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They Are Extremely Smart Dogs

 We cannot talk about the Border Collie without talking about their intelligence. Dog experts widely agree that the Border Collie is an intelligent workaholic. They are capable of learning a remarkable number of words and commands, and they are happiest when they are put to work every day.

(Work can also be solving brain games, puzzles, daily training and exercise, and a lot of other things. Just remember an active Border Collie is a happy Border Collie, but don't forget Border Collies need some down time too!).

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Their Name Comes From Their Home Region

The Border Collie was originally developed in Scotland and thrived in the region on the border of Scotland and England. The word “collie” is a Scotch word used to describe sheepdogs. Because this breed flourished in the border region, it was christened the “Border Collie.”

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They Are Champion Herders

Border Collies were originally bred to herd sheep. They excel at the task because of their strength, stamina, intelligence, and work ethic. Border Collies are famous for using “the eye”— staring intensely at members of the flock to intimidate them. When the earliest recorded sheepdog trial took place at Bala, Wales, in 1873, the crowd was astonished that the Border Collies were able to herd sheep into a small pen, guided only by hand signals and whistles from their owners.

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They've Broken All Kinds of Records

A Border Collie named Chaser has been widely recognized as the world's most intelligent dog; she knows the names of more than 1,000 objects. Another Border Collie, named Jumpy, holds a Guinness World Record for dog skateboarding: 100 meters in less than 20 seconds. Striker, a Border Collie from Québec City, set the canine record for rolling down a manual car window. In 2008, a Border Collie-mix named Sweet Pea set a record for dog balancing; she balanced a can on her head and walked 100 meters in only 2 minutes and 55 seconds. The most jump-rope skips by a dog in one minute is 91, by Geronimo, a two-year-old female Border Collie and Kelpie cross, achieved with her owner Samantha Valle (USA) on 13 May 2012. Honestly, the list goes on and on!

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They Make Great Search and Rescue Dogs

In addition to herding, another common job for Border Collies is search and rescue (S&R). A Border Collie named Blitz recently saved a 51-year-old woman's life in England. The woman had been missing for more than one day when Jess Ellsmore, a volunteer search and rescue handler, brought her dog Blitz in to search the area. Blitz found the missing woman under some thick foliage where she wouldn't have been visible to human searchers alone.

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     A good Border Collie can be the companion of a lifetime, but only if they are paired with a clever owner who can keep them busy — agility, flyball, disc games, herding trials, obedience, tracking — or who will teach them to do chores around the house or farm. If you want the talented Border Collie you’ve seen on the television and in movies, be aware that it takes a lot of time and effort to train them and keep them occupied to their satisfaction. If you’re ready to provide loving leadership to your dog, train them consistently, and give them plenty of exercise as well as an outlet for their considerable intelligence, then yes, the Border Collie can be right for you. You could keep a Border Collie in an apartment as long as you are really physically active, doing something your dog can also do, such as training for marathons or cycling races. If you’re not that active, a BC in an apartment, or probably at all, could potentially spell disaster.

     Because they are herding dogs, Borders usually get along with other animals. Whether other animals will enjoy living with a Border is an entirely different question.

    

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     Borders tend to have many seemingly compulsive behaviors, such as chasing bugs, waiting for the cat to wake up, or waiting for the dishwasher cycle to end. It can seem like Borders are a little crazy. Border owners find this kind of thing amusing and take it in stride. However, chasing lights and shadows can be a true compulsive problem, one about which studies are conducted. Behaviors are defined as compulsive when they have no purpose. Chasing a Frisbee has a purpose, but chasing light and shadows does not. Other compulsive Border behaviors include twirling in circles constantly or bouncing up and down. This type of compulsive behavior (as opposed to herding) usually occurs in stressed-out Borders or those without sufficient mental stimulation.

     Any dog, no matter how nice, can develop obnoxious levels of barking, digging, counter surfing and other undesirable behaviors if he is bored, untrained or unsupervised. With a Border Collie, you could probably multiply the destructive potential by a factor of 10. And any dog can be a trial to live with during adolescence. In the case of the Border Collie, the “teen” years can start at four months and continue until the dog is about 16 months old.

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     Start training your puppy the day you bring them home! Even at eight weeks old, they are capable of soaking up everything you can teach them! Don't be surprised at how fast they will pick up on things. Border Collies can focus like nobody’s business! Please don’t wait until they are 6 months old to begin training or you will have a headstrong puppy that may have developed bad habits and you will have a much harder time. Be aware that many puppy training classes require certain vaccines (like kennel cough - Bordetella) to be up to date. Many breeders and veterinarians recommend limited exposure to other dogs and public places until puppy vaccines (including rabies, distemper and parvovirus) have been completed. Prior to meeting these vaccination requirements, you can begin training your puppy at home and socializing him among family and friends until all puppy vaccines are completed. 

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The perfect Border Collie doesn’t spring fully formed from the whelping box. They are a product of their background, breeding, and training. 

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