Border Collies

TheresaW

TheresaW

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 January 2006
Messages
9,311
Location
Nottinghamshire
Visit site
As you all know, we adopted Aled a year ago. Although I knew a little about the breed, to me they are sheep dogs.

Yesterday, Mum had a guy round to sort out her will etc. I went round with the dogs, and he was from a farming family, who he said used to breed them. He said Aled was Scottish bred for working Cattle. Stockier type, etc. Is this right? I didn't know they worked cattle.
 
He must have a crystal ball :D There is no way of knowing which area a border collie comes from without seeing his/her pedigree. Many of the registered collies today have a mix of blood from all four parts of the UK. Just because Aled is stocky does not mean he is from Scotland or bred for working cattle. Border collies are capable of working both sheep and cattle (but of course that doesn't necessarily mean that every individual can).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My sisters came from proven cattle working dogs in northumberland but is very lightweight (almost whippety), so Im not convinced either!
 
WorkingGSD said:
…….. There is no way of knowing which area a border collie comes from without seeing his/her pedigree. Many of the registered collies today have a mix of blood from all four parts of the UK. …….. .
Click to expand...

^^^^ This. The guy who came out to sort the Will was talking bullocks!

(Bullocks — cattle dogs — like it? :D).

With the distances that the Triallers travel, and the fact that they breed and use dogs from Cornwall to Caithness, and with those influence filtering down, the multi-national influence upon the breeding of our sheepdogs is so diverse, that even pedigrees can be misleading.

Alec.
 
TheresaW said:
……… . I'm pretty sure Aled would be rubbish working anything, apart from his toys :)
Click to expand...

I see that you're in Nottinghamshire, there are some fairly serious sheepdog trainers up around you, why not source one and ask if you can take Aled along (on a lead!) and allow him to watch another dog working his sheep. You may be well surprised and he may transfer his interest in toys to what he was bred to do! Give it a go, you may very well enjoy it.

Alec.
 
Oh, for some reason I thought that he was 12 months old, but now see that's how long you've had him! Silly me, and yes, at 12 years it would be a bit too late, sadly!

My apologies!

Alec.
 
I have seen border collies working cows when I was helping on my horses .
There's no nice way to put this it was not something they did with their best sheep dogs .
 
Hi, being Scottish and having had border collies for almost 40 yrs , working and showing I'm afraid there isn't such a thing as a " Scottish Collie" a dog that works cattle needs to be a " hard" dog and there are only certain lines that will do this.

I've had working dogs that just didn't work! Lol because it's a Collie doesn't mean they are suitable for working either sheep or cattle.
 
Doesn't matter what he's like " horses for courses " ! And all that! .
I've have bred some super dogs however all I want is for the dog to be happy and loved no matter what it's job is in life and if it's a pampered pet then even better.!
Love his name btw!!
 
MotherOfChickens said:
had to laugh, there's a dog for sale on a Scottish farming page that looks like Aled (from what I remember-fairly stocky and short-coated), is in D&G and being sold to work cattle..
Click to expand...

Sounds like him :)

Maxweg, thank you. We didn't choose his name, and weren't sure about it a first, but he is "Aled". He's the only one registered with our vets, and they all love his name too.
 
We had a border colie bitch that we bought from some fairly serious breeders in Kent she was a very stocky dog and a fantastic worker of both sheep and cattle my husband always says he will never forget when she moved a herd of bullocks on her own to new grazing also reached open level trialling.
 
See our collie is rough coated, tiny and fox like. Some farmers actually call them fox collies. I have heard also that the bigger ones are for cattle or work in sheep pens meanwhile the ones like our collie are mountain collies, or double marathon collies? Used for bringing sheep down off the fells. She is obviously from the Lake district though think her father was irish so I think it depends on what the farmers needs are and what they prefers rather than where the collie is from, though I will say in general the smaller fox like ones with rough coats are more hill farm dogs.
 
Last edited:
dominobrown said:
See our collie is rough coated, tiny and fox like. Some farmers actually call them fox collies. I have heard also that the bigger ones are for cattle or work in sheep pens meanwhile the ones like our collie are mountain collies, or double marathon collies? Used for bringing sheep down off the fells. She is obviously from the Lake district though think her father was irish so I think it depends on what the farmers needs are and what they prefers rather than where the collie is from, though I will say in general the smaller fox like ones with rough coats are more hill farm dogs.
Click to expand...

Never heard the terms fox collie, mountain collie or double marathon collie. We have a hill farm and have had all manner of shapes, sizes and abilities over the years. Collies are so diverse in both drive and ability as well as looks that I have found the shape, colour, size, coat length is of little significance in general terms. Individuals of all types can work the various terrains, breeds of sheep etc, and some better than others as would be expected, but it has never followed a pattern of a certain size or look.
 
