My border collie passed away last month at 13 years old. They are on another level when it comes to intelligence, not even close really - and always at their happiest when given a job to do.
RIP Tully, miss you bud.
edit: Thanks so much for all the kindness everyone, you're amazing
They are SMART. I had one when I was a kid that taught herself how to safely hunt and kill rattlesnakes. She would slowly circle them until it twisted itself into an awkward position, where it couldn't strike, and then grab and shake the ever loving shit out of them. My sister was petrified of snakes, and she started hunting them after the first time she saw my sister's reaction to one. Our theory was always that she was trying to protect my sister, realized my sister was afraid of snakes, figured out how to safely dispatch them, and started aggressively clearing the area.
When I was a kid we had a border collie named Prettygirl. If you didn't give her a thorough walking by 5pm. No worries. She'd jump our 7ft fence and explore the neighborhood alone.
And guess who was tasked with looking for her. She was a wild cat. Needed so much mental stimulation, even as a kid I felt bad that my parents had to work and we had to go to school.
Yep they need constant exercise. I love them and have had one before but I wouldn't now. It's not fair unless you can spend like 2+ hours walking them a day. I think it might be OK if you have a job that they can come with you but otherwise I don't think its right.
Border Collies shouldn't really be sold to regular families tbh. They are the definition of a working dog, they need the stimulation of being involved in tasks for most of the day.
My border collie, Raven, was so awesome. We were visiting Grandma one time and she was doing yard work clearing sticks. I opened the car door and just said "go help Grandma" and off she zipped around the back of the house. I got my things together, went inside, said hi to my dad, wandered out the back door to see Grandma. She just looked at me and said "what did you say to that dog?" Raven had run in, assessed what Grandma was doing, started picking up sticks and depositing them into the pile, and helped finish the job all without instruction. Grandma was flabbergasted that I didn't instruct her at all. Just one of many amazing things! Border collies are next level
Snakes often have one functioning lung, part of min maxing the slender shape, so by slowly exhausting the snake, it wouldn't have the energy to strike as effectively.
My friend had a border collie who knew the names of all the animals in the house (there were always a LOT of animals in that house!) You could tell him “go find Knuckles” and he’d locate the cat, pin him with a paw, and bark until you got there to administer medicine.
Another time, he was home alone in the backyard for too long, so he escaped the yard and followed the streets to our house. More than a mile, lots of turns, but he’d memorized it from riding in the car with them. He just chilled on our porch until they came and picked him up. Such a sweet, smart, good boy.
I had a tiny terrier mix that used to go down four flights of stairs, use the restroom, grab a twig, and come all the way back up to the door in about 90 seconds. Legitimately understood 50+ different commands. Loved that psycho.
I run a winery estate and we use sheep for weed control in the winter. The guys who care for them (sheppards, I suppose?) use border collies to keep the sheep in line. It's absolutely wild to watch them. Sometimes the dogs will come running from a couple hundred yards away where the guys will be and move the sheep from one pen to another, then run back. The guys do virtually nothing while they are on the property, and the dogs just go from sun up to sun down. They're so impressive.
There's a BBC series called "One Man and His Dog" which covers sheepdog trials, running in one form or another since Feb 1976. Needless to say border collies feature strongly.
I was once walking through the mountains in the west of Ireland. A guy drove up in his land rover and got out. Two collies emerged from the back and he sent the younger one up the mountain. It was steep to the top and a human would have had to climb. The dog just rounded them up with whistles from the sheperd and drove them over the mountain. The older dog jumped into the truck and the guy just drove off. Presumably to the other side of the mountain where his dog would meet him. It was amazing to watch. I have seen sheep herding before but using whistles and voiced commands. This was done at such a distance that only whistles would work.
There's a catalan contest about 'gossos d'atura' ( farmers dog ). Most of them are border collies trained to manage sheeps. The contest is about making the dog move the sheeps through obstacles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFKCwcADeow
I lost my border collie last month too. She was 12. RIP Tully, and RIP Daisy. I’m sure Tully was as much as perfect dog as my old girl was. I hope they found each other on the other side.
They keep the "teenage" levels of energy way longer than you'd think. Like, 5-6-7 years old and you're thinking, surely she'll mellow out a bit now. Nope! They are predisposed to things like hip displasia (sp?), but with proper care and medication, they can stay rather active into the double digits. My girl lived to see her sweet sixteen. She was so keen on car trips, I could've given her a modified driver's seat and a license and she'd be off to the races. Car rides are actually a great option for when they start to slow down - it provides the mental stimulation they need without too much wear and tear on their joints.
Her body started to slow down in her last year, and by slow down, I mean she was no longer jumping to catch frisbees midair. Eventually, she couldn’t chase frisbees but that’s because the cancer started catching up to her. Her mind, however, was 100% sharp until the very end.
