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Working Collies


cycas

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A friend of mine has a smallholding and farms sheep and cattle. She has three collies all bought as puppies as working dogs (but dearly beloved : they sleep in her bed and get a lot of human company).

 

The oldest is now too old to work, the middle one is her main sheepdog, and the youngest one is a lovely dog, but isn't turning out too talented in the sheep department rolleyes.gif so she's started considering buying another pup to train up as a sheepdog.

 

I was wondering about suggesting she talk to a border collie rescue instead - would they be likely to have a suitable dog for the job, and would a border collie rescue be happy to home to a working home, do you think?

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Thanks blackmagic, I will send her that link and Wiccaweys. She's saying that she'd like a particular temperament, so I would have thought adopting a dog rather than a pup would make more sense in that respect as you could get a better idea of what you were likely to end up with.

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I'd have thought most working collies would only be handed in when they were too old to work any more. Anything handed in younger from working stock would probably be because they weren't up to it maybe. Though perhaps people giving up or retiring might have working collies who we still young and fit enough for the job.

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I'd have thought most working collies would only be handed in when they were too old to work any more. Anything handed in younger from working stock would probably be because they weren't up to it maybe. Though perhaps people giving up or retiring might have working collies who we still young and fit enough for the job.

 

She's not looking for an already trained dog, she would be training up a pup anyway, and the litter she was considering is actually an accidental one, though thought to be from parents of known working stock.

 

I don't know, but I'm guessing that if collies are like other working breeds, you get rather too many bred, some pups ending up in quite the wrong hands and then getting dumped back into rescue for behaviour that would be a positive asset in a working dog.

 

That Border Collie Rescue page that blackmagic posted certainly seems to suggest that there are dogs with working potential in rescue - and after all, why not? Lots of rescue dogs do flyball and agility to high levels, why not working sheep - that was my thinking when I asked anyway.

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What their working potential / polices are you'd need to check but there a a couple of young collies with the RSPCA in Exter Victoria

http://www.rspcaexeter.org.uk/dogs.html

 

one here http://www.woodsidesanctuary.org.uk/Takemehome/Dogs/tabid/150/Default.aspx

 

& here http://www.animalsindistress.uk.com/pet_detail.php?id=772&petTypeID=2&page=1

 

and Dogs Trust Ilfracombe & Blue Cross Tiverton also have some young collies / x's

 

Good luck with the search

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Slightly different but the same if you know what I mean. Our rescue was asked for help in finding a new home for a working collie who had lost a leg in an accident (thank goodness for a caring farmer who did not simply shoot him). Shortly after this we were contacted by a gent with a smallholding and just a few sheep - he was thinking along similar lines that a rescue would not want to home to a place where the dog would work as well as being a pet. Result was a 3 legged dog doing the job he loved (and would have gone stir crazy if he could not get out and about like that) working just a few sheep which meant he could do the same work but for considerably reduced hours - then go indoors afterwards to have a lovely time being pampered.

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I can't believe I missed a thread with Border Collie in the title!!!

 

But Wiccs is the right place to look. They know which dogs have a work ethic and what work they enjoy. They get dogs in from all sorts of places and all sorts of ages and many go on to do all sorts of doggy activities. The dog on the Iams advert came from Wiccaweys as a hand in because he was uncontrollable but he obviously just wanted a job to do. He went to Crufts one year to publicise Iams and people asked if they could use him as a stud dog - clearly the puppies would come out ready trained! The answer was obviously "no" because he's a Wiccaweys rescue dog and neutered in accordance with their adoption policy.

 

So fingers crossed Wiccs have the right doggy in for your friend.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've got a work mad 1 yro BC here at present, you may want to run him past your friend. Sammy is of working work, big strong fellow already working on cattle here, he is great with other dogs and has a soft mouth, i.e. would work out well on sheep as he doesn't nip at the heels of the cattle. He would go stir crazy in a pet only home. He's got two stunning blue eyes.

 

63475_481476660888_169411475888_5817855_4622779_n.jpg

 

He is a fairly big boy, very eager to please and got a clean bill of health from vet (booked in for neuter this week).

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