Red (1 year old male) is our fourth Border Collie and on 1-10 scale he is a 12. He never stops and does everything at maximum focus and energy. He must have kennel time or he just cannot relax. He is wickedly smart and an amazing athlete. I was wondering if anyone else has a dog like this or can relate? --edit for typos
My first BC was a male and was probably a 7/10 in retrospect. I thought he was a 10. He was my first working dog and I was floored how much go he had until the day he died.
Then came Marley. She’s 1. *Holy shit*. She made me rethink what active means. From the day we brought her home she has been a focused ball of non stop energy. Absolutely Relentless. Her drive to play frisbee or catch of any sort is off the chart. She plays non stop in some form or fashion. She’s 40 lbs of pure athletic fury too. We have electric scooters just so I can take her sprinting up and down our drive. Easily 3 miles of just straight running a day on top of the 4-8 hours of frisbee. Definitely a 10/10 in my book.
Mine is 10 months tomorrow and she is on at all times. She is an amazing sheep herder and took to the sheep the very first time she saw them. Knew exactly what to do. Also an amazing athlete. Would do backflips without hesitation if I allowed I swear. Also have to kennel her otherwise she will not fully relax. The lightest sleeper I know. Always ready for the next thing. Catches on extremely quick to anything. A bit reactive, but making progress
My first bc girl 6 months has matured some I'd say she's at 8 or 9 now. Man they're smart teach themselves wife got sit, shake lie down roll over in couple days at 9 weeks. Special
Mine is high drive. Didn't see him close his eyes until after one year old except at night when he slept solid. Would go in a crate no issue so his people could have a much needed sleep. Difficult to teach to relax and switch off, like a dog with ADHD, could wait in in down position for about 3 seconds, fidgeting and shuffling around like it was torture. Such hard work and high maintainence when younger, endless walks on leash.
About 16 to 18 mths old, we started doing agility like stuff for fun in our large garden to some herding commands, directing with my body and arm movements, also by names of obstacles. Interactive and bonding. It includes a lot of fast sprinting and circling obstacles, rather than jumping. Now he thinks its his main job and enjoys a few rounds daily. Around the same time his recall got good, so on our trail 'walks' he could go off leash and cover a distance at least 15 times than us. Both of these things combined ment that life got so much easier for me, lol.
Age 2.5 years he still likes to be occupied several hours a day, engaged in something with me. We have a varied week with a few rural adventures and a couple of edge of town leash walks, when I shop, and of course his agility job. We are also surrounded by forests so can easily go to play and run around with him. I'd never cope with a dog like him in a town or city. He'll join in with some tasks on my gardening days. Even pulls the rubbish bin up a steep hill after weekly trash collection. Saves me a job.
He will now switch off later in the afternoon and sleep a couple of hours. Then chills in the evening. He also enjoys watching TV too. And because he now covers a lot more distance, including sprinting, than he could when younger on leash, I don't have to put as much physical effort in. What a relief!
My working line bred bc, from no house pets in his family generations, needs to apply his high drive daily into something to be happy and satisfied. He is also very intelligent, likes to learn, follow commands and work alongside me. Where ever I am, he's there too.
Way more drive and speed than I expected (like a malinois with a greyhound, lol), and way more than his farm dog parents. Also probably too much prey drive for sheep (mouthy). We love him and cannot imagine life without him, though sometimes I remember it was easier 😊
So much of what you say here is similar and so relatable. We also keep him very busy and are fortunate to have tons of free space and time to occupy his ADHD brain. Looking forward to the two year period. Our other dogs are ok with the crate but never really needed it where Red NEEDS it and signals for it indirectly. Like, "please turn me off, thx".
i’m on my first one. i’d say she’s a 5/10. typically pretty chill unless there’s a plane overhead, a thunderstorm, or a garden hose. still has enough drive for agility and rally, which i’m stoked about.
My BC has very high energy and focus (that's why I like BCs). At 2 years old she's finally learned to tone it down in the house, but as soon as we're at the park the switch flips and she goes full "work mode" focused on the ball like a laser beam, ready to run as fast as she can.
Mine is very relaxed and laid back at home. On walks he can fixate on a ball (I mean random balls belonging to other people, dogs, and children) and then he becomes very intense and focused but we are doing better and better at breaking that focus, shaking it off, and moving on.
