BCs, good dogs?

[CMV]

Quote:
It is not so much a matter of the supply of space and love and willingness -- IMO it is mainly a matter of how much ACTUAL TIME you will spend ACTUALLY EXERCISING AND DOING THINGS WITH the dog. Realistically, I mean.

They just *are* high-maintenance dogs, with relatively few exceptions.

JMHO,

Pat

Agree. Border collies need a job to do. They are only happy if they working hard. I was looking for a new dog 3 years ago and wanted a working farm dog. I spoke with a reputable breeder in our area, explained our needs/wants, and expressed a desire for one of their dogs. They convinced me that I didn't have enough work available around my hobby farm to keep a border collie busy. They recommended a different breed- one they didn't actually breed at their farm, so they weren't going to make any money from me. They lost a sale, but I appreciated their honesty and integrity. By the way, the dog breed they recommended was a perfect fit for us. We got a Bernese Mountain dog about 6 months later and have had him since.

 

[ShrekDawg]

thank you for all of your help everyone. I think at this point in time a BC may not be the best bet, and you guys have helped to convince me of that but thats ok, its actually kind of a good thing because i would not want to get a BC and then realize that it wasnt going to work out, I would rather figure that out now, sooner rather than later. I think at this point, although BCs sound like good dogs, i am still a teenager so while i say i will do all of those things and may say now "oh no i wont lose interest", im still a teenager and in reality i think i know what will most likely actually happen, ill probably get the dog, start to teach it agility and whatnot, then maybe lose interest, sure ill still train, love, and most like exercise and play with the dog but for a BC im not sure that would be enough, sure for a Lab maybe it would be fine, they may be content with just playing fetch and swimming all day (along with walking, eating, and sleeping... lol) but i think BCs need more rigorous exercise than that, more just just a "stroll around the block" if you will. so while I love BCs and they seem like a great breed and im sure i could probably train them and they may be fine, but just at this time, in this current situation, there just not enough to do around here for them, all we have is a cat (and a rabbit upstairs), not like a farm or anything particuarly interesting for a BC to do, so I think I may wait until I am older to get one. They seem like great dogs and are beautiful and I love the breed but i think you guys are right, are not sure i could provide for one now. So i think ill wait to get one until theres lots to do. because I love animals, and particuarly horses so Im thinking i kind of want to be a vet when im older (i think im prob gonna take the equine industries program at stockbridge school at umass, and maybe continue the education and be an equine vet or something), not sure though but im kind of thinking im also going to have a "farm" when im older since i love animals with a few (prob 2-3) horses, some cats, some dogs (prob 3-5, i kind of want to breed dogs, not a huge operation but as a hobby thing, but not a backyard breeder, just a few quality dogs as a hobby thing), chickens, maybe some (like a pair, 2) goats, etc as well as eventually some little rugrats (aka kids) running around, so there will be plenty for a BC to do then as well as agility or something so i think ill wait till then to get one. but thank you to everyone for helping me to decide this, like i said i would rather discover this sooner rather than later so a big thank you to everyone who has helped contribute to this decision.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Quote:
oh and lceh, yeah i think i have heard of them a while ago (like last year-ish i think), im not sure where though i think i was looking up BCs or breeds similar to them or just dog breeds in general or something and i think i saw them on a website and didnt know what they were so i looked them up and they sounded awesome. I like just looked at the site again and they look so cute and sound like they have great temperments, so Im kind of thinking i want to get one again now (never had one but wanted one before when i saw them... lol). are they good dogs? they sound awesome. also i like just showed my mom the site (or at least the pictures on the front page of the site cause she was sitting in another chair reading the clipper (town newspaper thing), but she said they were beautiful dogs and said we could (maybe) get one if we could find one so im not really sure. but are they good, how is yours? thanks.

