Border collie - not the member, but a dog.

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bczoom

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Not sure if I mentioned it, but I want a dog for my kids. I've had several, but not since I've been married.</p>


The kids have asked for a dog since the day each could talk. It's time for me to accommodate.</p>


I think I found the dog. A Black Lab, Border Collie mix.



I stopped by a friend's house today to kill some time and to see if I
can give him a hand putting in a driveway to his new barn. Well, he was
running the excavator so I thought I'd take a peek in his new barn as I
hadn't been in it before.



I look past the cows and see a dog in the back, at attention, staring at me. Not knowing the dog, I didn't approach.



I started talking to my friends about it and they said they've had the
dog for awhile but they can't keep it. It likes to eat their chickens.



So they said it's mine if I want it. It's very friendly. It's probably 11 months old but relatively small.
Healthy, just not very big (at maybe 30#). She appears to be going into heat, so I'll need to keep her isolated.



It's best friend is a cow. I couldn't believe what I saw the dog do. My
friend gave it a dog bone (the biscuit things). The dog put it in the
side of its mouth, leaving most of it hanging out. It then went over to
the cow pen and waited for the cow to come over and put its head
through the pen wall. Once the cows head was through the wall, the dog
went up on its hind paws and gently balanced by putting its front paws
on the side of the cows head. The cow was perfectly fine with this. The
dog then fed the cow the dog bone out of its own mouth. Once the cow
had it, the dog licked the cows face until the cow was done chewing and
then licked the dog back.



So, I took Mrs. and kids up this evening to let the wife look
(she hates dogs, doesn't want it whatsoever, but wants to see how it
reacts to her) and let the kids play. The dog got along with everyone perfectly. The kids adore it (although it still jumps on them, but I can fix that). The dog rides on the back of ATV's and such like it belongs there.</p>


I think we may have a new pet.</p>
 
Yep, </p>


Looks like ya'll have found a new friend !!!!</p>


That's the kind of friend people write books about ~~~~~~~</p>


</p>


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> jamie</p>
 
BCZoom, Bordercollies are fine dogs and make great pets. I will say they are for the most part fantastic beings. We trained ours from the minute we got them on how to behave. They don't like being alone though and will get into mischief if they are bored. My "nieces" will herd our chickens when they get the chance but have never ever even bit at them. I'll say "Millie, bring me that chicken" and she will herd it to me or back into the pen .Belle even does a good job with them. As some of you know, I rehab orphaned songbirds thru wildlife rescue and they will "find" tiny fledglings and point them for me. They also like to play in water unless it is bath time .(much like children).We trained them to sleep in their personal space in the house and they nap during the day there too . When they come in the house ,they go there and lay down.If they had the run of the house,it would be mischief time.. They know what the world "gentle" means They also know many hand signals and look for eye contact for instructions . This dog you are talking about appears very smart . I think this could be a real jewel.Keep an eye out for Mrs. Zoom's favorite stuff until the pup knows it's a no no and I would think think things would work out fine. A good pup is great for many happy times and could be a good learning experience for the children. Bordercollie (the member) :)</p>
 
they sound like some very smart dogs and some very good workin dogs too. post some pictures of your crew if you can one day i would love to see them . i'm an animal lover myself and i always enjoys seeing peoples pets.</p>
 
BC's (border collies) are so far from being a pet it is rediculous. They are way to smart to do the sit, fetch, lay down routine and get a pet goody. They are totally your best friend and will over and over again try to prove it.</p>


Rowdy, our BC, is going on 2 now. He is a rescue dog we got at 9 months after he had healed up from a bear attack. We wanted him for a herd dog to help control the goats at feeding time, etc............The folks brought him over, we took him down to a pasture that had 8 or so goats in it to try him out. Maybe only a third of BC's have the natural instinct and ability to really work...................Anyway, we turned him loose as we stood by the shed door. He gave us a quick eye contact, looked around, spotted the goats maybe 100 yards away, and took off..............Circled them twice........got behind them and brought them to the shed. We did this 3 times and each time he didnt chase them, he brought them to us.</p>


Anyway, yes, he herds. We are still training him on a lead, because until they are older than 2 that ADHD that works in their squirrely lil minds makes them a bit to active..........But, he knows: Left and right verbal and hand commands (which way to move the herd), push (get behind them and move them from one place to another, stop of course, hold (keep them here)..........on and on</p>


