At FOSTBC we take in dogs that many other rescues won’t take because of their issues. Our team of trainers work hard with these dogs under the guidance of Barbara Sykes (MCFBA MBIPDT) Border Collie specialist and Consultant in Canine Behaviour. Every dog that leaves the care of the Trust has its lifetime of back up from our team.
Border Collies are not ordinary dogs they are a specialised breed, they make excellent companions but they are not pets, they are highly intelligent and they need to have their brains worked, and not over stimulated. They need sensible exercise but they don’t have to have a ten mile run every day. We put the future and welfare of our dogs first and for that reason we have strict conditions when they leave our care.
They are supple and don’t like to have their bodies restricted so no harnesses or haltis, we teach them to walk on a loose lead and expect this training to be kept up to.
Because of their desire to control movement they should be kept on a long line when on moorland and on a lead on farms or where there is a possibility of other animals. Even a well trained dog can set off after something running.
In the past people have let their dogs loose too soon, so two months attached on a lead or long line is now mandatory. Some of our dogs will need to be on long line for a much longer time, if you are not prepared to keep your dog on a long line for at least two months then we won’t have a dog that is right for you.
Collies are a working breed and each colour and coat texture denotes a different character, we do have recommended reading for you to find out more about the breed.
Collies love to be part of a unit, they do not like being left alone for a long time and for that reason we cannot home to people who work full time.
Only dogs that have no lead walking issues and that are calm with other dogs can be homed where exercise will be done with a dog walker.
Dog theft is rife so we can’t home to where they will be left unattended in the garden or where they can go in and out via a dog flap.
While we believe children and dogs benefit from each other, because of issues few of our dogs can be homed where there are children.
It takes at least six weeks for a dog to start to settle and six months before the real dog emerges. We put a lot of time, patience and hard work into our dogs and we expect the same input from anyone offering a home to one of them.
Because of our dedication to each dog that we rehome dogs with issues, that need regular input from our team, cannot be homed a great distance away.