Whey people say border collies are not for everyone, believe them. They are not for everyone. Border collies are among the world’s most enthusiastic and relentless obsessives, give them work or they will find work, and you may not like the work they find.
Border collies are not mellow, like Labs. They don’t love to lie around for hours, and fit seamless into your life, like a Golden Retriever. They want to work, in any way, by any means, all of the time.
The border collie lover is, by definition, unbalanced, prone to ADD, and obsessive. It helps to have a sense of humor, and if are not a patient person, you either will be soon or will be seeking another breed. Border collies often turn up in shelters and rescue facilities, people see them in movies and on You Tube and want one, but it is not always a good match.
A happy border collie is busy border collie, and a happy border collie owner finds all kinds of work for their dogs to do. We have sheep blessedly, which is a big help, but the border collie’s appetite for work and challenge never is really satisfied. On our morning walks, Red and Fate have found a new way to be busy: they race one another up and down the hill at great speeds, then rush back and race again.
We don’t even think about it much anymore as we walk, I just say “get ’em” once in a while, and the race begins. Fate is as fast as a cheetah, but Red holds his own, even wins every now and then.
When I see tongues hanging down, I say, “enough, let it go,” and that’s the end of the race. Red falls in to walk behind me, Fate takes off into the meadow, looking for chipmunks to chase. Fate has only one speed, work and run.
I love border collies (and Labs), my two favorite breeds. I understand this says much about my own obsessive and fragmented mind, but it fits. Come and watch the daily race.