[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

Originally Posted by angelas

If she wants a Border Collie she has to be very frank about her own abilities and lifestyle.

1. She MUST be smarter than the dog. And they are wickedly smart problem solvers. They need to be trained. Not just sit, stay, come. They would be bored to tears and find something to do (like a certain 6 month old puppy who figured out how to get to the top of the refrigerator and had a taste for school library books). Advanced obedience training, every trick she can find on the internet, a job to do that mind must be stimulated.

2. She must be AT LEAST as active as the dog. A bored and under exercised Border is a terror that will destroy the house and the peace in the neighborhood. If she is not prepared to spend several HOURS each DAY to exercise then a Border Collie is not the dog for her.

I had a mix from farm stock for almost 11 years. In her prime she would walk in the morning, accompany me on my paper route after school (4 km) either running beside the bike or pulling the sled, play ball/frisbee for a good hour and later she would "roller-jor" with me in her pink and purple harness. This is each week day. Weekends we had a lot more time for ball/frisbee and "roller-joring". Even in her old age with arthritic hips she would still do 1 km at a time on the tread mill twice a day up until the week she passed.

Border Collies are NOT a dog that can live with a walk around the block whenever their owners feel like it or even just once or twice a day.

Totally agree. I've fostered a BC before and have babysat for my friend's three border collies. We would go on a long walk, let the dogs off leash for play time, get home and Mikko would be ready for a nap and the BC grabs a ball and wants to play more! I've found that they need to be told when to rest (ie putting them up in a crate)-they are always wanting to do more.

I would ask her to seriously consider an adult BC that can be matched with her lifestyle.