Temperament And Characteristics Of Boarder Collies
Above all else, the one characteristic of Boarder collies that is most outstanding is their overall desire to work. Boarder collies herd with their heads hung low, and are known for eyeing all of the sheep with a rather intense stare. They are able to notice each and every movement that the livestock makes, and they normally react by moving, sometimes almost imperceptibly, in order to take advantage of or to counter it.
The movement of both the stock and the dog should be steady and calm. All of these dogs are among the sheep-working premier breed within the world and are very well-known for their intelligence, athleticism, as well as their strong work ethic. It is important that you understand that this breed is gathering or heading herders, instead of heelers. The Boarder collie's instinct tells them to run wide all around the flock or herd, gather up all of the animals and then return all of them to the shepherd that is in charge of the flock. They are also taught to drive the stock away from the shepherd, but normally they don't do this by instinct.
Typically, the Boarder collies are considered to be workaholics. You will find that they are the happiest during the times that they have some sort of job to do, it doesn't matter whether the job is herding, agility, obedience, or any other type of dog sports and active occupations at which they are able to excel. Boarder collies are very quick, busy, and high-energy dogs and they must receive a fairly good amount of exercise. Boarder collies are bred for endurance.
You will find that a working Boarder collie is going to be able to run several miles a day, running over a difficult terrain, and then go out and do it all over again the very next day. For this athletic breed, a one or either two mile run is merely even a warm-up. Individuals that don't have the time to provide the canine with vigorous, good exercise each and every day are normally a lot happier with the calmer breed.
When a Boarder collie is bored, it may become obsessive, neurotic, and somewhat destructive. This breed is known to herd birds, livestock, cats, other dogs, squirrels, children, deer, rabbit, bugs, lawn mowers, brooms, vacuum cleaners, rakes, and just about anything else that may move. Even though all of the Border Collies are known to herd by eye instead of by nipping right at the heels of all of the livestock, there are several that are still nippy and are going to nip at the legs and heels of anything else that moves.
In the event that you are interested in boarder collies, you should definitely make sure that you have the spare time to spend with this breed.