For all the dogs who've touched our hearts

Becoming Bella

Getting a dog is a big decision, when that dog’s a Border Collie there’s even more to know! Sue & Jan share their experience with Bella.

Learning with a Border Collie

Bella sat quietly, her sweet black face perfectly divided by a white blaze. Her focus was superb for a baby pup. She was calm and thoughtful, I could almost see the cogs turning as she watched me. I was showing her people, Sue and Jan, how to teach a new cue and Bella was soaking it in.

This little girl was going to need owners as clever as she was!

Careful thought...thoughtful training

The Border Collie has been bred for generations to do a job – and they do it with great commitment and energy. If not allowed to do their job they will find other ways to meet this need – by chasing cars and bikes, rounding up the kids, or in Bella’s case, waves on the beach (I spent a few sessions with Jan and Sue walking in soft sand, smelling fresh ocean air, playing with Bella – tough hey!)

With their super intelligence comes super sensitivity. A Border Collie’s keen awareness of the tiniest changes makes them a superb sheepdog, but can lead to fears and over reactivity in a busy urban environment.

Properly caring for a Border Collie takes knowledge, time and commitment – they're not for everyone!

Too often the classic training protocols are about suppressing annoying behaviours without realising that a sheepdog can no more stop being a sheepdog than you can stop being a buman and become a hamster.

Kay Laurence

With their strong instincts and sensitive nature, a Border Collie responds best to knowledgeable, gentle positive reinforcement training in ways that find appropriate outlets for their instincts.

Sue and Jan - the Bella story

Every now and then you meet a dog/people team that make your heart sing. Sue, Jan and Bella are one of those teams. They realised early what Bella was capable of and wanted to teach her in a way that would promote her confidence and allow her to be who she is.

The following is an interview with Sue and Jan about bringing Bella into their life. They didn’t know what they were in for but rose to the challenge and learned to be great human companions.

Be sure to check out the video at the end to see how clever Bella is. And if you’re interested in a Border Collie, please take the time to read the resources listed below; with their strong herding instinct and killer intelligence, they are not a breed for everyone.

Do. Not. Move!

Q: Why did you decide to get a puppy?

We had talked for some time about getting a puppy.

Apart from the pleasure having a dog would bring us, we thought we were well placed to give a dog a good life. Large block of land in a coastal town away from Melbourne, two minutes’ walk from a leash free beach etc. But we knew that we needed to wait until we had both reduced our working hours significantly in order to give the puppy the company, exercise and training it would need.

Once Sue had given up work and Jan was working largely from home we knew it was time. Our first preference was to rescue a dog, although we knew that could mean getting one who had a difficult upbringing. We did actually enquire about a couple of rescue dogs, but were unsuccessful. We found the process very cumbersome.

Q: What is your background with animals?

Jan has been owned by various cats over the years and has always had at least one cat in residence for the last 40 years! She had never owned a dog before Bella.

Sue grew up with dogs and also spent some time living on a farm in the UK, where she had some experience working with sheep with a beautifully trained and highly energetic sheepdog, which she really enjoyed. She had also had cats for many years.

Jack and Bella - a moment of rare repose

Q: Why a Border Collie?

Our friend had Border Collies on her property and occasionally bred them, so not in any way a professional breeder. We had met the dogs when visiting and knew they had lovely natures and were responsive to directions. When advised there were puppies on the way we immediately put in a request for one. On that basis, there wasn’t any actual planning of which breed to get – just serendipity! We would not have even considered a Border Collie if we lived on a small property or in the city / suburbs.

Q: What were your expectations of living with a dog?

We certainly expected her to be a smart dog given Border Collies’ traditional role as sheep dogs with their ability to learn quickly and follow instructions. We weren’t really prepared for her level of energy though – she was considerably more ‘non-stop’ than we had anticipated! We wanted to / expected to put time into helping her become a good member of our family.

Jan really had no idea – it was all going to be a new experience and Sue was relying on her experience of having dogs growing up (Jack Russell and a Labrador) as a starting point. She soon realised how different a Border Collie is to a Labrador – food driven, or a Jack Russell – hunting driven.

Q: What prompted you to hire a trainer?

We went along to a dog club puppy training sessions on the weekend. Seeing how quickly she did learn we wanted some one-on-one time to make sure we were doing the right thing by her, as she learns so fast she was clearly going to learn the wrong thing too easily. The school ran through some basics that were really useful, but how the dogs got to go up into the higher classes seemed a bit random!

We also had concerns about one of the exercises the puppy school wanted to do – each dog took a turn (on lead) walking past all the others in quite close proximity. We were learning that Bella is very space sensitive and she didn’t want to do this and we didn’t want to ‘make’ her do it. (Not at all that happy that they didn’t check with us prior to this exercise as to whether it suited our dog.) We wanted to make sure that we know how to live with a dog that has a higher level of sensitivity to being in close quarters with other dogs. We didn’t want to label her ‘unsociable’, or force her into situations she didn’t feel comfortable with.

Bella's happy place!

Q: What did you learn that created a change for you?

Jan – the biggest thing was understanding that the dog was communicating with me all the time with her body / behaviour! I had no idea! Becoming sensitive to that, and trying to get better at ‘reading’ her was the biggest take-away for me.

Sue – same as Jan – her attention was on us all the time so we had to make sure we were always on message.

Q: What was the consequence of that? What is it like living with her now?

Jan – I feel I’m much better at working with her by seeing her natural tendencies and building on those. For example this is especially relevant in play – with her love of running and wanting to constantly come up and then away again, we have invented lots of activities where that forms the basis of the games. I feel I’m more patient when I’m asking her to do something for instance. I can now first ensure that she is in fact listening and focussed before I ask. This makes things go much more easily!! I better understand that she is her own ‘person’ with her own natural preferences and we work things out together.

Sue – Now that we are used to her always being on the go – although as she gets older she is certainly relaxing more – she is a delight. We know she has no desire to run away – she wants to be with us. When I look at her I don’t see a dog, I see Bella – loving, trusting, a bit daggy, incredibly clever and eager to please. And usually with a toy in her mouth.

Bella finds her toys by name!

One of Bella’s favourite games is to find her toys by name. Jan tells me this is a game they play at night when they’re trying to relax but Bella’s not ready for sleep. Sue and Jan sit on the couch and send Bella hunting to find her toys. It uses her brain and her wonderful Border Collie discrimination skills to find them all. Thanks Jan, Sue and Bella for sharing your story with us!

Explore Border Collies

Some tips

There are two types of Border Collies – working and show. Work out which one is best for you.
Allow plenty of time to choose a breeder and to get your puppy. Good things take time.
Talk to owners of Border Collies. Meet their dogs if you can.
Visit forums and facebook pages of BC fanciers – read what they write, ask honest questions and listen to their answers with an open mind.
Find your local Border Collie Club and ring them for a chat. They also have lists of registered breeders.
Research and talk to breeders you’re interested in.
If you think a Border Collie is right for you, ask yourself if you are right for a Border Collie!
Learn about positive reinforcement training. BC’s are highly motivated and highly sensitive dogs who respond best to gentle, knowledgeable training methods.
Look into dog sports and explore games that allow your BC to use their natural talents.
Remember – being a super learner means they learn the “wrong” things equally quickly!