New Camping Buddies

BCSnob wrote:
The issue most people have with pet Border Collies is that they only focus on their physical exercise needs and ignore their mental exercise needs. Running a Border Collie only makes them more fit and able to run longer and needing to run longer. Making them work their brains tires them out much faster and the effects last longer. The key to getting a calm Border Collie, work their brains.


RE Jobs for Border Collies

I retired my Nell (15yo in July) from sheep work when she was about 12, since then I haven't given her a job (I suspect she makes up jobs for herself). Recently I've started taking her on a walk to the mailbox (1/4mile from house) so that she gets more exercise (she no longer runs with the other dogs in the yard). During one of these I discovered a new job for her that she's enjoying: carrying the junk mail back to the house. One day I rolled up a newspaper flyer in a tube and play hit her with it; she loved snapping at the tube and then grabbed it and ran off (well fast trot) back to the house carrying the tube. Now it's her job.


RE first time swimming

Our first Border Collie was Duncan; he loved water (swimming, soaking, splashing and snapping at the splashes, snapping at water jets, etc) and with his long thick coat often had a mildew odor. Our second Border Collie was Starr; as a pup she was buds with Duncan. We took both to a county park for a hike to a stream where there was a pool of waist deep water in the stream. When we got there Duncan immediately ran to the water and swam across the pool. Starr followed her bud and also swam across the pool (first time swimming). When they got to the other side of the pool Duncan started swimming back and Starr realized she didn't know how to swim. When she started back from the other side of the pool she disappeared under the water. I ran to the other side of the pool expecting to need to jump in to save a drowning Starr. Instead I found Starr on the bottom of the pool walking around exploring the bottom. She came up on her own and then decided she really couldn't swim (at least for a few more times). She did eventually decide she liked swimming.

I grew up with, and then fostered, Siberian Huskies, so I learned about mental stimulation vs exercise. A bored Husky is major trouble. Not only are they smarter than people (like border collies), but they take a perverse pleasure in proving it over and over - and in a manner that makes man (and woman) look like a bumbling idiot.

The JRT is more on par with the husky in that they don't want to show you how smart they are, they want to prove that you are nowhere near as smart as they are.

Tornado-dog is actually part smooth collie not border collie. His coat is looking very smooth collie-ish now. We're looking at him being anywhere from 60 to 85lbs grown. I have been telling him he can stop growing now - but I don't know if he's actually listening to me. He was 32.6lbs at 19 weeks and growing 2lbs per week.

Tornado-dog wears us all out - his sister, Cat-dog; his cats, The Twooney; me; even his Bird. At the end of the day we are all curled up in our corners and he is running around the place like a crazed ax-murderer.