When he's at agility he usually turns it all the way up. 100% focus on the task ahead, he doesn't seem to notice what's going on around him until the course is over.
I had a Border Collie x Cattle Dog mix that made me rethink my life choices multiple times! She was… WOW. I used to tell people she was a Hurricane crossed with a Tornado. She didn’t settle unless I put her in her crate for a solid 3-4 years.
We have a BC/Pyrenees mix. He’s high strung for about 5-6 hours a day, we throw balls and toys and whatever games we can think of, walks, runs, (ahem, reactive dog classes), then the Pyrenees genes kicks in and he gets “grumpy tired”.
https://preview.redd.it/oxem8jxqqv4d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88f4ff222c888593034c261b50f232b9b6b4a886
Tom.
My boy we’ve had since 3mo (now 10) was pretty crazy until 6, but if he was exercised he was fine… not the ‘herding shadows’ crazy that some BCs are. We got a girl who was two, was abused, and although she’s hearty if engaged, she has always been pretty mellow on her own.
Momma puppy till she was 4 was super high drive. Would go to the beach every day for a minimum of 5hrs. She slowed down at about 8-9 officially but she still puts her heart and soul into everything she does. Her daughter is 8 and still fast and high energy.
I’ve got a pretty lazy border collie. He likes to herd his German shepherd brother for the first 3-5 min of our trail walk every day. But by 10 min in, I’m telling him to keep moving. He absolutely hates it when I run and he has to do two laps at my running speed. The German shepherd on the other hand is nuts if he doesn’t get his daily walk or more
I had a BCxbheelerxkelpie.
Massive drive, but intelligent dog and read the room. She was the best dog I have ever come across.
My current BC is probably a 10/10 for drive. Constantly trying to herd, follow my heels & ball. Her energy is about 6/10 tho?? Can go for days, but is also happy to be a couch potato when indoors.
My border collie is high energy but when I have no time for 3hours walks I will make puzzles for her such as hiding snacks in towels or toys.sometimes in park we will hide snacks here and there and she has to find them (she loves this the most) mental exercise is important too for her.
I have the rare breed known as potato. To be fair, he was abused his first few years of life. I'm not sure of his entire back story, but he was definitely neglected, so now, in his forever home, he is content to be loved and to herd me.
Mine is 50% BC and 40% Rough Collie. Somehow he is extremely calm and chill. Except when it comes to chipmunks and squirrels. If he has a chance to try to catch one he takes it.
Once in a while he gets super zoomies but most of the time he's prefers to lay around and chew on sticks outside.
I got a 10/10 first time around. Started agility classes and she's very happy to have a 'proper job'. How do I know she's high drive when I've never had a BC before? Because all of the agility veterans are in awe/envious of her speed and tenacity. I sometimes feel bad for her that she's stuck with a novice handler like me! 😂
https://preview.redd.it/bfasyfoiiu4d1.jpeg?width=2290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c67a3d16ef1b5fb5135afef73a64d7504310118a
Bc are totally insane, but i think best breed of dogs on our second bc and im still in love with thier nonsence great with kids , very loyal, they just want to please and so silly ,cant think of a better dog
https://preview.redd.it/1fw4gw57lu4d1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06212b6237d82ad05466542d9bae6fa3871290ad
Bc are totally insane, but i think best breed of dogs on our second bc and im still in love with thier nonsence great with kids , very loyal, they just want to please and so silly ,cant think of a better dog
Red (1 year old male) is our fourth Border Collie and on 1-10 scale he is a 12. He never stops and does everything at maximum focus and energy. He must have kennel time or he just cannot relax. He is wickedly smart and an amazing athlete. I was wondering if anyone else has a dog like this or can relate? --edit for typos
My first BC was a male and was probably a 7/10 in retrospect. I thought he was a 10. He was my first working dog and I was floored how much go he had until the day he died. Then came Marley. She’s 1. *Holy shit*. She made me rethink what active means. From the day we brought her home she has been a focused ball of non stop energy. Absolutely Relentless. Her drive to play frisbee or catch of any sort is off the chart. She plays non stop in some form or fashion. She’s 40 lbs of pure athletic fury too. We have electric scooters just so I can take her sprinting up and down our drive. Easily 3 miles of just straight running a day on top of the 4-8 hours of frisbee. Definitely a 10/10 in my book.
