[Lonewuff]

This has NOTHING to do with riding or BMW's. This is my pride and joy taking his Herding Test. To determine if a dog has herding potential they have a test where they put them in a pen with sheep and see how they respond. It starts off kind of slow with the instructor just talking, but then you get to see Craic, my Collie puppy have a blast chasing sheep.

http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=9T2zoRmQtaA

 

[dwsdad]

He's beautiful!! But then again, maybe I'm just partial - our first set was a sable & white and a tri like Craic. Both of ours were female - Willow the sable, DW (hence my handle, dwsdad) the tri. We now have 2 sable & white - male & female.

Collies are pure joy to own. Have fun with him.

 

[norriscooper]

Not to dis your dog but he is chasing and barking not herding. Needs a tune-up.
Being a cattle rancher (sheep are coyote food) I have grown up with Border Collies. They come prewired to herd, really fun to watch, especially when they put the "eye" on their prey! They start herding when they are a few months old. Anything is fair game--- kids, ducks, cats, birds, cattle. They just live to herd and please.

 

[sonnata]

Looks like he's having a blast, Jerry. I think every herding dog should get to do this at least once.

 

[Lonewuff]

No offense Norris!!!

This was his very first experience with herding. He has never even seen sheep until he was tossed into the pen with them. This was not a herding test, this was a test to see if he has the potential to herd. The lessons start now that we know he will do it. Oh, I have a house full of herding dogs by the way. Two German Shepherds, two shelties, a Border Collie and the Collie. The Border trys to herd EVERYTHING, including the wife and I and all the other dogs.

 

[norriscooper]

my dog's better than your dog

The Border trys to herd EVERYTHING, including the wife and I and all the other dogs.

Yes EVERYTHING ----- even toads!

I just went outside and snapped this pix of Zeke. He is actually a long haired but we cut him for summer so he looks like a short hair Border Collie. Did you ever notice that Border Collies (the most intelligent of dogs) all have a couple of screws loose! Kind of like us BMW riders!

 

[Lonewuff]

Can you see the feeling of betrayal in his eyes. This poor guy lives in Texas, has no undercoat, and I took him up to Illinois this winter for some special training. Oh and he is especially good at herding the toads.

 

[Dan-A]

Your dogs are beautiful. We looked into getting a border collie after our Akita died , and the conventional wisdom said that if you cannot work them and keep them busy, get a different breed.

Still deciding, prolly end up with another Akita, or no dog for a while.

 

[Lonewuff]

Good move Dan,

Our Border Collie drives us nuts!!! He goes steady for about 15 hours a day and we are always working and training him. They are not a good pet, but I have a few clients that have them and are great and very laid back, but those are the exception (few and VERY far between exception). Border Collie Rescue is full of BC's that went to pet homes, because the breeders just wanted to make a fast buck and didn't screen the new owners and the new owners saw Babe and wanted one, without any knowledge of the breed. The breed is very high strung, high drive, intense, and are a case study in neurotics. The typical BC owner has a lot of time to spend working the dog and is not a novice. I have been a dog handler, K-9 officer, and professional pet sitter for a combined 35 years now and I work with him constantly and he still drives us nuts.

Now this Collie...WOW!!! The breed was ruined years ago, because of Lasie. In the last few years a few GOOD breeders have brought the breed back and they have some fantastic characteristics, but it is difficult to find good breeders and get the dogs from them. The good breeders want to expand their lines, so pet owners are not where they want their dogs going. They want them in show or performance homes where they can get a name and reputation. I spent five years researching breeders before we finally decided on who to get our dog from and she only allowed us to have him because we show in Agility. The pay off for all those years has been worth it. Craic is without a doubt the smartest and most sound dog I have ever owned and I have had some great dogs starting with my K-9. That says a lot.

If you have owned an Akita you can obviously handle a stubborn dog, so you must have some dog experience, or you would have killed your Akita years ago. The fact you want another one says volumes. If you could handle one of them, you might like the Malamute or Sib. Husky or even a good Chow.

