Crazy to get a border collie?

[Byfleet]

I have wanted a border collie all my life but held off because I have been incredibly busy most of my adult life with kids, work and caring for elderly DM. DM has now passed away, kids left home and I am semi retired. However, I have read so many threads here about how border collies are particularly demanding. Would it be sensible? Here are pros and cons.

Pros

• sorry to blow my own trumpet but I am very fit and active and really love walking (and running). I am a lecturer and love teaching/training
• I am semi retired. We have a big garden and a couple of parks nearby
• DCs live nearby, love dogs, and claim they would contribute to works/dog sitting etc.

Cons

• I am very fit (marathons etc)but I am 60 and need more rest than I used to
• DH is not very fit and doesn’t really enjoy outdoor exercise
• we live in London. We have parks nearby but I am wary of letting any dog off the lead. There are some scary dogs (and owners) around.
• We have a biggish garden but I am a little precious about it ie. don’t really want dug up lawn and flower beds
• I am a little precious about the house too ie. Not keen on scratched or chewed furniture.

Any collie owners out there? Am I a good fit?

Thanks for all your replies.

I grew up with several collies. The first was a sheep dog and the second transitioned from being a sheep dog to herding cows for milking, which was far less demanding in terms of energy and intelligence. The third ( off spring of the first two) started off herding cows and then became a farm yard/companion dog when my parents moved into arable farming. All of them seemed to be happy ie. Not herding sheep or cows didn’t seem to bother the third collie. Indeed she only really pottered about the farmyard and went to the village or nearest town in the car now and then and seemed very calm and happy. What they all had in common was that they were free to roam at will all day. They weren’t confined to the house.

I really don’t see how living in London would be that different and the fact that I am at home almost all of the time would provide stimulation. I guess what bothers me is the amount of time spent indoors and on a lead. The stimulation and exercise would be equal (or more) than my farmyard dogs had.

*understimulated not understated. Fuck off autocorrect.

You don’t see what would be different about roaming free on a farm to your set up?

The two scenarios you’re describing are entirely different- living on a farm roaming all day vs only being walked on lead in London, I’m struggling to see how you think they’re comparable.

I grew up with collies, we purposefully don’t have one now because despite both wfh we know we don’t have the time & energy the breed needs - look at other breeds, a collie will be unhappy in the situation you’re able to offer.

A lot of cookies are very reactive to traffic and don’t do well in built up areas. They need loads of f lead exercise in quiet areas and lots of enrichment activities

Collies!

Honestly I think you’re trying to convince yourself it’s fine when it’s not. If you want your house trashed crack on… I’d be amazed if a good breeder would sell you a pup that’s not going to get regular kff lead exercise

Sure it sounds nicer for a collie to potter about in a farmyard rather than being in London. But I can offer:

1. 2/3 hours a day of running /activities in a large local park
2. 24 hours a day company at home with stimulating activities.

When I was growing up I don’t remember anybody taking a moment to worry if our collie was being stimulated. She was just there pottering about. That’s what I am thinking of for a collie now. Pottering around at home/in the garden (I WFH and am semi retired) plus 2/3 hours a day full tilt exercise in a large park. I don’t understand how being in London makes this a sub standard environment?

2/3 hours a day of running /activities in a large local park

But you said originally you’d be worried about letting the dog off lead in the park?

But collies love to run, they’re bred to be fast, some can run up to 30mph. How would you manage that if it can’t go off lead?

Why did you ask then if you can see no issues?

I think the fact that you have seen a happy relaxed collie in an appropriate environment means that you can not imagine the issues you will have with a collie in the wrong environment.

Can I ask what daily activities you think are suitable for a collie?

Collies don’t “potter about”.

The thing is with dogs is you can be all positive and convinced you’ll be fine and have a great time, and then you get a puppy and reality hits. Puppy blues is a huge thing, and unless you are 100% informed and know what you’re doing it is hard work. I find puppies far harder than my newborn ever was.

I’ve always had working dogs (cockers for beating and pickup) but even after 5 dogs I STILL get horrendous puppy blues. Then once you think you’ve cracked it they hit the teenage years, forget everything and become total butts for a while.

Listen to the people who know what they are talking about, don’t let pride or a want get in the way of what a dog actually needs to thrive.