When mum lived in Co Durham the collies on the farms were nearly all what I would call a traditional border, black and white, small and with a lot of coat.
 
Clodagh said:
When mum lived in Co Durham the collies on the farms were nearly all what I would call a traditional border, black and white, small and with a lot of coat.
Click to expand...

Generally, on high ground or where there may be harsh weather conditions, then dogs with a full coat would often be preferred. Down here in East Anglia which by comparison can often be considered as arid, we tend to keep dogs with shorter and tighter coats. Dogs down here which have long coats seem to overheat sooner than their shorter coated relatives.

Alec.
 
Clodagh said:
When mum lived in Co Durham the collies on the farms were nearly all what I would call a traditional border, black and white, small and with a lot of coat.
Click to expand...

Farmers like what they know, and if they have already had a good black/white rough coated dog then they may seek out another, likewise the farmer whose best dog was a tricoloured, prick eared, bare skinned dog will look for the same again. Most of the shepherds/farmers I know, including my husband, have a preference (his best dog was a rough coated, black and white dog) but he has a mix of coats and colours (although has never had a merle) depending on the lines behind the dog. Lots of farmers don't worry about lines or pedigrees whereas the more serious dog men and triallers do.
 
Have to agree with working gsd, a good dog is a good dog ,nothing to do with lines, colour etc.
Most of our working dogs are " bare skinned" as we feel a heavy coat is a hinderance , when wet it takes ages to dry, snow clumps and in hot weather the dogs can over heat, however my show dog is a princess and would never dream of getting dirty��
and very much like Aled just can't see the point in working!!!
 
Have just got to post this as it really made me laugh.

This morning, sitting in the tent, we could hear some whistling from the sheep field next door. Popped my head out, and the farmer was rounding up the sheep using 2 dogs. Am guessing one was a youngster in training, as although still quite impressive to watch, it wasn’t a patch on the other dog. The farmer called her over, gave a rub, and I heard him say, “Tess, you’re f’ing ****”
 
TheresaW said:
Have just got to post this as it really made me laugh.

This morning, sitting in the tent, we could hear some whistling from the sheep field next door. Popped my head out, and the farmer was rounding up the sheep using 2 dogs. Am guessing one was a youngster in training, as although still quite impressive to watch, it wasn’t a patch on the other dog. The farmer called her over, gave a rub, and I heard him say, “Tess, you’re f’ing ****”
Click to expand...

Ha ha :D
 
Aww.

Where I rode/worked as a teen was also a working sheep and cattle farm and at certain times I spent as much time with them as the horses (trying to get into vet school at that point ;) used to get up and go milking first)
It was interesting watching the different dogs, the main dog while I was there was very shy, happy to slink off to her shed outside but was lovely once she knew you. I suspect the sort that if you'd pushed her in a different set up would have been nervous aggressive. She worked the sheep, cattle and annoyingly the horses! Very good at picking out a lamb.
Their second dog was permitted a house life with the RS owner... she was a little whippety type thing who used to like running the track in the arena and used to go and hide in a hole when she heard the truck start. Not so much of a worker ;). I think she was the last one to live inside pre retirement.
 
ester said:
Aww.

Where I rode/worked as a teen was also a working sheep and cattle farm and at certain times I spent as much time with them as the horses (trying to get into vet school at that point ;) used to get up and go milking first)
It was interesting watching the different dogs, the main dog while I was there was very shy, happy to slink off to her shed outside but was lovely once she knew you. I suspect the sort that if you'd pushed her in a different set up would have been nervous aggressive. She worked the sheep, cattle and annoyingly the horses! Very good at picking out a lamb.
Their second dog was permitted a house life with the RS owner... she was a little whippety type thing who used to like running the track in the arena and used to go and hide in a hole when she heard the truck start. Not so much of a worker ;). I think she was the last one to live inside pre retirement.
Click to expand...

There are various theories on whether it is good for a working dog to live in the house. Some are completely against it, and others think it is good for the shepherd/dog bond. We have some inside, some out. All pups (unless in multiples) come into the house for the first 6 months or so and then go out. Some come in and never go out, and others retire to the house.
 
I think part of the issue was she wasn't living with the farmer, she was living round the corner in a 3 bed semi with the person who ran the horse side of the business so didn't see why she should go work for someone else in the day when she would rather do laps of the arena thanks ;).
 
ester said:
I think part of the issue was she wasn't living with the farmer, she was living round the corner in a 3 bed semi with the person who ran the horse side of the business so didn't see why she should go work for someone else in the day when she would rather do laps of the arena thanks ;).
Click to expand...

Ahh yes, that does rather change things! lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top