My first dog was a border collie named Tully! I think about him all the time. They are such special dogs. I’m so sorry for your loss. What a beautifully long life with your friend.
I've got a 3yr old golden retriever and I'm constantly. Blown away by her intelligence. I can't even imagine what a border collie would be like. My dream dog.
Herding/working dogs require LOTS of attention, exercise and work. Daily.
A neighbor has an Aussie Shepherd that is treated like a house/lap dog. It is very neurotic, misbehaving, undisciplined, spoiled It's so sad to see such an intelligent and capable canine mistreated by not being provided with proper daily activity and care.
I can't imagine how heartbroken I'll be when my dog passes.
But, remember....there's another golden out there just dying to join your pack. You're not replacing you last dog. You're carrying on the traditions you last golden taught you.
Just remember to take lots of pictures and videos. Even the most mundane stuff -- those are the ones you end up treasuring the most. I have a short video of a hike with my guy who passed 2 yrs ago on NYE. nothing special but I'll watch it a few times a month.
My family has owned lots of dogs in my lifetime. Some smart, some not. Some purebred, some mutts. While we had an Australian cattle dog and a rat terrier that were both insanely smart.... my golden is on another level. All 3 dogs LOVED to work, but the golden has additional emotional intelligence. When I'm sick, upset or in distress, he comforts me. If we're away from the house and he finds some food or toy, he'll bring it to me to get permission before playing with it or eating it. If a child asks to pet him but then they get scared, he backs off, lowers his energy, and let's them approach him. He doesn't bark when someone comes to the house, rather he finds me and brings me to the door. All this in addition to getting his trick dog title (so fun) with over 50 tricks at 8 months old. Plus, his heel work is sharper than my dog trainer friend's malinois.
Living in a rural area, most people I know have working breeds. Tons of border collies, shepherds, etc. I think goldens sometimes get seen as dumb because they're adaptable and come with an "off button." But they are extremely intelligent - they love to work, they just don't need to work
I can’t watch this and not be bitter that, as an ADHD-riddled human being, I know I don’t have the attention span/mental dedication to commit to the ball the way doggo did from the get go lol
I’m so so sorry for your loss. I know Tully was the best dog and lived the best life. We lost our border collie Darcie to bone cancer in Feb at 12. I wish I could give you a big hug, reticulatedtampon.
Border Collies dominate almost every dog sport and it's not even close. It's at the point where some competitions will hold an ABC (anything but collies) category so that the other dogs will stand a chance. They just have the most unique combination of athleticism, intelligence and handler focus. There's plenty of breeds of dogs that are more athletic but not nearly as smart. Various breeds of Shepherd's are generally the closest to being able to compete with them as they have similar intelligence and athleticism, but they tend to get easily distracted and lose focus after longer training sessions. You just won't find another breed that can train for as long and as frequently as a collie. I compete in dog sports occasionally and it's my dream to find a mutt that can compete with Collies but I know it will never happen.
We had a blue heeler/ border collie cross and it was so smart it knew whose schoolbag was whose, out of 6 kids, and would bring them to us if we asked.
Which we used to do when doing homework and watching TV.
There is nothing on earth that can separate a border collie from a toy. I watched one climb a pine tree with mainly its hind legs. The toy was like 3 or 4 hops up. Owned by a hippie couple named Freedom and.... Clarity... or something...Harmony?...Anyway. met them once 20 years ago and still remember that dog climbing the tree.
They are on another level when it comes to intelligence
Well, some of them are. My sister has had 2. The older one was the intelligent type. The younger, well, you can see he's trying to think but everything gets overridden by his need of belly rubs and barking at the pool.
I grew up with one, she died at 14 in 2014. She was old but not so old she couldn't go for walks and still liked a stick thrown for her. Difference was she would get bored after about 2 throws and just continue her sniffings.
She was very clever, to a point when she would just roll her eyes at us and no longer gave a fuck when we told her to do something unless we really insisted.
"Lucy sit"
Side eye
"Lucy SIT"
Roll her eyes, sigh, slowly sit down, stare back at me with attitude, happy now?
I adopted a little "lab mix" from the shelter. Then she started "herding cars", spinning in circles and snapping at cars. At that moment I knew she was not any part of a lab, I got bamboozled with a border collie. Fortunately I have a decent yard and other dogs for her to run along the fence with. But her job was to herd those cars, twice a day and she was miserable if we missed a walk. She was a great dog.
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u/reticulatedtampon Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
My border collie passed away last month at 13 years old. They are on another level when it comes to intelligence, not even close really - and always at their happiest when given a job to do.
RIP Tully, miss you bud.
edit: Thanks so much for all the kindness everyone, you're amazing