6 year old collie rescue

[tinselvestsparklepants]

We are ready to rescue (after a very long wait) and while we thought we'd be going for a lurcher, we have unexpectedly fallen for a timid 6 year old collie. He needs a quiet home in a quiet place - and lots of space apparently with not too much fuss. That's us - rural house, no through traffic, no children, calm house, working from home, quiet walks straight from the house etc. I've always thought that collies need loads of exercise and stimulation. We are keen walkers and my dH runs. But I'd love to know from experienced collie owners how else to keep a collie busy enough to be happy. I only want to apply if we can give this gorgeous fellow everything he needs. Grateful for any thoughts. We are both first time dog owners.

I have a collie.
She’s full working lines.

I wouldn’t say she ‘needs’ lots of exercise but she certainly appreciates it!
I typically walk 10 miles plus a day with her but to be honest, I can decide not to go for a walk and she’s absolutely fine, she’s not destructive, stressy or anything.

I do virtually no ‘mental stimulation’ because she doesn’t cope well with it.
She frustrates far too easily and gets upset and agitated.
She likes to have a nice, super long walk off lead with lots of interesting things to smell, preferably a ball to chase and then she’s asleep until there’s food on offer.

Oh that's really good to know, thank you. I know all dogs are different but we could easily look after a dog like yours. How old is she?

She’s 8, I’ve had her since she was 10 weeks old 😊

Bigwolf's collie is unusual for a collie. Although many collies need to be taught how to deal with their frustration and taught to relax and chill and not to get to over threshold.

I have collies and also foster and rehabilitate collies for rescues. They do need some exercise a day but not as much as people think. Mine always get at least 2 hours walk a day but that is because I love it as well as they do.

Collies like to use their brains, they like to be working (not necessarily sheep dog work) but a contented collie is a collie that gets a mixture of brain work and physical exercise. I would question why you would get a collie if you do not want to be doing things with them.

For example that may be a bit of scent work, obedience training, dog sports etc or just enrichment. I map this into every day.

Collies can have "issues" so the timid part of the collie would need investigating. As collies can be quite reactive to other dogs, noises etc.

Noise phobic collies can be hard to live with and may make major restictions to your life. eg where you walk or where you can go. Timid collies may not be happy to go to pubs and cafes for example or to different areas on holidays.

Nervous collies may also show difficult behavours as a sympton of this.

If the dog in question has an "issue" think carefully if you can live with this longterm. Yes it may improve but it may also be an ongoing problem needing a lot of training and careful handling.

So I would ask a lot of questions about this.

Be warned if you once have a collie you will always want a collie.

< Looks at the 6 lying on their mats> (Some of mine are working dog though!)

Thanks Polly - it's not that we don't want to do things with him - we absolutely do. I just thought I'd ask about what that means in reality, hence asking on a forum rather than relying on articles. We would obviously have to ask lots of questions about him and his reported timidity. But I want to make sure we'd be ok with the breed before asking to know more about him. I'd always thought that effectively you can only do the right thing by a collie if you're a farmer / work outdoors all day. And then I saw this one... I'm going to read up more about training etc - we have the space and the time.

Thanks bigwolf. She sounds lovely!

Polly May I ask, what do you think the top questions would be to ask if the rescue centre about his timidity? They describe him as needing his own space occasionally and liking peace and quiet. Few visitors, no kids. Which is our day to day life. But are there particular behaviours I should make sure I ask about? Thank you for giving me your advice and opinions. It's incredibly helpful.

@tinselvestsparklepants I would want to know how the timidity shows itself.

Is is from staying away from the situation or by nipping growling or lunging etc?

What are the major triggers for the behaviour?

What have they seen that relaxes the dog?

How does the dog react to strangers and other dogs?

Each answer to the above questions would probably lead to other questions?

Has the dog been in one home for the last 6 years.

Thank you for that list - that's really helpful. I've been reading up about agility etc too, and I think this is something we'd enjoy. I really appreciate your help. Feels like we will be able to have a more informed conversation about him now - if they like the look of us!