He is a yard/barn dog as we dont let him in with the herd or their guard dogs (pyrenese &Anatolian) unless we are there. Finally, I hope we are getting him broke from trying to herd cars and stuff as they come up or leave our place. </p>


When you come out in the morning, you talk about jumping, rolling, running, pet me, play with me stuff..............so full of life...........his favorite game is to make huge circles around you as he tries to "herd" you........barking and carrying on as you "threaten" him......this goes on forever.........He will fetch, but it's to much of a dog thing for him to really get into it.........</p>


When we bring him in, which we do a lot, he is a totally different friend. No slinkin in with his tail down; but calm, goes over to "his" spot when told to lay down, follows you around the house to just be with you. He isnt a pest always wanting to be paid attention to but lays here on the floor next to me as I key this in............</p>


Anyway, can go on and on about ol Rowdy.......This morning I went out to til the garden a bit; but it really wore me out cause the ground is soooooo wet. Sat down on a log and he really understood that I was to worn out to fool with him. Sat next to me, put his foot on my knee and just looked at me for the longest time........Then he got on the log next to me, snuggled over........and just stared out at the trees with me................</p>


God is so good.........Dennis</p>
 
</p>


Bordercollies are very, very smart >>>> they are smarter than alot of people that is woking our goverment !!!</p>


</p>


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Two Guns >>>>> </p>
 
Ha ha, Two Guns . They are usually more polite and caring too...... Millie and Belle helped us work cows today and tomorrow will be another long day.Belle (aka couch potato) was so tired this evening she did'nt even give me the "begging eyes" during supper. I did give her a nice treat though and Milllie too of coarse.I will say that if someone has the time to spend with the breed ,they can do so many many things.Millie is actually trying to pick up a basketball with her front feet. She hugs it and tries so so hard to raise up with it.... They are great pups and we have always kept them on the heartworm meds. Heartworms are a real threat to dogs down here. ...If there was just one piece of meat in the proverbial pot then they would get a piece of it along with us. So what I am saying is basically this... they are devoted to us so we are devoted to them as well. Bordercollie</p>
 
God is so kind to give usfriends like these to love .... yes bordercollie, they are very special !!!! And in return, our friends love us back so much, no matter what !!!!</p>


....... jamie</p>
 
Below is a picture of her.</p>


I'll be building a dog house and hopefully get at least 1 pen up today.
After those are set, we'll bring her home permanently. For now, I bring
her home in the afternoon/evening so the kids can play.



She'll have several places to play and sleep. For now, the weather is
mild so she'll have her outdoor house. If I'm inside, she can sit in my
office with me. I'll also be building her a house in one of my
buildings. Temps in there are moderate.</p>


