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You probably know something about Border Collies. They star in movies. They are in all the TV commercials these days. They are considered the most intelligent dog breed in the world. They run rings around other breeds in competitions. And they are the cutest puppies in the universe.
Unfortunately, this newfound popularity has meant a huge number of border collies winding up in homes where they don't belong, and a disproportionately large number of savable dogs being destroyed. That's why we created this entity: we know and love border collies, train them, show them, live with them. We see good dogs being euthanized just for being border collies. So we do what we can to help, and that's quite a bit - but never enough.
Borders Without Doctors is a cute name for a group dealing with a very serious problem. Good dogs going to their deaths, or living in hellish conditions in situations a border collie should never be placed in.
Much of what we say here is also applicable to other herding breeds, and we help them as we can as well.
A few facts... border collies have been exquisitely bred to herd sheep and learn complex behaviors. Recently, the world of cognition studies was stunned when a border collie was discovered to have a working vocabulary of hundreds of words, and to learn new ones about as fast as a human would. (Trust us, this is impressive - we've done language work with dolphins). But part of being the perfect sheep-herding dog is territoriality. Is being preternaturally intense in concentration. Is needing to be always 'at work' doing something. Is 'nipping and chasing'. It is 'high energy'. When they chase cars, they do it from the front and nearly always catch them - with bad results. In short, they're a lot of dog, and quite possibly more dog than you can handle. If you haven't gotten one yet, WAIT and speak to a professional before you screw up a wonderful animal.
On the other hand, by virtue of reading this, you may ALREADY have a crazed border collie tearing up your home and life.
We may be able to help, but it takes a lot of time, and it isn't free, not to us, not to you, not to the recipient. In fact, since we've already spent our spare money rescuing dogs and other creatures, Borders Without Doctors is designed to be supported by grants from well-off dog lovers. If we have grants in, we can offer our services without charge. As of this writing, we have none. This means that all costs must be borne by the person who owns the dog and the recipient. There IS NO set fee, but a typical placement runs about $2000 in total cost, most of this in training the dog to the point where it doesn't have to be destroyed. It can be higher or lower than this depending on severity, and on how much the person receiving the dog is willing to kick in.
Of course, the Humane Society will put down your dog for free, and in some cases it is necessary; we support them for this often thankless work. Adult dogs with severe behavioral problems seldom get placed, so don't fool yourself about that. This service is for people who don't want to see their dogs killed - and for other people generous enough to work with a dog we are training out of antisocial, neurotic, or destructive behaviors.
The Good News is that even the worst of 'problem' border collies can usually be saved. Susie White, Head Trainer of Puppy Excorcist, owns two border collies and one of them, Bing, was on his way to be euthanized; a dog that screamed at the top of his lungs, was fearful, had a reputation as a cat killer, destroyed the houses of his two prior owners, and a long list of neuroses from a terrible and lonely puppyhood. He is now an award-winning dog who is used to show off the breed at the annual "Pet Expo", highly trained in obedience, the fastest dog in the island (some days) on agility equipment, and admired by the island's top trainers. His most destructive behaviors were controlled within the first day. This is a dog who was headed to the gas chamber, and who is now delightful and winning awards. You may want to meet him.
All our services are done professionally by contract. We are professionals and we only work with people who can themselves work professionally. We offer no guarantees, but historically have had a 100% success rate in rehabilitating and placing dogs we accept for the program.
