Adopting From A Border Collie Rescue Centre – All You Need To Know

A border collie rescue is a great place to go if you want to adopt an older dog and give him a second chance.   However, if you have never owned this breed before, having this particular pooch as a pet may not be in the best interests of you, your family or the border collie.  Why? This is not your average canine.

Before you consider rescuing any dog you need to ask one very important question – Why do so many dogs need rescuing?  Although abandonment, abuse and unfortunate circumstances that have caused an owner to give up their pet are common reasons, there are also individual circumstances that can occur that are directly related to characteristics of particular breeds.  In the case of a border collie rescue, for example, many of these canines have been relinquished because of their natural herding instinct.

These types of collies were bred with the instinct to herd livestock and it is a trait that can never be trained out of them.  If the instinct is strong enough, this pet is usually extremely incompatible with homes that have children.  The reason is that they don’t see kids as anything more than sheep without wool.  If a child decides to run around in the backyard, out the front door or appears to be making an “escape”, these dogs will dart in front of the kid to block their path and begin snarling, snapping, barking and may even bite in an effort to put the “sheep” back in line.  This naturally traumatizes a little boy or girl and frightens their parents who then choose to get rid of the “vicious” animal.

In addition, even in cases when the pooch doesn’t have an exceptionally dominant herding instinct, they may end up in a border collie rescue because the owners don’t know how to deal with his high energy and  keen intelligence.  If border-collies are not provided with stimulating activities and proper training they can become very destructive and neurotic.

Therefore, you need to understand that while this beautiful canine can be a wonderful companion he is not for every family.  Unless you and your children (if applicable) are prepared to train and give him the attention he requires to be a fantastic pet, don’t even consider a border collie rescue as an option.  After all, the whole point to rescuing is to provide the animal with a better life not another disappointment and surrendering to a shelter.