The Ultimate Border Collie

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely worth reading
Review: As a soon-to-be Border Collie owner, this book has proven to be very helpful. Its chapter on puppies and puppy care from the day you bring it to your home is very good. Living in Denmark, you cannot find many books about the Border Collie so I was very pleased to find this one. I am picking up my little puppy in less than 3 weeks and after reading this book, I feel confident that we have made the right choice regarding dog breed and the breeder. I can especially recommend this book if it's the first time you're getting a dog.

Rating:
Summary: The best BC book I've seen so far
Review: Briefly, before I got my first purebred Border Collie I sat down and read through half a dozen "BC" books - and this is the one I actually bought for reference.

This is not one of those all too common dog books which add maybe 20% of breed specific information to an otherwise ho-hum recap of canine generalities and the responsibilities of ownership. This book actually focuses on BCs all the way through, and, partly because BCs are *different*, that focus is essential.

Prospective owners need to realize that although BCs do have considerable intelligence and are more trainable than other breeds, they are also more apt to get into mischief if not properly exercised, supervised and challenged - they get bored, and they can be very troublesome. Too many BCs end up in shelters because their owners didn't realize what ownership would require of *them* (space, time, effort, leadership).

Read this book BEFORE you decide to get that Border Collie!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: Thank goodness for the wise writing and lovely pictures in this book. She does her best to dispell the myth of the 'genius'dog and the other myth of the 'border collies are black and white and stick thin small dogs'.

As an owner of a mostly white border collie, who is sometimes dismayed by people's comments about 'well she must have (insert breed) in her to be white', it is heartening to see pictures of every possible shade and shape of border collie. Border collies are very diverse - that's because the emphasis is (until recently, some may say) on a working dog, not a certain 'look'. It's their quirky minds that make them so different. A few hours with an obsessive fly chaser and you'll understand :-)

She has great sections on puppies, activities for your BC and lots of history and opinion. Some of the information may rub people the wrong way - bc people tend to be opinionated!

Rating:
Summary: Great book on Border Collies, written by a true expert
Review: This author has done an excellent job describing the Border Collie. Whether it's behavior, motivations, breed history, stregths, weaknesses, she demonstrates that she is truly an expert. This is not a generic dog book with Border Collie pictures pasted in, it is an excellent reference that I intend to use for many years to come. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has or is considering purchasing a Border Collie.