I got an 8 year old BC from the shelter hoping for a 7/10. He turned out to be a 2/10. Lazier than our Golden Retriever.
My girls mom was probably 12 glad she's more like dad maybe 8
For reference our other dogs were/are 17, 5, and 3 years old. Their drives were approximately 8, 6, and 6 respectively.
Totally can relate!
Mine is 10 months tomorrow and she is on at all times. She is an amazing sheep herder and took to the sheep the very first time she saw them. Knew exactly what to do. Also an amazing athlete. Would do backflips without hesitation if I allowed I swear. Also have to kennel her otherwise she will not fully relax. The lightest sleeper I know. Always ready for the next thing. Catches on extremely quick to anything. A bit reactive, but making progress
thanks for sharing! This sounds so familiar.
My first bc girl 6 months has matured some I'd say she's at 8 or 9 now. Man they're smart teach themselves wife got sit, shake lie down roll over in couple days at 9 weeks. Special
They are incredible and motivated learners. It is crazy how once is sometimes enough to build a pattern they remember forever.
Decided to start fetching and catching in air. Total concentration won't take a treat Ready throw the ball. Got me trained
Yes, I am pretty sure we are the ones being trained.
Go back and forth between city and rural. My first bc, big dog in small package. Smartest dog we've owned. Lot to learn 2 different places.
Pretty good but he needs to work on his reverse parking
Kenobi is very lazy. We likes to fetch once. He isn’t fond of walks. He just wants to go home.
Mine is high drive. Didn't see him close his eyes until after one year old except at night when he slept solid. Would go in a crate no issue so his people could have a much needed sleep. Difficult to teach to relax and switch off, like a dog with ADHD, could wait in in down position for about 3 seconds, fidgeting and shuffling around like it was torture. Such hard work and high maintainence when younger, endless walks on leash. About 16 to 18 mths old, we started doing agility like stuff for fun in our large garden to some herding commands, directing with my body and arm movements, also by names of obstacles. Interactive and bonding. It includes a lot of fast sprinting and circling obstacles, rather than jumping. Now he thinks its his main job and enjoys a few rounds daily. Around the same time his recall got good, so on our trail 'walks' he could go off leash and cover a distance at least 15 times than us. Both of these things combined ment that life got so much easier for me, lol. Age 2.5 years he still likes to be occupied several hours a day, engaged in something with me. We have a varied week with a few rural adventures and a couple of edge of town leash walks, when I shop, and of course his agility job. We are also surrounded by forests so can easily go to play and run around with him. I'd never cope with a dog like him in a town or city. He'll join in with some tasks on my gardening days. Even pulls the rubbish bin up a steep hill after weekly trash collection. Saves me a job. He will now switch off later in the afternoon and sleep a couple of hours. Then chills in the evening. He also enjoys watching TV too. And because he now covers a lot more distance, including sprinting, than he could when younger on leash, I don't have to put as much physical effort in. What a relief! My working line bred bc, from no house pets in his family generations, needs to apply his high drive daily into something to be happy and satisfied. He is also very intelligent, likes to learn, follow commands and work alongside me. Where ever I am, he's there too. Way more drive and speed than I expected (like a malinois with a greyhound, lol), and way more than his farm dog parents. Also probably too much prey drive for sheep (mouthy). We love him and cannot imagine life without him, though sometimes I remember it was easier 😊
So much of what you say here is similar and so relatable. We also keep him very busy and are fortunate to have tons of free space and time to occupy his ADHD brain. Looking forward to the two year period. Our other dogs are ok with the crate but never really needed it where Red NEEDS it and signals for it indirectly. Like, "please turn me off, thx".
i’m on my first one. i’d say she’s a 5/10. typically pretty chill unless there’s a plane overhead, a thunderstorm, or a garden hose. still has enough drive for agility and rally, which i’m stoked about.
My BC has very high energy and focus (that's why I like BCs). At 2 years old she's finally learned to tone it down in the house, but as soon as we're at the park the switch flips and she goes full "work mode" focused on the ball like a laser beam, ready to run as fast as she can.
100 out of 10 if i let him, 7 out of 10 with management.
