Border Terriers.

[vole]

I have always wanted a Border Terrier as my first dog since my grandad had one.Always liked them.However we have not done anything about it as we both work and at the moment there will be 3 days a week when we are both away for 8 hours.We have a good neighbour who would pop in though.Should we wait till we work less hours or do you think we could give a good home to a dog?Excuse the simple question but we want to be good dog owners,when the time is right.Thankyou.

[mr_colt]

My Mother and her Husband have a Border Terrier:

 

From observation I can tell you that you probably need to dedicate more time than you currently have to be a good owner to this particular breed. They are very active dogs; lots of walks and a good alotment of hours for training is needed.

 

It helps somewhat that their's will quite happily travel with them in the car wherever they go. My personal opinion is while you can leave a border terrier at home once adequately trained; it is best if you can involve them in your working life. This can work well with some jobs but not others.

 

Some people would probably disagree with me but I think you would be best getting information from existing Border owners about their daily routine with the dog before embarking on the process of owning one.

 

Best Regards,

 

mr_colt.

 

P.S: This is a picture of their Border Terrier taken earlier this year: http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/album_phot...hoto=1603113791

[hogey]

I have always wanted a Border Terrier as my first dog since my grandad had one.Always liked them.However we have not done anything about it as we both work and at the moment there will be 3 days a week when we are both away for 8 hours.We have a good neighbour who would pop in though.Should we wait till we work less hours or do you think we could give a good home to a dog?Excuse the simple question but we want to be good dog owners,when the time is right.Thankyou.

Hi

 

My wife and I have two border bitches now eighteen months old.They are wonderful dogs and are great companions.

Even though they are two they do not like to be left alone for long periods of time.I would not recommend leaving any puppy for eight hours 3 days a week.

That is just my opinion and I am sure some will not agree,but when a puppy is young it needs a lot of love and attention and you will only get out of it what you put into it.

Good luck

 

Hogey

[tuck1]

I have a Border. I have owned a few terriers in the past, it is very different personality wise to other terriers I have had - placid with EVERY other dog, gentle with kids, lovely nature. They do need a good amount of exercise however. Ours lives outside in a kennel with a covered run when we are at work, and sleeps out at night. When we are in, the dog is in. The arrangement works very well, she doesn't bark at all when kennelled (useless as a guard dog!) However, I work shifts so two walks a day are the minimum, of at least an hour each. I think they just learn to respond to routine and fit in.

 

They do need a lot of exercise for such a small dog, otherwise there is boredom related problems (chewing, boredom barking etc) which develop. On the working front, they are slow to start, some show no interest until 2+ years. Ours shows no interest in going to ground (although to be fair it's the wife's dog so I do nothing to encourage it, I have enough friends with earth dogs should I need one) but is very keen on rats, stoats rabbits and squirrels etc. I find them to be a bit "dopey" and slow to learn at times, almost like a small hound. However, they are not all necessarily the same (I'm no Barbara Woodhouse!) but you just have to allow for things happening a bit slower than with say, a fell terrier. It has the best nose of any terrier I have owned.

 

I would say that if you can give it a couple of hours of hard exercise a day, you could well be ok. I wish I had got 2 really, to keep each other company, but I know that ours sleeps all day when we are out, so no problems.

 

Hope this helps mate.

[vole]

Thankyou for all help and as I suspected,but hoped otherwise,We,d better wait.My Mrs would be around more than me and with her bad back (needs an op) it would be difficult to keep him properly excercised.Will wait until I work less or my wife might have to stop work totally so will re assess.Thanks again!!

[mr_colt]

If you can ensure your neighbour would be able to fill the time when you both are absent 3 days a week, one every week for however long is needed till your schedules change the it might be possible. Its no different from childcare really; the neighbour would end up taking on an extensive role in it's upbringing. This can be a problem if things go sour.

 

On the plus side: In my experience they are easy to house-train, are quick learners and can grasp quite "complicated" rules. For example my Mothers would never go upstairs as they had trained it not to. The dog would put its paws on the first step and never go any further. Yet he understands without problem that he can go up the stairs in my home once given the go-ahead (My entire home barring my front door is on the first floor.) Also it was easy to teach him to look for cars himself and know when it is clear to cross. Obviously he won't cross till we say "cross" and walk across with him on a lead. It is reassuring that if he ended up on a street alone; he would have enough sense not to be run over.

 

You can even put a treat on each of his front paws when he is sitting; he wont touch them until you say and will only eat the treat on the paw you tell him to.

 

mr_colt.