Collie Dogs... (Rescue questions)

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Michelle73

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My OH has decided that he wants a Collie - We'd like to rescue one... Has anyone rescued a Collie? Where did you get it from? What problems did you encounter? What advice could you give? Where should we start?

We have both only ever got our dogs from breeders so thats why so many questions. We would like a puppy but I think thats wishfull thinking from a rescue centre! I'm assuming that any rescue Collies are at least a year old?

Thanks in anticipation
 
We have a border collie and although I would have loved to have got a rescue dog our son was only 18mths when we got the dog so needed to go for a puppy (recues could have had a bad past which could be triggered - not worth the risk with a young child)

I think it would be lovely to be able to give a dog another chance, and Collies are soo intelligent (well ours is anyway) they make fab pets - in the right homes, hence why alot end up in rescue
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If you have no children I would say go for it although be aware that collies don't only need the excercise but more importantly the mental stimulation, therefore not ideal if you have to go out to work all day.

Now I have no idea of your circumstances / knowledge of the breed so please don't take offence if I have pointed out the obvious to you.

A collie in rescue may have issues / learned beahaviour from the conditions it was kept in before - like many dogs, although collies imo tend to pick things up good and bad quicker then other breeds.
 
Thanks. I should have said, I used to have a Dalmatian until he died last year from Lymphoma - he was almost 12 years old and he was nutty as a fruit cake!!! I'd owned him from 6 weeks and learned the hard way about loopy dogs that needs lots and lots of mental and physical exercise!!! Before him I was brough up with Dobermans and German Shepherds as well as Heinz 57's!! OH has been brough up around Collies and Retrievers.

We don't have any children, the horse in my signature is my baby!!! OH is well versed on Collies and although we both work he's on shifts and I'm Mon to Fri so there's not many days when there's no one at home and my neighbour has said she'll walk our dog those days with hers. We have the garden and obviously the field where the horse is and we plan to set up agility there for the dog!

I don't think I need to say much more after the word Dalmatian really!!!!! LOL!!! (Thats an in joke for those who know Dalmatians!!)
 
Ye I think thats a fair statement, the fact that collies learn so quickly (except mine apparently!) means that behaviours and tricks or bad habits from their previous home might mean that it could cause you issues when you take them to yours!

HOWEVER, that being said, with the right training it shouldn't be too hard to teach them that these behaviours etc are NOT what you want and to teach them what is acceptable!

Id think the most likely collies you will find in rescues are ones where people have taken on the dog and not thought through the exercise and mental stim they need, so the dog will mightly be a little bit WOHOO PEOPLE! at first, but I am sure once you get to know the dog and vice versa, should be fine!
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so long as you have the time and patience to do it!

If you get a rescue collie that has been a sheepdog however, (however rare, I am not sure!) be aware that this means herding instinct will be SO MUCH STRONGER than an untrained or unattempted to train collie!

Lovely dogs though (whatever cala will tell you
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hehe) just need time and energy!
 
well if youv had dalmations, Im guessing dealing with energy is far from an issue!

Agility will be fun, im waiting for mine to be old enough to do it!

just ensure then, if horse is your baby, OBV! that the rescue collie has not had any previous aggression issues with other animals (especially horses!) And just be aware that if it has never seen a horse before, it may attempt to herd her!
 
I have a rescue BC she is a lovely tri colour extremely intelligent and trainable (has a huge vocab) I struggle with other dogs now as I have forgotten they do not understand English!!
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However that is not to say she did not come with a huge list of "issues" most of which we have worked through over the past 5 years and still a little way to go. Since which time I have used what I have learned with her and got involved in dog rescue with homechecking, fostering etc. so if you want any help feel free to PM. In the meantime have a look at the following:

http://www.bordercollietrustgb.org.uk/

http://www.wiccaweys.co.uk/

Wiccaweys I have heard very good things about. Also there is a forum called dog pages which a lot of rescues are on and I think you can place a wanted post in there and rescue reps will contact you.
 
mainline normally have some very nice collies.
http://www.bordercollies.co.uk/
Most of my dogs are rescues. A lot of collies are in rescue homes for problems such as too much energy or they collie nipped somebody. We have one that chased cars, bikes, kids etc when we got him and we have one that has severe seperation anxiety.
It is hard to say what problems you may face with a rescue collie, as collies have soo much energy they get different 'issues' but our rescue collies are the most rewarding
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Good luck
Nickie
 
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