Buy your Border Collie pup from a reputable breeder
3. There are many $50 pups
to be found in your local agricultural weeklies. Unfortunately these
may not turn out to be anything even close to what you are
requiring. A notice in our local vet clinic last year caught my eye.
It read, "Border Collie pups for sale. Father part Lab, mother part
Terrier. Excellent cattle dog potential". So you see, what one
person may be selling as a Border Collie has nothing to do with the
wise and true Border Collie.
A reputable breeder should offer a demonstration of the sire
and dam of your potential pup. See the genetic background of the pup demonstrated. Don't
take the excuse that they haven't had the time to train the
parents or that "they would have been great working dogs but
I don't know how to train them". A top Border Collie
breeder should be able to do all of these
things.
A reputable breeder should offer to give guidance in starting and
training your pup. Hopefully they'll suggest buying my training
tape! For myself, I tell my puppy customers to keep the pup out of
trouble and bad habits until it is 10 to 12 months old and then
bring it back some afternoon and I'll start it working and balancing
while they wait. They can then see what to do and take it home and
continue on. This may seem obvious but I am constantly being phoned
to help start someone's pup, bought from another breeder. I never
take on these requests because I really don't need the harassment of
some crazed, sheep abusing mutt ripping the rear end off my
flock.
(Border
Collie training information)
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