So You Think You Want A Border Collie?

We had border collies for 40 years. When our last girl died, aged 15, we said no more now. We're older, retired & who needs the hearbreak of loss. We missed our 3 hour walks/swims/hiking. The crazy fun. So what if there would be no more ball, frisby, tug or hide and seek, search and find games - we'd get over it. Besides, we said, it wouldn't be fair at our ages. Then we got a call from Borders without Borders (a BC Rescue Agency) Desperate for experienced owners to adopt a badly abused collie. This traumatised animal was crated and shipped, by some dog rescue centre, across country to a single mum with a 2 yr old son, living in a tiny house, who worked full time!!! She was locked in a tiny room all day. Came out for a quick walk, then at bedtime went back into her room! Within 4 weeks the woman rang Borders without Borders, said she's made a big mistake. Couldn't cope. All the dog did was hide and be terrified of everything. she cried and peed if a man tried to approach her (I'm hearing boyfriend here) Could they rehome her. We told Beatriz (BwB) no. We are not having any more dogs now - very firmly. Beatriz, just like a border collie, wouldn't give up. Then came the back story.... and pictures.... we looked at the fear and dead expression in her eyes. She was totally shutting down. And fell head over heels in love. We knew it was going to be a long haul to bring this frightened, traumatized little dog back to life. Would she ever accept a man in her world? Would she learn how to cope with life in the outside world. The previous owner said she wouldn't even play. We'd never dealt with a 'special care' dog before. But, none of it mattered. We saw her photo and totally loved her already. We were warned it would be 2 - 3 months to gain trust and accpetance. Turned out Lela was living just 15 minutes down the road! We'd just moved. The house was in chaos. The bathroom tiler wouldn't be finished until the weekend. The pool needed covering. We need to get a bed etc,. We figured we would go visit and walk her every day first. Build a bond, try to reduce the fear factor when she moved in. But, it was not to be. Her then owner (a lovely woman who was just totally misguided but had obviously done her best and been kind with Lela) had packed everything and demanded we take her there and then! I sat in the back cuddling a shaking, terrified animal who copiuously drooled all over me all the way home. We had had no time to contruct a sensible game plan. We talked in gentle voices about how we would deal with the situation and came up with the idea of just love bombing her. My heart bled for her when we had to carry her into the house because she was too terrified to walk in. What in her little mind did she think was going to happen. I ran and quickly found a big, thick quilt. And we all sat on the floor. We gently stroked her and told her 'good girl' over and over. She finally stopped shaking about 2 hours later. Snuggled into me and slept. We all slept together (our previous dogs slept in dogbeds) and when we woke up, yes she still ran and hid behind a chair. Chris fed her the new juicy tinned food which she gobbled down. He took for a walk. She was so scared when he put her on the lead. They headed outside with Chris having to carry her at times. Until they go to the fields. Then she realised. Her ears picked up, she started sniffing everything. In 20 minutes they hadn't covered much ground but a little dog came home with a light in her eyes and ran to me. Because border collies are so intelligent, so clever (a bit manipulative too!) and every single tiny step forward was praised, she very quickly cottened on and every single hour of every day her confidence grew in herself and her belief in us. On the 3 rd night with us she woke us up screaming. She was having a very, very bad dream. Do dogs suffer PTSD. We cuddled her in and she slept soundly then till morning. In just 2 weeks our beautiful girl has gone from total terrified wreck into an 'almost' confident dog. Day 4 she did her first zoomies. Day 5 she adopted us and actually was brave enough to bark at someone passing the gate. . Then instead of running terrifed into a corner when she saw the builder coming - she barked at him. Yeahhhh she was beginging to feel empowered. That she had a choice. She now loves Chris, see's him as pack leader and if something scares her - and sadly some things still do - she will run to him too for safety. . She's started to get a little mischievous and is learning how to 'master us.' A paw or nose shove to say stop that and stroke me :-)) she still hasn't cottoned on about toys and fun play. Tennis balls still scare her. But she's started playing tug. Her energy levels are zeroed out on just 2 half hour walks a day but her pads are starting to harden. Best of all she has a sparkle in her eyes and thinks her little world is safe, wonderful and definitely forever. As for us, she has made our retired lives complete.

