Would this be enough excersize for a border collie in a day?

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Songster
11 Years
Nov 23, 2008
300
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In the middle of it all
My family is looking into getting a border collie to herd cattle. However, we are very aware of the responsibility involved in doing so and are cautious about jumping in. The reason we are is because, when I go off to college, my dad will be the only one able to herd cows, and it is NOT a one-person job. So, here's my questions:

Would running a mile (or a little more) behind my dad's ATV, then doing some brief herding work, suffice? My qualms are, herding would brief on most days (just moving two small herds into different paddocks, and keeping wayward calves on the right side of the fence), and the days of hard herding work would be right before and after all the cows go out on pasture. Would this border collie need hard herding work to do every day to be happy, or would just a little do?
 
Border Collies are very social. Their minds as well as their bodies need exercise. If your dad is home a lot during the day and keeps the dog with him it will help tremendously in the training. The dog will bond with him and have a desire to please him. If your dad works during the day and the dog is kenneled when not under supervision, he needs to spend some time with him such as doing daily chores. BC’s are also very adaptable and I know of several trainers who kennel their dogs and only let them out for short training sessions and for exercise. You have to do what works best for you. I used to work full time and it wasn’t always easy to find the time to exercise and / or train, but I now have a partner that is invaluable in running the daily chores here.

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It sounds workable if your Dad is home and there is a good daily routine. BC's invent jobs for themselves. It takes a tougher dog to herd cattle then it does to herd sheep though so I would look for a line of BCs that work cattle. The trick to BCs is that you need to exercise their mind not just their bodies. Good luck. They are kind of like potato chips though:) - it's hard to stop at one!
 

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