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Border Collie
At the moment I do not have border collies in breeding. You can search active breedersbreed associationfrom the pages.
Border collie is a very intelligent and active breed and we have to remember it has been bred to be a working dog - either to herd sheep in real work or competitions and hobbies, like agility or obedience. That is why border collies should be alert, eager and receptive.
I’ve heard many times how a border collie ”learns to travel to the Moon and back, before any other dog even learns to sit” or ”they are ready when they are born”. Of course this is not the case. As a reactive and fast-learning dog, a border collie is not an easy dog. It has to get work for the feet and the mind to be happy, and it learns both good and bad things equally fast. So, it’s not ready as a newborn. Even though the little puppy seems to read your mind, it will change fast when the puppy grows up to be a teenage monster who responds even quicker, and sees everything before you even have a chance to realize something happened around you. Agitation, excitement and that ”the water is boiling over” is normal, which is why it is of utmost importance to practice calming down, and control of the dog’s own state-of-mind. Border collies are usually easily motivated, and enjoy working with their owner. They are sensitive to the smallest gestures and, at their best, act like the human mind. As soft dogs, they don’t need to be - and should not be - treated with hard hands. With border collies you need lots of patience, imagination, energy, and a good sense of humor. It won’t help you at all if you have ants in your pants, when your dog trips over itself in every situation.
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Don’t worry if you don’t have sheep in your yard or are not interested in the competition fields; they are not criteria for a good home. Every puppy is primarily a family member, will be subject to an attentive character assessment, and be sought to a home that is suited for that specific puppy.
Just like every dog breed, also border collies have inherited diseases and abnormalities. Mostly, the diseases are inherited recessively, meaning that such tendencies can not be identified by appearance. Because dogs can carry these recessive “disease” genes without being sick themselves, it may happen that two dogs that are healthy are mated and produce progenies with hereditary diseases. So for the puppy to be sick, it would have to be an unlucky individual and inherit this recessive gene from both of its parents. Often these obscure, hereditary diseases will not start showing signs until the dog has already passed the puppy and teenage years.
The most common hereditary diseases for Border Collies include various ocular diseases (CEA, goniodysgenesis and glaucoma), immunological diseases (TNS), neurological diseases (BCC, CL, SN, epilepsy) and OCD, which causes shoulder joint growth disorder. Other hereditary problems are obsessive behavior (OCD) as well as drug hypersensitivity (MDR1), resulting in the buildup of ivermectin (which is used for the eradication of parasites) of the dog's nervous system, and already a small amount may cause death.
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Fortunately, for many hereditary diseases there are DNA tests today that can also detect latent diseases. That is why I try to examine all dogs well in advance before proceeding. I believe every breeder wants their dogs to be healthy, and I am not an exception to this.