I never wanted a dog. I found a Border Collie. He’s not really a dog. He’s a best friend and partner. I’m continually amazed by how smart, sensitive and caring he is. Since getting him I’ve lost fat and become a lot stronger just trying to keep up with him. Aeon is more than capable of doing anything and everything I need him to do. Border Collies are the best. You need to be the best to earn the right to have one.

Im a 15 year old girl, I have never been very social and dont have a lot of friends, I mostly hang out with my pets. When I was 14 we already had 2 westies when i wanted a border collie. I saw a little clip on the internet of this wonderfull dog doing amazing tricks. I did a little agility with 1 of the westies but he just didnt like it. I wanted a dog who i can work with, a dog who i could learn tricks and play with. Some months before christmas my parents finally agreed on getting a border collie and I went searching for a puppy. Around christmas i got my own border collie puppy. Unless some other people I did a lot of research before getting her, I knew they were high energy dogs, very smart and that they need a lot of walking. Luckily that was excectly what I wanted. My border collie is now 1.5 years old, im doing agility with her. I also frisbee with her, I take her out atleast 2 hours a day. I love animals so i have a lot of em, my border collie absolutely loves my chickens and bunnies, shes actually carefull with em. Also she loves swimming! My dog is actually really good in agility, she watches every move i make. When she is older and more experienced I want to go do competitions with her! I actually fell in love with her! She listens so good and i spend all my day working with her. She absolutly loves everyone and is very social, she loves to play with other dogs. She also loves the 2 westies we have, they're playing a lot with each other even though my border collie is twice as big as them. Also she loves kids a lot (she will sometimes jump on them cause she's so excited, but were working on that). On a field nearby where i always play with her I met a couple children, they absolutely loved her and because of her I became friends with them. She has really helped me with my social skills and if I didn't have her I wouldn't have met these new friends. If ur doubting on getting a border collie, I would say do it. But only if ur a 100% sure u can take care of them and give them the exercise they need. Border collies really are amazing and u create such a special bond with them! And because my dog I'm so much more active. I've trained, socialized and even payed her myself, she's really my dog. I take her out 4-6 times a day, I feed her, i do everything with her. She's really my bestfriend and if it wasnt for her, I would've probably been so depressed right now in lockdown, laying on my bed all day, watching some Netflix and playing some stupid games..

All I can say is Borders have love, energy, love, energy, love, energy and I love it.

I feel as though every single border collie was a human in a past life. Lol

This is a good video and I wish I would've seen this before actually getting a BC. This comment will get buried but if someone is reading this PLEASE listen and truly ask yourself the questions listed in this video. You might think to yourself, yes! I'm willing to have a loyal companion who is smart and does tricks. You might look at all the comments under this video and stare in awe at how many people are absolutely in love with their BCs and hope to fill your heart with the same kind of love. What's missing is actually experiencing what it will be like to own this kind of dog. It is non-stop management. You're constantly having to teach them tricks and behaviors (not barking at random noises, not resource guarding, allowing to be picked up, not herding the cat/kids, etc), having to puppy proof the house (almost all of our walls are lined with gates so he won't chew on the corners), and having to monitor them when you're not engaging so that they don't destroy your house. If you leave them outside, they WILL dig or they'll bark...a lot. These dogs are smart as hell and if they get a rise out of you, they'll keep performing that behavior since it makes you engage with them. These dogs are not a pet you can leave alone and just pet/cuddle whenever you feel like it. They're children who need strict schedules, jobs, and attention. if you get this kind of dog you need to understand that training and caring for them needs to be a full time hobby for you. Before getting a BC try sticking to this schedule for a couple of weeks: 7:30am Wake up and take an hour walk 8:30-9:00am: eat breakfast 9-11:30am: free time. 11:30am: take another hour walk 12:30pm-3:30pm: free time 3:30pm: play games with someone for an hour (not video games, something physical ) 4:30pm: free time 8:00pm-8:30pm: play a game (physical) 8:30pm: free time If you can handle this schedule for a couple of weeks you might be able to handle a BC but even that isn't like the actual experience. My dog gets plenty of love, training, and exercise but I regret getting him. I was not prepared and didn't realize what it took to raise this kind of dog. I will never get another BC or dog in general after this experience so please, please do your research before getting one

My border collie made me want a million border collies 😂😂😂 but one is definitely enough. I love his sass and attitude. I love constantly being creeped out by how smart he is. I just love my boy.

