Border collie puppies-where to find one

[Chocolategirl19791]

DH has come around to the idea of having a dog, he's always been on board with the idea just wanted the right time. I grew up with my parents having border collies and was the pet sitter for them when I left home so know what we are letting ourselves in fit. My question, how do you find a puppy - obviously we want to avoid anything like puppy farms but don't need one who has the pedigree ti be a top working sheepdog as it'll be family let, ideally with some agility maybe thrown in.

Generally they are only really bred for working now

So farms and other working homes are the places to look

We got a collie from a professional breeder. She breeds working dogs, but we got in touch to explain that we were looking for a family pet and would just be doing agility for fun etc. We had to wait a while but she got in touch when she had a puppy in one of the litters who didn’t show any aptitude for working sheep, and was just generally a bit lazy. He has made the perfect pet!!

so I would definitely get in touch with a breeder of working dogs and look for a “reject” dog so to speak?

The Kennel Club has a list of BC breeders if you want a show pedigree pup, otherwise there are always farm BC pups available. Farm pups can be very heading driven though, our first BC was the offspring of a sheepdog trials dad and a farm collie mum and she had the border 'eye' at 12 weeks. Took quite a while to direct her energy from wanting to round up sheep (nightmare on lead crossing a sheep field!) to chasing a ball. But she was the most loyal dog imaginable.

If you live rurally, you can probably just keep a look out for notices in the local shop etc.

That's not true, there are loads of show border collies about. Maybe it's area dependent but every other dog around here is a border collie of some kind - show, working, random farm dog or a mixture of all of the above

I walk two lovely show border collies - one is from a breeder and the other was a rescue. Another passed away last year but he was also from a breeder.

Keep an eye on the KC website or look on champdogs for breeders. Or, if you're not fussed about them being pedigree or show stock, get in touch with local farms or ask at local country shows. Ours always have breeders attending and I know lots of people who "get their name down" that way.

The KC currently have a few litters available depending on your location.

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/search/breeds-a-to-z/breeds/pastoral/border-collie/

Dont get a reject dog! and loads of collies are breed as non working dogs.

Reject working dogs can be nervous anxious and not make good pets (not all but many of them)

Get invovled with a local agility or obedience club and speak to the owners of the collies. Many of them will be carefully selected dogs with great temperaments to be able to compete. There are loads of recognised breeders of collies and by asking people that have collies you will get the right info.

There is a lot of epilepsy in collies so do look at isdn register before getting a specific dog.

Personally I avoid show collies as they be more highly strung than working collies. Breed for looks rather than temperament and health. Short noses and loads of fur

What part of the world are you in?

What do you want the collie to do? (all collies need a job)

See you said agility - then do speak to agility people go to your local club. Not all collies can do agility as there is too much movement for them.

There are some "well known" breeders in agility that need to avoided like the plague but are prolific breeders so again chatting to experienced agility people will show you who to avoid.

Check dog rehoming centres or animal rescue centres, esp ones located near or in the countryside.
Alot of farmers whose collies accidentally breed etc, will send them to rehoming centres so puppies regularly available there. That's Def the case with my local dogs trust.

I really wouldn't pick a collie from an accidental litter from some random farmer.

A badly bred collie is likely to be neurotic, reactive and challenging. That's not to mention any health issues that may occur as a result of the lack of health tests.

Behaviour is how you raise them from puppies. You don't have to pay a fortune to have a good dog.
Plus all rehoming centres will know the temperament of a dog before they let someone adopt it 🙄

Oh interesting nature or nuture Unfortunately loads of scientific studies show that genetics play the biggest part in temperament of dogs. The saying there are no bad dogs only owners it pretty bollocks. (although obviously humans are also very good at screwing up dogs!)

Epigenetics is a massive area.

Oh, if only it was that simple

Genetics play a big part in dog behaviour - there have been numerous studies done to prove it. You can do everything right as an owner, but if your puppy was poorly socialised or came from aggressive/nervous/neurotic parents, then you'll always have an uphill battle on your hands. It's why so many puppy-farmed dogs end up with behavioural problems.

Re-homing centres also can't tell you the future temperament of a young puppy!

Most farmers sell the collies if bred. Ask any farmer how much their working collie cost they are thousands. They won't give them away. As for a rescue you might pick one up from a non working line. Rescues rarely know the background but be prepared to retrain and work the dog.

Every collie owner I meet when dog walking days their pup came "from a farm in Wales" - I imagine there are plenty of "spare" collies born when farm dogs have a litter and the farmer keeps the ones who show the most herding promise?

There are a lot of border collies on the farmers website sell my livestock. There are pups from top working lines that can go for thousands as well as non pedigree pups on there. As the owner of a rescue border collie ( ex working dog) I would be very cautious she is the most difficult and yet most rewarding dog I have ever owned!

Manytearsrescue in wales often has collie pups..

I think it depends why they are rejected. Tess was rehomed to me through a sheepdog trainer. She is a top working line, but lacked the focus and drive to work sheep. I am a fell runner and a friend of a friend got in touch with me as they were looking for an active family home for her. She isn't the easiest dog at times, but she is a great match for me.

I’d go to an agility club and ask other owners. You want one that shows aptitude for agility, not massive drive for working sheep.
my agility club would be really open to you coming along-we’re a friendly bunch

My farm collie was the most chilled ever. My well bred collie, nurtured since a pup with the my cumulative efforts of 20 years of dog training is a neurotic weirdo.

Here is a good place to start

www.bordercollieclub.com

also - if you are anywhere near London then going to Discover Dogs (October I think) would be a good opportunity to speak to them directly.

you are getting a lot of conflicting advice here - and a lot of generalisations on a breed which is often unfairly maligned and stereotyped. I think it’s really important to get advice directly from the experts.

btw we have a show collie and he is absolutely wonderful with a perfect temperament. Bought from an incredibly experienced breeder who was really helpful (and she assessed us before agreeing to sell us a puppy - which is absolutely the right thing to do)

ValValgraves BC rescue would be worth a look. www.facebook.com/groups/160842204801/