somehow managing to pull the door towards herself). She is a smart dog and you can often see her observing something and figuring out how to do it.

She is also very sensitive to the weather and will become stressed and a bit trembly the day or so before a storm. We live in a part of the world that has regular thunderstorms and we always know when one is coming. We can have sun and blue skies but if the dog is shivering under the table then we are sure to have a storm in a day or two.

beachcomber Border collies come in that colour!
Obviously without seeing the parents you can’t be sure but she looks like a pure Border to me.

They don’t just come in black and white, they have a huge range of colours - black and white, black tri colour, red and white, red tri colour, lilac and white, EE red and white, Sable and white (what I think yours is), Merle, red Merle, literally loads!

My housemate has a border collie and I wouldn't recommend them. He is beautiful and very affectionate with us but he is wary of people, dogs and children and is muzzled when out. He is terrified of random things including shadows. He loses it when the postman comes. He barks at anything and everything. Hes extremely anxious. Once he gets to know you he's all over you for cuddles but random people in the street, nope.

Its also very common behaviour in Border Collies, they are working dogs built to bond with 1-2 people and spend all day with them. A friends border collie suddenly became terrified of the flooring in the dining room and refused to walk on it.

Ok thanks guys

I have put a bell outside of the kitchen door and treated the dogs for pressing it with their feet. Now I have collies outside, door shut and they are pushing each other out of the way to ring the bell I open the door and they get treat.

This is great they are tiring themselves out while I drink coffee and eat biscuits in the kitchen table and open the door .

Next to keep one dog inside and teach them to open the door when they hear the bell ring ..........this is going to waste my whole morning and I should be wfh.

I am not in the kitchen table!

Sorry wrong thread this was meant to be on the toilet bells thread!

@frostedviolets
You're right of course about all the beautiful colours border collies come in. My DC would love it if she turned out to be pure bred as they are both a bit collie obsessed. They love training her to do things.

We'll never know I suppose. But she certainly has a border collie character and she's a good gentle beast. Her main aim in life is to please and follow instructions. I reckon she would have made a cracking working dog if she had been trained young.