 

[ShrekDawg]

although i like just found all these cute dogs... lol http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?N=&Nf=coords%7CGCLT+42.0473%2C-70.7177+161%7Clat%7CBTWN+40.6013+43.4933%7Clon%7CBTWN+-50388.4927+50247.0573&No=0&Ns=coords%2842.0473%2C-70.7177%29%7C%7Cshelter_id%7C%7Canimal_type%7C%7Cpet_breed_1%7C%7Cpet_breed_2&Ntk=animal_type%7Crecord_type%7Cstatus&Ntt=Dog%7Cpet%7CA&distance=100&lat=42.0473&location=02332&lon=-70.7177&pet_breed&startsearch=Search


and i showed my mom this one, (since its in our town) and she seemed to like her and said maybe we'd call the aco/shelter guy tomm since itd prob be quicker to talk to him. so we may get her but im not really sure (most things with my mother are not really certain and she may very well change her mind and/or this may not happen, at least with this dog), but im hoping she sure is cute... lol http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/16761717 but thanks for all your help and lceh, ill still check into the ES, thanks

 

[bock]

That's great that you found some dogs you like!

I am kind of going through the same thing, trying to get my parents to let me get another dog. I hope you have better luck then I am!

 

[ShrekDawg]

thanks and yeah it is. but im not sure if we're gonna get that dog though, i think my mom definately wants a dog, she keeps saying that but she always takes a while to decide or changes her mind or says she has to "ask my dad" or something, we've been looking for a while (while i always look anyway, i love animals... lol but weve been looking since like last year, when my other dog was still alive) so i think my moms pretty much convinced, my dad im not really sure about, i think he still misses our last dog, but i think my older brother definately wants another dog, hes basically said that "we need another dog, its been almost a year" and im not sure about my younger brother, i think he wants another dog. But i should (hopefully) be able to convince them since we dont currently have a dog and its been almost a year since we last had one, in fact it will be a year tommorow, oh wait no, todays july 1st, wow its been a year today, because he put him down last year at this time so its now officially been a year so hopefully i can convince them that we need a dog... haha and good luck with getting your dog too!

*edited for spelling

 

[ShrekDawg]

my mom just told me she talked to the animal control guy, she called or he came over or something and apparently theres a lost dog, black and white springer spaniel in our neighborhood too, and that dog, the brown lab, he says she has issues, he doesnt want to give her to any people with kids, not just 12 and under, she has issues, she like growls and snaps and stuff apparently but hes gonna look for another one, and my mom said we'd buy one too, were not (that) cheap, idk so i dont know hopefully we will get a dog and hopefully betty (the brown lab) finds a good home with someone who knows how to handle her. also hes gonna call the police on the babysitter of those little girls in our neighborhood too, he saw them. haha, theres these 2 little girls that live across the street/in the neighborhood (its bay farm, its mostly like condos and townhouses andstuff, bay farm condominiums, new devolpment thing they built a few years ago, idk, anyway we were the only house they left when they built it, were back in the woods, we have neighbors behind us on woodridge though) but anywho, i think the older one's like 5 or 7 or something and the younger ones prob like between 3-5, idk, theyre under 10, theyre little blond girls (not that that/hair color has anything to do with it, sorry, im just saying idk exactly how old they are but theyre little and shouldnt be doing that...) and they ride bikes w/o helmets, ride like in the street, ride all over, they walk places too, they let them like wander all over the neighborhood with like little to no supervision whatsoever, its really unsafe, that they just wander around w/o supervision, so its kind of about time someone did something about it, i dont nessicarially know about the police, that might be a little much, but something needed to be done so im actually kinda glad hes gonna do that, they need to learn, but anyways sorry to ramble, but that dog has issues so were not getting that one but were gonna get another one, hes a real nice guy apparently so hes gonna look for another one so yay i think were getting another dog...!

*edited for spelling

 

[bock]

Good! I am sorry Betty isn't right for you, I hope you find another good one. My little sister and I are really the ones who want a third dog. We take care of the dogs in every way, except for the money part. I guess that is the reason they don't want another one money, smell, and dog hair on the couch. All well, my sister pretty much gave up now, after so many months of asking, I guess she just got discouraged.

Anyways, good luck!

 

[ShrekDawg]

thanks and yeah, hopefully betty finds a good home and hopefully i can find a dog. I'll keep looking though and checking petfinder, and i think i found some good ES breeders so hopefully i can get one of those but ill keep looking around, im sure ill find a good dog eventually, there has to be one somewhere... thanks and by the way, how is your search going? and yeah, it probably is an issue with money or shedding or something but hopefully you can convince them to let you get another dog... good luck in your search!

 

[ShrekDawg]

oh and lceh, where did you get your ES, i think i found some good ES breeders so hopefully they have puppies and hopefully i can get one relatively soon. is yours a good dog? thanks