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Beautiful ~~~~~</p>


Looks really alert !!!!</p>


She will make ya'll a perfect companion >>>></p>


~~~~~~~~ jamie</p>
 
She is very alert, but more as a bird dog. She points when any bird comes close. Her manners are more lab like than BC. I'm hoping she has the BC brains as we've got a bit of training to do.</p>


She was perfectly behaved yesterday when we brought her home for the first time. I did keep her on a chain for the duration since she has no tags, no shots, not spayed, going into heat... She did meet the neighbors dogs (who are afraid of her, although they're bigger).</p>


Well, off the computer for awhile. I think I'm going to go pick her up so she and I can do some bonding before the kids get home. She can watch me build her dog house, put up some fencing... I'd really rather have invisible fence but since I have the fencing materials already, I'm going to build a couple pens. The first will be at my office door which also goes into the yard. The pen will be about 300-400 sq/ft and then I have the chain to let her out which will give her about 8,000 sq/ft of play space. Eventually, once she's used to the area and stays around, all the pens come down and she has free range.</p>
 
thats a pretty friend you got there zoom i lost a very good black lab and a golden retriever a few years back to haert worms money got tight and i couldn't afford the meds and they got sick and i had to put one down with my handgun he was suffering so bad. i swore i would never get another dog unless i could keep up the meds i'll get anothe lab one day i miss him and her i buried them in the back yard next to each other.</p>
 
She is lovely and, as others have noted, appears very alert and confident. Sounds like you are very much on top of things. We had a beautiful Golden Retriever (the one in my profile pic) whom we loved. But Schooner was a 'melter'--a dog whose fur is not adequate to keep snow from melting when it lies down in the snow. Such dogs cannot stay outside in our climate without suffering from the cold. So we ended up giving him to my brother where he thinks he died and went to heaven with my nephew and niece. Now we have 'Bora'--a mutt combining (so far as we can tell) Burnese Mountain Dog, St. Bernard, and maybe some Husky. She definitely is not a melter! Bora is about as smart as a doorknob, but she is good with people and kids and loves to look after the property, chasing off bears and coyotes. And the grandson loves her, too.</p>
 
Taking a lunch break. The doghouse is almost done. I need to put shingles on it and have the kids paint it but it's otherwise ready to go. I moved it into place before putting the shingles on as it seems to weigh a couple hundred pounds already. I had to use a hand truck to move it. As per Murphy's Law, she has no interest in it. :-(</p>


Outside of getting tangled up now and then, she's been very good all day. OK, lunch is over. I guess I better start thinking about some fence.</p>


I ordered her name tag this morning. She'll stay tied until at least that's on her. I have been giving her at least 50' of rope so she's quite content.</p>
 
ever give them electronic colars a thought?? that way she can roam the whole yard and when she gets to the edge she will get a reminder that she's reached her limit and stop i think they are better than cages or pens plus it gives the animals alot more room to roam there are some people with them not to far from my house one with a german shepard and one with a doberman pincher and they work great they have never had a problem with their dogs getting loose now on the other hand the guys with the pens and cages their dogs get loose all the time from popping thier leash or digging out but the invissible fense pets never raom free they always stay in their yards and they are always so much more well behaved versus the penned up animals you should give them some looking into.</p>
 
My neighbor had two labs, a black and a chocolate, a few years ago, with electric collars and buried wire around his couple acres. Most of the time they stayed inside the wire. But once they both got a running start, hit the "fence", took the shock, rolled a bit, picked themselves up, and crossed the St. Lawrence River, 1.25 miles across at our location (it was wintertime, so they could walk instead of swim). Someone from Canada figured out who they belonged to from their tags. </p>


Second point on the electric fence... it keeps your dogs inside, but doesn't do anything to protect them from animals invading their space.</p>


And - that does look like a really fine dog. Congratulations, Brian.</p>
 
I agree that is a great looking pup! One of our neighbor's down the road has both types of fence. While he is gone, the pup stays in the pen but when he gets home the ,invisible fence is used.The dog doesn't go stir crazy this way. We have real electric fence over the whole farm to contain the cows but don't personally have a yard.We do have a porch 14x36 with a hand and rails where they can be confined if needed. Our pups stay in the house (in their space )at night and when we are gone. We just can't leave them out for they would be stolen or worse. Some creep poisoned our other neighbors dogs a few yrs ago so we try to be extra cautious... It sounds like you are making a fine home for your new pup and I would guess it will be attractive to her as soon as things settle down. I think you have all of this figured out and wish you and the little Zoom's many happy memories.. Bordercollie the member :)</p>
 
knowing zoom it probably has a bunker under the doghouse too!!! or atleast a tunnel leading to the main bunker. or he's plannin on diggin one.</p>
 
OK, a week has passed. Spending a lot of time with her and getting things done for her.</p>


The previous owner came over on Friday and I gave him the thumbs up that he can talk to the kids about the dog being theirs. (Prior to that, they thought they were dog-sigging or exercizing it only). My kids were so excited, especially since they got past the primary barrier (their mom).</p>


Saturday was spent out getting the necessary goods. Everything from dog food to invisible fence.</p>


Sunday, we (the family) installed the invisible fence. Much easier than I thought it would be and we ran 1,000 feet of wire, did the testing... in about 5-6 hours.</p>


Monday and Tuesday, just played and worked with her. Today (Wednesday), she saw the vet for the first time. She did very well considering the battery of tests, shots... given to her. She's in heat so I'll have to keep "the boys" away but she's going in to get spayed in May.</p>


After finding her (and posting this thread), I did begin to question her breed as given to me. We know the mom is a Black Lab but for the dad, she just doesn't "look" like a Border Collie to me. After a bit of digging myself and then confirmation by the vet, she's probably not Border Collie but some sort of sheepdog. Best guess is an Australian Kelpie.</p>


Anyway, she's doing very well with the family. Need to take care of her worms but she's otherwise in good health.</p>
 
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