Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, All Herding breeds, Tell Me About Yours

[Folly's place]

Definitely not a winter puppy! We did that ONCE, and never again! What would be difficult is if the right one just pops into the picture, then it's the right time, even if inconvenient.
As long as I only look...
Mary

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have not read the whole thread. I am amazed at the number of responses on this thread that only started Tuesday! ( I am jumping in at page 30.) As herding breeds go, I have a couple of Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties), not related. Gracie is 10 years old and her idea of joy is to guard the perimeter. She can usually be found lying on either the front step or the back step, regardless of the weather, watching for intruders. Or barking at perceived intruders. Such as squirrels, deer, ladybugs, turtles or random unexplained noises. Walnuts falling, perhaps. We feel very safe with Gracie on guard.

Sammy is the new kid, not quite 18 months old. He is Disney cute. Young and very high energy. Curious. Stares at us intently, trying to figure out what we are thinking, saying or planning. Cracks me up. Very intense stare. When he wants attention, he bumps us with his nose. If he wants to go outside, he grabs one of our feet with his paw, or very gently with his mouth (not biting, just holding), and tries to pull it out the door. He knows we need our feet to go out the door, you see. If he can just get our feet out the door, surely the rest of us will follow... right?

He loves to run once he's out there. We are considering Invisible Fence for him so he can run "free" in a safe zone. I think Shelties and Border collies are not just smart, they are spooky smart. You have to be very smart to read, understand and communicate with them. Sammy likes to play with a ball. He plays fetch and he dribbles the ball. Gracie prefers soccer and Kill the ball.
Well i am fading fast so good night.

I'm very happy to read your experiences with Shetland sheepdog. Those that I have met always seemed a bit hyper, or fat and lazy. I never saw much in between. They are a good size of dog, and they seem very personable. I might have another look at them. Thank you, yours sound amazing.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Definitely not a winter puppy! We did that ONCE, and never again! What would be difficult is if the right one just pops into the picture, then it's the right time, even if inconvenient.
As long as I only look...
Mary

Looking never hurts anything. I will enjoy dreaming away the winter thinking about the next puppy.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Now I'm curious about Shetland sheepdog.

 

[Folly's place]

They are cute!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They are cute!

I hadn't really paid much attention to the breed before. I do like they are smaller. Some are pretty good looking.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I like the shelties but consider the height how is your bending going I can pet the dogs standing I like that

 

[Kris5902]

Well this thread has been both informative and enabling... I was very close to bringing home one, and wanting to take home all of the Pitbull crosses at the local SPCA last week.

Tonight DH comes home from his work Christmas Party saying he Almost adopted a Jack Russel Terrier puppy... (it was too much energy for its owner and returned to breeder, because he doesn’t want it ending up in the shelter)

Yep, my old cats will be just thrilled with this possible addition, “chickens in the home isn’t bad enough? Now they are letting canines in... We need some new humans!” I do think I see our own dog coming in the near future, probably not a border collie or a herding breed, but as long as it doesn’t chase the chickens and keeps the raccoons at a distance I’ll be overjoyed.

Best wishes for spring doggies

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have not read the whole thread. I am amazed at the number of responses on this thread that only started Tuesday! ( I am jumping in at page 30.) As herding breeds go, I have a couple of Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties), not related. Gracie is 10 years old and her idea of joy is to guard the perimeter. She can usually be found lying on either the front step or the back step, regardless of the weather, watching for intruders. Or barking at perceived intruders. Such as squirrels, deer, ladybugs, turtles or random unexplained noises. Walnuts falling, perhaps. We feel very safe with Gracie on guard.

Sammy is the new kid, not quite 18 months old. He is Disney cute. Young and very high energy. Curious. Stares at us intently, trying to figure out what we are thinking, saying or planning. Cracks me up. Very intense stare. When he wants attention, he bumps os with his nose. If he wants to go outside, he grabs one of our feet with his paw, or very gently with his mouth (not biting, just holding), and tries to pull it out the door. He knows we need our feet to go out the door, you see. If he can just get our feet out the door, surely the rest of us will follow... right?

He loves to run once he's out there. We are considering Invisible Fence for him so he can run "free" in a safe zone. I am not worried about him wandering off, but unlike Gracie, who is a nice clean dog, he likes to roll in stinky, slimy things, so I need to limit his access to the outside world.

Oh, back to the OP - a relative has Aussies. I love them! I can't (or won't) afford what she pays for hers. They are well worth it, though. Awesome dogs.

 

[Folly's place]

I think that Shelties, cute as they are, are very small as 'farm dogs', given the coyotes and larger critters out there.
Mary