The breeding of Border Collies.
When choosing a Border Collie, you should take into consideration what the breeder has been trying to achieve with his breeding program..
Does he have a breeding program or is he just breeding 2 dogs to get puppies.
If you are not going to improve the breed when mating your dog and bitch, dont do it.
There are enough Border collies in animal shelters that are the result of thoughtless irresponsible matings
Does the breeder just keep them as pets that sit around on the couch?? Or is he breeding for stamina, brains and trainability and character.
Usaully when buying a pup from a breeder who breeds for a purpose such as working sheep , on a large scale, you can be sure that your pup will have good stamina and will be pretty trainable.
How else could one command a dog from a mile away on a whistle?
This is the kind of dog who has a great partnership and relationship with his handler..
If you are buying a pup that is bred from pure show stock, it is possible that your pup has not been bred for temperament ,stamina and trainability.
That could have been sacrificed for looks.
Watching the BBc reporting on dogs that are in bred for the show ring is interesting and shocking! ( yikes) !!
Remember, all the things that make the border collie so apealing such as his intelligence , loyalty, eagerness to please, willingness to form a close partnership with his person are part of the working dog genetics.
Without the working genetics, its not likely that your dog will have the true border collie character.
if you are looking for a dog that wants to sit around the house, why not buy a black lab?
A border collie should be of sound mind and body, before anyone should consider breeding from him or her.
Remember, just because it is black and white doesnt mean it is a border collie.
A border collie should have a good character.
He should be alert , agile , freindly, and always looking to please.
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Working bred dogs can make excellent agility and companion dogs.
A good border collie should be able to run out well, have a nice amount of eye (but not to much) to give him balance, should be able to keep a nice distance from his sheep with out being too far off of them. He should be a good listener, and wanting to work with you, not against you or for himself.
Working bred dogs will usually make excellent agility ,pet or obedience dogs.
why??
Because they will be trainable, agile, LOOKING TO FORM A RELATIONSHIP WITH THIER PERSON (WHICH MEANS THEY WILL USUALLY BECOME VERY FAITHFUL COMPANIONS) and should have good stamina.
If people taking on a collie pup as a pet are willing to follow the golden rules of Border Collie ownership, such as:
Setting out boundries for the pup in the house. and sticking to them.
not letting the little one tear around the house like a maniac unchecked.
teaching it from the start that it should come when called, and not teach it to run away when called by catching and confining it as a reward for coming.
socialize it from the moment you bring it home
give it its own toys to play with and not let it chew on anything it wants in the house
be in control of the toys
Feed it in a crate or cage so it gets used to confinement and doesnt regard the crate as a jail cell. It can then easily be put out of the harms way when its not convenient for it to be loose in the house and be content to sleep in it or play with its toys.
never allow it to jump up on you or other people. gently pushing the pup into a sitting postion and rewarding only when the pup is sitting down, not when jumping. If other people come into the house and encourage unwanted behavior, keep your pup in his crate while they are in the house.
Never allow it to chase anything that moves. This is achieved by making sure the situation is not created when it is in its early and very impressionable stages. ( but some will always want to chase moving objects. (remember, that is what they are bred to do)
A working Border Collie dog has to be a thinking dog.
A dog that is too hyper might just tear up your house when you are not home and be very difficult to train!
Any one who reads this might not agree with everything i have said but, its only my opinion!
Thanks for reading.........
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