Explain what a high drive, high energy, strong work ethic
type of Border Collie means to you. AND do you want that type of
dog?Choose one of the following traits that
best describes your ideal choice of a Border Collie:
High
energy/ high drive for serious sport competition.
To be successful with this type of dog you must be
athletic, experienced in the sport you plan to train the dog in,
plan to keep the dog on a serious training regimen for the dog's
entire life. You aspire to be on the World Team or win at
Nationals. You are familiar with the behavior problems that are associated
with a high drive dog and plan to curb the problems before they arise.
Medium energy/ good drive
for enjoyable sport competition. You are either new to
dog sports or you are experienced and want another dog for dog sports that is manageable,
easy to live with, easy to train and a dog that can take you as
far as you'd like in competition, but you're not a die-hard
competitor.
You're happy competing at the local level for
titles and perhaps qualifying and competing at Nationals would be great
too.
Easy going
for a good pet temperament and casual sport dog. You're new to dog sports, this is your first
Border Collie, you're 'not as young as you used to be' or you have
a family that takes up much of your time etc. You want a dog that
is good with kids, can play ball longer than you can go, a dog
that is physically capable of a dog sport, but you may not compete
unless you and the dog are both having fun at the sport. You need
a very easy to live with dog that will not bother you to train it
all day long.
Tell me about your living arrangements.
Do you have a house or apartment?
Do you have a fenced yard? What is the size of the yard and how
tall is the fencing?
Where will the dog spend most of the day?
Do you plan to crate train? How long per day will the dog be in a
crate?
What is your schedule and lifestyle & how will it relate
(or not relate) to your dog?
What type of career do you have?
If you have children or grandchildren that live with or
very near you? Do you need a dog to be a buddy for the kids?
If you have dogs, cats or other household animals, please
tell me what kind, their ages/sex and how will they relate to a
new puppy.
Please tell me about accomplishments, awards & experiences
with dogs that tells me your understanding of Border Collies & training dogs.
If you have a trainer, mentor, or dog club that you're a
part of, please tell me about them and their contact info so I may
contact them as a reference.
If you don't have dog related references (see above
question) please supply a couple people who know you that I can
call as a reference.
What brand or type of food do you plan to feed this new
dog?
Do you have enough money ($10,000 or more) in savings or
available in credit cards OR would you use pet health insurance
for your new dog?
(the reason I bring this up is because I spent $7,000 trying to
keep one of my dogs alive- he did not make it, and I spent $10,000 over the course
of 18 months on surgeries & therapy to reconstruct one of my dog's
injured leg)
Do you want to keep this pup sexually intact and breed?
What questions do you have for me?