[stationkeeper]

Have always had Golden Retrievers....just lost a 14 year old and our 15 year old is fading.....the wife and i want to consider another breed and have discussed border collies.

How rambunctious are they? We like to keep the dog (s) in the house, good idea with a B.C.?

[AnAmericanMother]

A BC is going to be a handful after Goldens. They are wonderful, intelligent dogs who are devoted to their owners, but they are VERY high energy and they have to have (1) lots of exercise (2) a job to do, or they will find a job you don't care for, like chewing all the siding off the house.

My Choc Lab works Agility, and Border Collies OWN that sport. Some of the trainers at our center have called her "A Border Collie in a Lab suit." She is a very high energy dog, gets her size from her English conformation sire and her energy from her champion field trial dam. She is hardly ever still. We have mostly gotten used to it, but I still crate her at night (otherwise there would be a running gun battle all night long between her and the three Siamese cats about Who Is Going To Sleep Next to Mom.)

[1john2 3and4]

i dont think a bc would do well under those circumstances. i have a large-enough yard for my 3, but they MUST get lots of exercise, or they'll drive you crazy. FReegards, john

[cookiedough]

A Border Collie might be too active for you. But a Rough Coat Collie is a wonderful house dog. We've got one. He is extremely smart, friendly (loves everyone and other dogs, too), and playful. He is a sheep dog, too, and it shows -- but he is not aggressive now that he is over a year old.

He was real nippy as puppy. Best advice I ever got was to put a drop or two of clove oil on whatever I didn't want him to put in his mouth. He hates the smell of the stuff and won't go near anything with clove oil on it.

The breed is the 7th most hairiest, so he has to be groomed a lot.

If he has "work" to do, he doesn't get into much trouble. We take him on vacations with us (camping), where his job is to guard our family (he goes everywhere with us), and he is perfectly behaved. At home, he does tend to get into things if he wants to play and all of us are busy.

Our breeder said that the females settle down after one year, the males after two. Our male is 1-1/2 and has calmed down considerably.

Anyway, the breed is a joy to own. There is a smooth coat collie (same Lassie breed, but with short hair), that has the same mellow temperment.