 

[Dan-A]

Good move Dan,

Our Border Collie drives us nuts!!! He goes steady for about 15 hours a day and we are always working and training him. They are not a good pet, but I have a few clients that have them and are great and very laid back, but those are the exception (few and VERY far between exception). Border Collie Rescue is full of BC's that went to pet homes, because the breeders just wanted to make a fast buck and didn't screen the new owners and the new owners saw Babe and wanted one, without any knowledge of the breed. The breed is very high strung, high drive, intense, and are a case study in neurotics. The typical BC owner has a lot of time to spend working the dog and is not a novice. I have been a dog handler, K-9 officer, and professional pet sitter for a combined 35 years now and I work with him constantly and he still drives us nuts.

Now this Collie...WOW!!! The breed was ruined years ago, because of Lasie. In the last few years a few GOOD breeders have brought the breed back and they have some fantastic characteristics, but it is difficult to find good breeders and get the dogs from them. The good breeders want to expand their lines, so pet owners are not where they want their dogs going. They want them in show or performance homes where they can get a name and reputation. I spent five years researching breeders before we finally decided on who to get our dog from and she only allowed us to have him because we show in Agility. The pay off for all those years has been worth it. Craic is without a doubt the smartest and most sound dog I have ever owned and I have had some great dogs starting with my K-9. That says a lot.

If you have owned an Akita you can obviously handle a stubborn dog, so you must have some dog experience, or you would have killed your Akita years ago. The fact you want another one says volumes. If you could handle one of them, you might like the Malamute or Sib. Husky or even a good Chow.

Thanks.

 

[norriscooper]

Your dogs are beautiful. We looked into getting a border collie after our Akita died , and the conventional wisdom said that if you cannot work them and keep them busy, get a different breed.

Dan,
In my fifty some years of life I have only had four Border Collies, I get alot of miles out of them! In the last twenty years they have become a very popular breed. Most every rancher around me has several and they are in many TV ads.

I would say that the conventional wisdom is correct 98% of the time. Many city people buy them and most of those end up in shelters or rescues. They need a big back yard (or a ranch). If you don't have any work for them to do they will figure something out on their own, usually with disastrous results.
When my last one died I didn't want any more dogs, it takes alot of time to train them which cuts into my riding time!

Well about three months later my wife and son found Zeke at at a breeder. He was two years old, and had been agility trained and shown and was her stud, but had never been around cattle or even inside a house. At 52 pounds he is big for the breed, most are 35 to 40. Very laid back and calm, most are tightly wound.

My wife turned this one into a house pet! He sometimes goes with me to the ranch but his main goal in life is to get into and stay in the house, to be with us. He never runs off. He likes to play ball with the children on the street, but he won't leave the front yard unless I go with him. The only reason he has a leash is because it is the law.

But he does have a few phobias. He cannot be in a room with a running ceiling fan. You should have seen him when I let him out of my truck in the middle of a wind farm!

 

[Dan-A]

Dan,
In my fifty some years of life I have only had four Border Collies, I get alot of miles out of them! In the last twenty years they have become a very popular breed. Most every rancher around me has several and they are in many TV ads.

I would say that the conventional wisdom is correct 98% of the time. Many city people buy them and most of those end up in shelters or rescues. They need a big back yard (or a ranch). If you don't have any work for them to do they will figure something out on their own, usually with disastrous results.
When my last one died I didn't want any more dogs, it takes alot of time to train them which cuts into my riding time!

Well about three months later my wife and son found Zeke at at a breeder. He was two years old, and had been agility trained and shown and was her stud, but had never been around cattle or even inside a house. At 52 pounds he is big for the breed, most are 35 to 40. Very laid back and calm, most are tightly wound.

My wife turned this one into a house pet! He sometimes goes with me to the ranch but his main goal in life is to get into and stay in the house, to be with us. He never runs off. He likes to play ball with the children on the street, but he won't leave the front yard unless I go with him. The only reason he has a leash is because it is the law.