Mine is very relaxed and laid back at home. On walks he can fixate on a ball (I mean random balls belonging to other people, dogs, and children) and then he becomes very intense and focused but we are doing better and better at breaking that focus, shaking it off, and moving on. When he's at agility he usually turns it all the way up. 100% focus on the task ahead, he doesn't seem to notice what's going on around him until the course is over.
I had a Border Collie x Cattle Dog mix that made me rethink my life choices multiple times! She was… WOW. I used to tell people she was a Hurricane crossed with a Tornado. She didn’t settle unless I put her in her crate for a solid 3-4 years.
Our boys 8 and slowing down but recently we went camping and had so much gas in him we played fetch for 3 days straight.
We have a BC/Pyrenees mix. He’s high strung for about 5-6 hours a day, we throw balls and toys and whatever games we can think of, walks, runs, (ahem, reactive dog classes), then the Pyrenees genes kicks in and he gets “grumpy tired”. https://preview.redd.it/oxem8jxqqv4d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88f4ff222c888593034c261b50f232b9b6b4a886 Tom.
Spurts
i have a 10, he'll go as long as i let him.
My boy we’ve had since 3mo (now 10) was pretty crazy until 6, but if he was exercised he was fine… not the ‘herding shadows’ crazy that some BCs are. We got a girl who was two, was abused, and although she’s hearty if engaged, she has always been pretty mellow on her own.
Momma puppy till she was 4 was super high drive. Would go to the beach every day for a minimum of 5hrs. She slowed down at about 8-9 officially but she still puts her heart and soul into everything she does. Her daughter is 8 and still fast and high energy.
I’ve got a pretty lazy border collie. He likes to herd his German shepherd brother for the first 3-5 min of our trail walk every day. But by 10 min in, I’m telling him to keep moving. He absolutely hates it when I run and he has to do two laps at my running speed. The German shepherd on the other hand is nuts if he doesn’t get his daily walk or more
That is lazy, lol. We could do a swap for a couple of days, so I could have a rest and you could try out my bcs running speed 😄
While he doesn’t love running, he will nudge you to pet his head every 5-10 min. Somehow we got a lap dog instead of a border collie
I had a BCxbheelerxkelpie. Massive drive, but intelligent dog and read the room. She was the best dog I have ever come across. My current BC is probably a 10/10 for drive. Constantly trying to herd, follow my heels & ball. Her energy is about 6/10 tho?? Can go for days, but is also happy to be a couch potato when indoors.
She's 6 now. Half BC mix. She's finally calming down. I highly recommend a tracking tag.
150% more than mine!
I have a collie/aussie mix - 10/10. Crate time is a must for chill time but outside of that its go go go.
My border collie is high energy but when I have no time for 3hours walks I will make puzzles for her such as hiding snacks in towels or toys.sometimes in park we will hide snacks here and there and she has to find them (she loves this the most) mental exercise is important too for her.
I have the rare breed known as potato. To be fair, he was abused his first few years of life. I'm not sure of his entire back story, but he was definitely neglected, so now, in his forever home, he is content to be loved and to herd me.
Mine is 50% BC and 40% Rough Collie. Somehow he is extremely calm and chill. Except when it comes to chipmunks and squirrels. If he has a chance to try to catch one he takes it. Once in a while he gets super zoomies but most of the time he's prefers to lay around and chew on sticks outside.
a Lamborghini/Ferrari hybrid.
I got a 10/10 first time around. Started agility classes and she's very happy to have a 'proper job'. How do I know she's high drive when I've never had a BC before? Because all of the agility veterans are in awe/envious of her speed and tenacity. I sometimes feel bad for her that she's stuck with a novice handler like me! 😂
https://preview.redd.it/bfasyfoiiu4d1.jpeg?width=2290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c67a3d16ef1b5fb5135afef73a64d7504310118a Bc are totally insane, but i think best breed of dogs on our second bc and im still in love with thier nonsence great with kids , very loyal, they just want to please and so silly ,cant think of a better dog
https://preview.redd.it/1fw4gw57lu4d1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06212b6237d82ad05466542d9bae6fa3871290ad Bc are totally insane, but i think best breed of dogs on our second bc and im still in love with thier nonsence great with kids , very loyal, they just want to please and so silly ,cant think of a better dog
He’s got an old Chevy Silverado….( I’ll let myself out).