Any Border Collie owners??

Sarahlou_2

I read this morning that BC's are the most intelligent breed (this was in the Sun so bear that in mind)......

Does anyone have a BC that appears to go against the grain like mine? We've had Shearer since a pup - won't fetch a stick, wont shake a paw, just about understands "sit"?!

We often worry about him but the vet said he's in excellent health...I'm wondering if he's just a bit lazy? :rolleyes:

Stephb1986_2

I've just got a BC puppy well she's 7 months old but she's really intelligent we only got her on friday when she came in she was scared of the stairs! now she's running up and down them quite happily! then she had an accident upstairs and pooped everywhere and she sort of knew she did wrong and has now learnt that she has to go outside she also gives paw too . She also fetches her ball, gets in her bed, sits, lies down, and waits till i tell her to get her treats.

Perhaps he's his own dog and can't be bothered to obey instruction lol my labrador is like that!

Steph xx

UKTigerlily

I'd agree with Steph, some Dogs just aren't typical of their breed, I have a Staff & other than not liking other Dogs & loving to lick humans to death, she's nothing like her breed apparently should be! lol maybe he's just not typical x

Kimberley

My puppy is a Border Collie x GSD so he has the intelligence of the top and third most intelligent dogs

remembered_nights

Our collie x lab has 30+ tricks learnt so far

SnowyOwl_2

Maybe it's the teaching....??? I don't mean to insult but perhaps you might need to brush up a little on training techniques so that you are talking your dog's language and therefore able to get through better. I can't recommend any books or whatever, but I expect there are plenty on the book shop shelves. Or maybe a puppy/dog training class might be helpful.

It's not instinctive for a dog to sit, stay, beg, etc etc on command, so those animals which do learn that sort of command are IMO extra clever because they are learning something that humans want them to do rather than something they'd do naturally. Collie dogs are natural herders (rather than retrievers which Springer type dogs are wonderful at so that may explain the lack of interest in chucked sticks), so perhaps that's where your dog would excel. Not that I think you need to acquire a herd of cattle or go and practice on some random flock of sheep in the country.

Hintza

OP just thank your lucky stars that you don't have one of those poor manic demented collies.

endoftheline

we have 2 bcs one aged 13 who is nearly blind and one aged 9 months who is totally crazy.

the youngun is loads of hard work and one day (lol hopefully) she will be as well behaved as the older one.

for example, when the washing machine or dishwasher is turned on she goes absolutely crackers, barking ,twirling and being destructive. this carries on as long as the cycle which can be up to an hour.
now what we do is leave a towel on the floor and when she gets mega excited or crazy she grabs her towel and shakes it and dances about, still crazy but at least she doesnt bark or destroy anything as she is busy shaking the towel!

she has caught on very quickly and now grabs her towel straight away if she thinks the offending appliances are being turned on!

Natty68

Sarahlou our BC/German Shepherd dog is as thick as two planks. We always joke he was at the back of the queue when they were giving out brains..lol. Poor wee thing is nearly 7 but we are convinced has the mentality of a 4 year old dog.

He does pick the odd thing up that we have taught him, but he has this rather gormless look on his face half the time..lol There is nothing wrong with him, although the vet did admit he was a bit slow in the uptake for his years..

He loves to play fetch, chuck teddy about and bark at any noise under the sun. Oh and water, he absolutely adores water whether it be the shower, taps, watering can or a hosepipe. But he definately doesn't herd, he is normally the one being herded by my jack russel/fox hound who is the most intelligent one of the family. Saying that though when you teach the B/C new things he picks them up really really quickly and doesn't forget them - eg his bedtime routine. Bit of a pain if you don't do the bedtime routine he keeps coming up the stairs until you say goodnight etc...

But nonetheless I wouldn't love him any less, he is my boy and this just makes him even more unique. But I could never enter him in for any competitions etc he would still be looking for the start when every one else has finished :rotfl:

ka7e

Not quite a collie, but I have an 8 month-old Sheltie. They are supposed to be extremely intelligent with lots of collie traits, but are often "aloof with strangers".

Mine is great in the house, will "sit", "down" and "roll over" on command. She stays within a few feet of me all the time and shadows me up and down stairs, in and out of the garden and lies at my feet if I sit down.

But outside the house she becomes totally different and "aloof" definitely isn't her style! We often walk in a big park and she seems to consider it her own personal playground. She whizzs around saying hello to all and sundry, anyone showing the slightest bit of interest in her is allowed to pet her and she will trot off after pushchairs and wheelchairs as she knows the occupants will make a fuss of her. Her "recall" disappears, she just does a quick visual check on me (waving and calling like a loon) and carries on playing. She'll join in games of football and chase other dogs toys, though she never picks them up. Last week I had to extricate her from a Mother and Toddler picnic as she had plonked herself on a Mum's lap and was licking babies' toes.

Luckily, she does seem to know if a child is scared of her and draws back from them and if someone completely ignores her, she doesn't bother them.

She doesn't herd but will chase anything that moves - bikes, balls, crows. She has different relationships with each of my 4 cats. The smallest is treated with great reverence and affection, the 2 Maine Coons are for wrestling, the oldest and grumpiest is for chasing!

She is very wary of strange men that come into the house, but her favourite people are the males in my immediate family - she adores DD1 and my OH, though I'm the one that walks and feeds her.

The washing machine and dishwasher are ignored, but the tumble dryer (noisy and rarely used) and hoover, trigger a barkfest. Water from a hose, tap or watering can is seen as a solid object and must be chased and subdued, resulting in a wet and often half-drowned dog! She has never been destructive, apart from socks (pinched from laundry bins and chewed in the garden) and random bits of twig/dead grass (brought in from the garden and scattered in the lounge).

At night, as soon as I get her biscuit treats out, she will run into her cage and lie down. Otherwise she is totally non-food-orientated, her breakfast will still be in the bowl at midday.

I know I must work on her recall, but have yet to find something that can beat being adored by random strangers!

Toto

My mum had 2 BCs, the boy was a smart cookie, he learned loads of tricks, he just loved learning things. Our girl wasn't the brightest spark at all bless her. They both had bundles of energy when they were youngsters but as they got older our girl embraced middle age by putting her feet up a bit. She was just happy watching the world go by from the farm gates rather than running around with her brother.

Neither of them are with us anymore but even though I've developed an allergy to dogs I'd have a bc in a heartbeat if I had the space and the time they need.