But he does have a few phobias. He cannot be in a room with a running ceiling fan. You should have seen him when I let him out of my truck in the middle of a wind farm!

Thanks for your comments as well. I didn't feel much like getting another dog for a while after we had to put Max down. Now I am starting to get the feeling again, but I am reluctant. The kids (who will be flying the coop within a few years) are clamoring for another dog.

If a dog happens to us (usually the best way) than I will prolly give in.

 

[dwsdad]

Now this Collie...WOW!!! The breed was ruined years ago, because of Lasie. In the last few years a few GOOD breeders have brought the breed back and they have some fantastic characteristics, but it is difficult to find good breeders and get the dogs from them. The good breeders want to expand their lines, so pet owners are not where they want their dogs going. They want them in show or performance homes where they can get a name and reputation. I spent five years researching breeders before we finally decided on who to get our dog from and she only allowed us to have him because we show in Agility. The pay off for all those years has been worth it. Craic is without a doubt the smartest and most sound dog I have ever owned and I have had some great dogs starting with my K-9. That says a lot.

We were just the opposite. We didn't care anything about showing our Collies, so we found a breeder that was willing to sell us one of their pups that they felt like wouldn't make a good show dog. Makailah has turned into a great pet and a lot of fun.

McAllister on the other hand.....we bought from someone that was just breeding their Collies. We weren't really wanting a male, but there was something about him that we liked. At about 3 months, he lost sight in one of his eyes. We even took him to a doggie opthomalogist trying to save his eye. No luck. But, if I throw the frisbee just right, he can catch it in mid air, so he's adapted pretty well to his one eye. Then he did something to his "knee" and now has cronic problems with that. He's turned into a 90# teddy bear that doesn't know his own strength. He loves to plow into Makailah and bowl her over.

Both of ours are great dogs that wouldn't trade anything in the world for. I can snap my fingers and they'll stop what they're doing and come to me. I can walk them off lead and worry them taking off. I've trainined them stay on our acre and half and not wander into the road. In fact some people have tried to get them to come to them in the raod and they won't go unless I say it's ok. It does take a lot of work, but in the long run, all that time you spend with them is well worth it.

 

[Dan-A]

We were just the opposite. We didn't care anything about showing our Collies, so we found a breeder that was willing to sell us one of their pups that they felt like wouldn't make a good show dog. Makailah has turned into a great pet and a lot of fun.

McAllister on the other hand.....we bought from someone that was just breeding their Collies. We weren't really wanting a male, but there was something about him that we liked. At about 3 months, he lost sight in one of his eyes. We even took him to a doggie opthomalogist trying to save his eye. No luck. But, if I throw the frisbee just right, he can catch it in mid air, so he's adapted pretty well to his one eye. Then he did something to his "knee" and now has cronic problems with that. He's turned into a 90# teddy bear that doesn't know his own strength. He loves to plow into Makailah and bowl her over.

Both of ours are great dogs that wouldn't trade anything in the world for. I can snap my fingers and they'll stop what they're doing and come to me. I can walk them off lead and worry them taking off. I've trainined them stay on our acre and half and not wander into the road. In fact some people have tried to get them to come to them in the raod and they won't go unless I say it's ok. It does take a lot of work, but in the long run, all that time you spend with them is well worth it.

So they can make a good pet apparently, but there is some luck involved in choosing one.

 

[Lonewuff]

Dan,

He is talking about Collies not Border Collies. Huge difference. A good Collie is hard to find, but the make a GREAT pet!!!

 

[dwsdad]

Collies are much more laid back and easy going than Border Collies. At least ours have been. I just wish they wouldn't wake me up at the crack of dawn to go walk on days that I can sleep in.

Here's some old pics of our 2. The first 2 are Makailah at about 4 months. The 3rd is while we still had DW. And the last 2 are when Makailah was around 6 or 7 months - right after we picked up McAllister. These guys are about 6 mon apart in age, so they are great playmates for each other.