Comments on: All Creatures Great and Small

All Creatures Great and Small

Alec — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 12:17:59 -0800

Meet the Crew: Dot, Gael, Jon, Spot, and Cap. They're border collies who live and work at Border Collie Rescue in North Yorkshire. The volunteers there rescue, train and find homes for these extraordinary dogs.

By: Kwantsar

Kwantsar — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 12:27:11 -0800

Given the intensity, focus, and intellect of these dogs, how is it that people think they'd be good housepets (or worse, apartment pets) for any more than 2% of US households?

By: Iron Rat

Iron Rat — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 12:34:12 -0800

A friend of my brothers has one and they let him run alongside on bike rides. Pup does what comes natural and tries to herd the bikes. No accidents so far.

By: anthill

anthill — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:26:57 -0800

Poor collies. Unless they have something to challenge their mind and body on ALL THE TIME they go neurotic...

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:29:27 -0800

My family owned three in the 1970s on a small farm (with no animals). The first was run over while herding a car; the second ran away never to be seen again; the third kept herding cars and running away and was finally given to a sheep farmer. They really are fantastic pets, the intelligence is extraordinary, but they need to be worked herding something, or they will take off and/or get killed herding cars.

By: amyms

amyms — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:29:45 -0800

We adopted a stray Border Collie when my kids were little. He used to try to herd them around the backyard (so funny to watch).

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:34:28 -0800

We have two border collies. They're great pets, but they need something to do. They can live comfortably in apartments and the like, but, again, they need something to do. They are not lazy house decorations--you need to have an interest in working with them and tiring them out mentally and physically. Our doggies are very sweet and we wouldn't give them up for the world.

By: missouri_lawyer

missouri_lawyer — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:39:55 -0800

One of the small joys that BBC America used to bring to me was "One Man and his Dog," but I just found out that the mother ship stopped doing the show in 2000. Thanks for the link. I love border collies too much to ever own one, since I can't imagine a life where I have something that needs herding.

By: CitrusFreak12

CitrusFreak12 — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:46:38 -0800

The "A day in the Life at the Border Collie Rescue Centre" video made me think that this is something WGBH would make a series of.

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:51:44 -0800

A friend would let her Border Collie run loose in Providence RI, some while ago, and it would find various friends of hers, like me, follow me around for awhile, including waiting outside stores, then finaly say good bye and go off and find someone else.

By: misha

misha — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:11:14 -0800

I've always been a cat person, but I've always said that if my partner wanted a dog, I would get a border collie. I've always considered them the smartest of dogs (I expect irate comparisons to follow this comment from owners of other breeds), and their activity level is high enough to keep up with my boys.

By: kumonoi

kumonoi — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:50:56 -0800

Border Collies are absolutely my favourite dog bredd (I'm a cat person) but they can be a real handful, though most of the ones I've met have made great pets - I used to take mine to obedience and agility classes - great fun!

By: misha

misha — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:18:26 -0800

apparently, I also like the word, "always" way too much. Sheesh.

By: MarvinTheCat

MarvinTheCat — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:26:59 -0800

I too have a border collie and she does require a lot of exercise and attention. I'm in the enviable position of being able to take her to work with me every day so she becomes a break for a lot of people and gets stimulation that way. Having a high-energy dog also gets me out and doing stuff, hiking, joining a frisbee club, etc. This is disastrous lifestyle advice for most people I realize, thinking that an acquisition will change your habits, but in my case it's a great partnership.

By: dog food sugar

dog food sugar — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:00:56 -0800

Another border collie owner here. We got ours from a friend who was a teacher at an elementary school in a somewhat rough neighborhood. He watched the then homeless dog try and herd the parents cars as they dropped their kids off. After a few days he had to stop her. We took her and it took a long time to ween her off cars. She would hear them and you could see it in her face that it was driving her crazy - those cars - driving around randomly with no collie containing them properly. She was a near disaster to walk for months. But she is wicked quick and has adopted well to living in a small house with another dog and a cat. She's a pretty good frisbee dog. And I'm seriously trying to teach her how to help me do the laundry. When we work on the steps of that common household task, she looks at me with such attention, as if she's saying: I am SO all over this. Crazy work ethic, those dogs. I've often wondered if their devotion to work could be adapted to more work fields. I know this would never happen, but I often think of Sofi when I'm at work, at a hospital and I need something to be taken across the campus fast. She'd be so good at that. max and marvin your pups are sooo cute!

By: vito90

vito90 — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:55:11 -0800

Poor collies? POOR SHEEP! They have no chance. Great link, great organization, thanks for the post.

By: biscotti

biscotti — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:18:16 -0800

Given the intensity, focus, and intellect of these dogs, how is it that people think they'd be good housepets (or worse, apartment pets) for any more than 2% of US households? Because people think that dogs are dogs and all that matters is that you like how they look ("Eddie on Frasier is so cute!"...). This is why Border Collie, Jack (Parsons) Russell Terrier, Rottweiler and Lab rescue groups (to name just four) are so overloaded. People research the heck out of which car, lawnmower or dishwasher they buy, but they don't bother researching dog breeds and end up with a living creature they are in no way prepared to manage appropriately. You can change a lot about a dog, but you can't change what it was bred to do.

By: GaelFC

GaelFC — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:22:51 -0800

Wait, I'm a border collie? Well. Woof.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:34:10 -0800

I'm have an Aussie as a sidekick, and while not quite as intense for the most part as Border Collies can be, they're still herding dogs and have that instinct. The main thing they want, as was mentioned before, is to have a job. Doesn't matter what it is really, even playing ball can be a job, but they have to do it regularly. They're also not dogs that you just stick in the back yard and play with or let in just when it's convenient. They like a lot of interaction with their families. They're very adaptable dogs. Silver's sister is a ranch dog in Nebraska. What we perceive as intelligence is their desire to want to do stuff with and for you. Awesome dogs if you have the time to spend with them.

By: Sassenach

Sassenach — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:14:07 -0800

Border collies are the most extraordinary dogs. I had to move three years ago and leave mine with the ex. I don't miss him, but I'm still mourning for my sweet dog. I hope to have another broder collie someday.