We adopted a senior (13) BC. She was great with the other dogs and played frisbee with me everyday until the day before she left us almost 3 years later. But I know she missed her original person. For all the fun we had there was just that last measure of closeness that was missing.

Once you've got that bond with a Border Collie..it's for life.

Our previous border collie 'Jake' lived to be 17 years old, he passed away 5 years ago. It was like losing a child to my husband and I. We thought that much of him we named our third son after him ❤

I have a border collie and the first thing I taught him was that calm is the way of life we live in. He sleeps a lot compared to other dogs but we channel his energy into Frisbee, fetch and tricks. When its too cold to go outside, the TV makes for an excellent use of mental stimulation and we channel zoomies and games to tire him out. He's unlike any other dog I've met, he's intense in work and in love as well. They're definitely not dogs for everyone but if they are the dog for you, they're unparalleled. Other dogs just don't cut it once you've had a border collie.

When I rescued my BC Sally, she initially gave me pause. Her intensely staring at me was disconcerting. If I weren’t so experienced around dogs, I could have been scared…or intimidated. Wait. Ohhh. So I looked back deeply into her eyes and explained, “I’m not a sheep!” She immediately dropped the stare and we began a beautiful life together.

I'm 72 years old and I'm picking up my second Bourder Collie. My first one was when I was 6 years old. Spending my life too busy but now I'm retired and have 40 acres to play in. My neighbor has sheep that he will let me barrow. I still run a backhoe but I hope my Collie will love the buisiness as much as I do. It will be just me my pup and a bunch of mistuff. I have always had dogs but border Collies are my favorite. Dogs are my favorite people. Thank you very much for sharing.

I went from feeling like I don't have enough energy for border collies to suddenly longing to have one to round up the kids and herd them to bed!!!!

My hubby had Labs & then 2 Red Healers. Myself, horses and cats (3 of each). We retired and hubby's healer - now old died. After retirement no more horses, still had 3 cats, now no dog. Long/short; went to look at BC puppy. Hubby picked out a little female and we brought her home. Adorable dog - even for this cat loving person. We named her Patriot and it seems she picked ME to be HER human. Not being a dog person, this was quite the shock. But truly, I am head-over-heels in LOVE with this dog. Have NEVER known a dog SO FULL of LOVE! She is very cat like in many ways. So, my hubbies dog is now really my dog. Our friends get the biggest kick from all this. Hubby is very happy about all this too. We have been married for over 50 years and this is the first time he has ever seen me love a dog. I have always liked dogs - I like all animals. but cats have always been my true love. Now I have the sweetest dog that I love every bit as much as any of my cats. She is my little shadow, my best friend, my forest walks pal, running by my quad pal, the one that makes me laugh out loud. In my heart - she is the most wonderful dog that has EVER walked this planet. I am Scotch/Irish Highlander in heritage - she fits right into our life in the highlands of the Rocky Mountains. We are blessed by her beautiful, loving BC heart and boundless LOVE. PS: cats are not that thrilled about all this 🤣😂😾

My family shares our house with a a 13 year old Border Collie. He is just starting to slow down a little. He stills runs 5 miles a day with me but he is starting to jog a little more as opposed to speeding around me for our run. He is incredibly smart and empathic. I wouldn't own any other breed.

LOVE THIS ! Border collies are such special dogs🥰💖

2:22 it's sad to know my baby is not the only one sleeping with the tongue out lol

An old colleague of mine had a collie who could be walked for miles and not get tired. We did a group walk up Snowdon in Wales, UK, and while the rest of us were sore and tired by the end, Blue the collie was prepared for the next mountain!!

Driving in the country I came across a couple of these dogs, with owner, pushing a herd of milking cows across the road. Stopping while they did this, I swear these dogs looked at us, then started strutting and posing when we pulled up. They would have spat on the ground if they could. Supreme confidence and supremely happy.