My DM has adopted a rescue collie just under a year ago - an older rescue, they think 8/9. She arrived traumatised from being dumped, was skin and bone and the rescue thought she might have been used as a breeding dog as she’d clearly recently been pregnant. It’s taken a LOT of patience and TLC to get her used to living in a home environment - she wasn’t house trained and even now will be searching for food all the time BUT she has SUCH a beautiful temperament. She’s house trained now and is definitely not high maintenance - she doesn’t bark (perhaps beaten out of her in a prior life), travels in the car beautifully, she’s so attached to my DM and puts up with my little ones stroking her and being their usual noisy selves around her, she doesn’t bat an eyelid at anything. She has two long walks a day (DM has lost weight walking her more than her prior dog) but they are lead walks in London suburbs as she’s not got recall yet. She’s perfectly content with that and she looks amazing now and finally living her best life. She’s definitely not the typical crazy collie at all, but not sure if it’s the age or just luck!

For what it's worth, we farm 300 acres in the West Country. We have a collie. She would be out from dawn until dusk if she could be. She's a family pet but also a working dog. She needs a LOT of stimulation. Luckily we can give her that. She's 8 now & still running like she's 1. They're glorious companions but they absolutely need to be working/stimulated. Otherwise they will get bored, that's just the way that particular breed is, that's what they were bred for.

No, dont get a collie in London, and they should not be kept on the lead. Our collie really doesnt go on the lead atall, only by roads, he needs to run and run and run, they need hours of off lead excercise/work. The breed was bred to spend a whole long day at work in the fields, I dont think a couple of loops of Victoria Park is anywhere near enough for a collie and it would be very stressful with all the people and cars for one. Get a different dog in London.

Have you heard of dog parks you can take your dog there and let them off the lead. You dog will go through the teething stage and the naughty stage when it’s a puppy. It’s like having a child but more furry and barks.

I have a collie and my children takes him out for walks daily to the field and my son is always playing with him. He grew out of the teething and he has stopped digging the garden. They are intelligent dogs and learn quickly.

I wanted a wolfhound but lived in London. I waited.
I wouldn’t want a collie if I couldn’t let it off lead. Running on lead is not the same.

You can’t let any dog of the lead if they are not trained properly. Op if you can train him and he listens to your command’s then why not get him.

Collies love attention and they are loyal dogs that’s what makes them easy to train.

Don’t do it op.

My sil had one in a rural area - total nightmare even with daily off lead walks.

I love the breed and they are amazing dogs but they are suited to work and a farm environment.

I'm sorry, you're not a good fit for a puppy based on your feelings about the house and garden. Very few homes are a good fit for a collie and you don't sound one of them. You must have outside space where they can run.

You'd be better with a breed that likes to go out and then sleep.

Sometimes I read threads on MN that really don’t correspond to my reality. I have had border collies and other herding breeds for decades, including when living in countries with strict laws limiting where dogs are allowed off lead. My dogs have all been happy and calm, never destructive or neurotic or high maintenance. They received appropriate exercise and enrichment, and they lived fulfilling lives. Some people warned me against these breeds, but I am so glad I didn’t listen to them.

Sorry OP but I think it would be a really, really bad idea.

Collies do not do well on leads. They are herding dogs and are bred to run. For miles. Every single day. They are also really sensitive to noise and to traffic and will try and herd cars - or worse, lunge at full speed into traffic. You need to be 100% on the ball with training from day one but even then you can't override their natural instincts.

A human-speed run through a park on a lead is just not enough. I walk collies and seeing them run free is amazing - they are so fast and intelligent and have so much energy - confining them to a life of lead walks in a city is borderline cruel IMO.

A collie that is under stimulated and under exercised is not fun to be around. They become snappy, neurotic, destructive and nervous, and will just make their own entertainment in the house (eating things, guarding, pacing, herding you).

Honestly - you sound incredibly naive as to the realities of collie ownership. Growing up with one on a huge farm is nothing like owing one in a city. Please, for the digs' sake, don't do it. It's not fair.

I'm going to preface this by saying I asked about getting a collie (but rural/young children) on here last year and was told definitely not to do it. I've had my collie girl for a year now and she's the best dog in the world.

On your questions:

1. she doesn't destroy the garden (except by running too fast)

2. she hasn't damaged the house since she got through the puppy phase (but there is hair EVERYWHERE)

3. If she didn't have a couple of hours of off-lead exploring every day, she would be miserable. So if you can't offer that, don't get a collie.

Their temperaments can be so different - my girl is the runt from non-working, very chilled parents, and she's content to nap on my feet for most of the day - so digging/chewing/neuroticism is not guaranteed. The running though seems to be hardwired in and I can't imagine a young dog being ok with staying on the lead - mine definitely finds it frustrating.

This gives me hope! I crave a collie. I can off a couple of hours off lead a day. Live near lots of good places to walk. If anyone out there has puppies from similar parents, please let me know !!