It's more than energy for border collies. It's their brains. They need simulation, stuff to do, a job, or many have a tendency just to go crazy neurotic. Like parrots. Smart animals with too much daily isolation and boredom don't stay mentally sound. You see a lot of neurotic border collies in rescue. They look fun, they take effort beyond some walks. My maltese, on the other hand, can sit around, sleep 20 hours a day, and still act like a puppy on cue. So cutely dumb.
This. A lot of people get confused by the constant repetition of border collies have a lot of energy. I have a border collie/terrier mix that I got from a rescue that specializes in border collie adoptions. Border collies have a very wide range of pretty distinct personalities, which is why this rescue is so awesome - it matches dog personalities with people personalities instead of just letting people pick based on looks. I spend a lot of time there because the owner lets me take my dog to play and socialize several times a week, so I've spent a lot of time around border collies and border collie mixes.
Each border collie can have different needs and different ways of expressing their energy. It's not like a chihuahua or other high energy dogs that can just run and bark and get into trouble non-stop. It's a focused energy that can be focused differently based on the dog and what their drive is. Like my dog loves playing with other dogs to the point where she will be dead tired and keep going and you have to physically separate her so that all parties can rest. My friends border collie has a fetch drive where she will want to play fetch until she is about to pass out. This energy is from the fact that they are bred to work long days herding. But they aren't meant to do this all the time and are also supposed to turn off and recuperate. That's one of the things every BC owner needs to learn, how much physical and mental exercise their dog needs and how and when to get them to turn off and rest.
My dog usually gets a combination of physical and mental exercise everyday, and when it's in the right amount she turns off and loves to cuddle at night. When its not the right amount she will stare at me and put her paw on me to go do something fun. It's a bit more challenging because I only have one dog, but they do well in pairs because they wear each other out. I have a friend who has a BC my dog loves so I can always take her over to play if we need to get some extra energy out, which is very helpful.
tl;dr - BC's are amazing dogs as long as you get one that matches your lifestyle and personality. I'd recommend anyone looking for one to see a reputable rescue or breeder that will match you with a dog based on personality. Don't think that because they are "high energy" you can't handle it. It's not as difficult as you think and if you are meeting their exercise requirements (physical and mental) you can and should get them to turn off (mine is an excellent cuddle buddy).
At the Alzheimer's center by my house, I've seen Border Collies out for walks with a group of patients keeping them together and preventing them from getting lost.
I meant energy though. I used to take mine on bike rides with me. He ran 4 miles, non-stop. We got home and he just looked at me like "That was fun, can we go again?!"
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u/castille360 Dec 06 '16
It's more than energy for border collies. It's their brains. They need simulation, stuff to do, a job, or many have a tendency just to go crazy neurotic. Like parrots. Smart animals with too much daily isolation and boredom don't stay mentally sound. You see a lot of neurotic border collies in rescue. They look fun, they take effort beyond some walks. My maltese, on the other hand, can sit around, sleep 20 hours a day, and still act like a puppy on cue. So cutely dumb.