Ollie, The Border Collie

Ollie, my Border Collie is the finest dog in the world. Of course I would say that, but really, look at his perfection. This picture is a favourite of mine as his eyes and expression truly reflect his intelligent, uniquely relaxed and loving personality.

If any of you lovelies out there are considering buying, inheriting or adopting one of these amazing dogs, I absolutely encourage you to do so. A Border Collie can be the most loyal, loving & intelligent member of your family so long as his needs (and this is a little bit of a list) are met and nurtured. I can tell you from the depth of my being & spirit that the journey I have taken with Ollie has been one that has grown into something remarkable. The time spent training, exercising, feeding, grooming and, most importantly, playing has and will continue to be an absolute joy for me now and in the many good years to come.

This breed is known amongst some ranks to be one of the, if not the most intelligent breed of dogs out there. They have amazing abilities in the areas of knowledge recall. Ollie recalls the name of around 20 toys ranging from chew toys, through to Reddy the mini rugby ball. I know of one Collie whom can recall 1500 items from boardshorts through to soft cuddly toys. Outstanding. You can almost see them analyzing and considering their decisions with their discerning looks, this is what I love about the photo! Coincidence or not, most times with a new toy I will ask him to get, for example, Giraffe, a name he has not heard before and sure enough, after a little time spent decision making and sniffing through his selection - bang, picks up the new little yellow plastic giraffe and brings it right on over. I earnestly believe their decision making process is very much like ours, just smart.

They definitely need to be worked, they love nothing more than to please their leader. In this I mean they love to be pushed. I run with Ollie 5 days a week, consistently through the run I will give him a bit of a rev up - Go Ollie, go boy! Come on, push it boy! Sure enough, that loyal puppy of mine will drop it down a gear and off he goes, check me on out Dad! There is a real pleasure to be had at the end of the run, usually we will go for around 4-5km. I think it is important not to push a long haired variety of dog too hard as you must remember that dogs do not sweat, rather they pant and loose heat through their mouths and feet. When we arrive back at the gate, Ollie will be at my side and we will both be recovering from out work-out. Ill praise him and offer him fresh water. True bliss really, a simple activity that delivers so much joy and pleasure for both dog and owner. Bottom line, this is a medium to large sized dog and as such, they require exercise. Do not even contemplate having one of these awesome dogs if you are not prepared to actively exercise them for at least an hour, and at least 5 days per week. In not providing this exercise, personally I think you are doing a great injustice to the animal, and frankly, yourself!

From my experience, Border Collies may not be suitable for families with small children. Their natural herding instinct is always there, I understand in some dogs it is stronger than others. With this inclination, they may attempt to herd children and whereby, as they do with sheep - if they resist and run out of fear, the dog will then escalate its attempt to herd through a nip to the leg. The aim of course is not to cause any harm, but rather to cause enough fear in order to obey the dogs herding command! Of course children wont see nor understand this, and without the strength to control the dog - obvious problems can occur.

In saying that Ollie is amazing with children. My mother owns a child-care center and Ollie visits around once a month. He is marvellous with the children, and shows particular care with those kids with special needs. Perhaps this further reinforces my belief that these dogs are extremely sensitive, smart animals.

They shed a lot of hair. I recommend to never ever shave or cut your dogs hair, it will grow back thicker each time. Rather invest in a quality brush and hair removal tool. I personally spent NZ $120 for a Furminator, and it is amazing. It keeps his coat absolutely stunning and looking, well, like a million dollars. I recommend getting one of these, it will also remove dead skin as well, excellent for keeping them nice and clean. A bit pricey but it is a life-time investment in your dogs health and well-being, not "el cheapo" out on these types of things. This is a decision you should make before taking on the responsibility of a Collie, you will be parting with more cash than the initial cost to purchase, register and vaccinate your puppy.

What have I spent? Well, a fair bit - Ollie injured one of his claws recently. A trip to the vet meant removing the nail and bandaging up under anesthetic; $300.00. Flea treatment @ $120 for around 4 months. I'm sure there will be more expenses in the future, but this is a decision again you make before you get your puppy. He is part of the family, and will receive the same kind of care any member of the family would receive.

You can bathe them if you like, no more than once a month I would suggest. Personally Ollie loves swimming, a dip in the sea or our local river is enough of a wash as far as I am concerned.

I would not swap Ollie for anything in the world, I adore and cherish all the time I get to spend with him. I would love nothing more than to leave the big smoke, purchase a farm and get him a few brothers and sisters and put them to work doing what they you bred to do - herd :)

Perhaps one day Mr. Slick will live out this dream, until then I shall continue to run with Ollie, play tug, go to the beach, socialize him with his lovely friends - here is Cassie, he is just so gentle with her it is adorable!

Border Collies are amazing, Ollie is amazing, life is amazing.

Mr. Slick.