Can I put a border collie on a long chain or is it cruel???

ste2006

Hi All,

I am thinking of getting a dog and always wanted a border collie, I am now living in a cottage with a bit of land around it so feel i may be able to get one now,

My main problem is that we have a few farmers around with sheep who will shoot the dog if he goes near there farms,

I obviously do not want him to get shot so was considering putting him on a long 20 or 30M chain to let him roam around the house to the gate but not any further,

I will be out during the day, home for lunch and then not home till 6 again.

My GF works odd hours so would be around a lot when im not so i think he should be ok for company.

I do a lot of mountian biking & hiking so would bring him out the weekends and evening doing that.

Any advice on whether i could keep him on a long chain during the day???

Any advice appreciated,

Thanks,

Stephen

CreedonsDogDayc

as long as he has shelter and isnt being annoyed by cats / other dogs / traffic etc it should be fine, just monitor him, and introduce it slowy (5 mins day, one, 10 mins day two etc).
how about buying one of these http://cgi.ebay.ie/Gelert-Dog-Tether...item20aa5401e8 with this http://cgi.ebay.ie/BN-Stake-Spike-DO...#ht_3269wt_939 , quite cheap!

A collie sounds like a good choice for you, they come into shelters a lot too!

liah

Please don't put your dog on a chain unattended. It could choke itself to death, get sores from the chain dragging between its legs, etc., and honestly.. it just strikes me as inhumane.

Consider fencing off your land or adding an electric fence. Otherwise, keep the dog in the house while you're out.

CreedonsDogDayc

oh yeah i meant to mention, attach it to a harness on the dog and make sure theres no obsticles in the way that the rope could get caught on (for instance, walls the dog could jump but the length of the rope hangs the dog on the far side etc.

Also, dont leave the dog for more than a couple of hours, and make sure noone can steal your dog!!

Edit : PLEASE dont use an electronic collar!!!

ste2006

In my opinion keeping a dog locked up in a house all day is in-humane,

To put a collar and 30M chain on him, at least he can run around the place and have a bit of freedom,

Obviously he would also have a nice kennel to walk into out of the weather also

CreedonsDogDayc:
If i am at work how can i ween him on to a chain, When im at home he can come inside with me and sit down, watch TV etc but during the day he might like to roam around outside,

I have been told of a few dogs shot around here because they looked at sheep the wrong way (even a labrador)

CreedonsDogDayc

ste get him used to it while your home, over the weekend or something.

Attach the lead (definately use a harness though because if he wanted, he could weasle his way out of the collar, and if he makes a mad dash, jerking at the neck could injure him), and walk away so he learns that at some stage he can no longer follow you. so go just our of reach, and watch his reaction to being restrained. if he just accepts it come back and give him a treat.

then, walk a full circle of how far the lead reaches a few times, so the dog learns its perimeters.

once he's accepted it and is calm, give him a treat, and go into the house, and play dective!!! Spy on him from a window and watch his reaction. If he is immediately distressed, throw him a toy and give him a few mins. if he doesnt calm down you'll have to go back out to him, but IGNORE HIM!! show him you havent disappeared, but busy yourself (gardening or something) once he does calm down, and begins ignoring you, sneak off again.
When he is ok with it, leave him for a while, then calmly walk over to him, unhook him and bring him in. DONT make a fuss though, bring him into the house, and instruct him to sit, or lie down, or do a trick and then make a fuss and lots of cuddles!!!!

Homefully he wont have a problem with it at all, but if he does, get back to me.

ha-ya-said-what

you can buy garden leads for dogs, they are heavy duty wire with plastic coating & swivel hooks on each end to avoid tangles, one to attach to his harness, the other to the garden weight or the garden fixture you screw into the ground (wouldn't advise them they come out of the ground)

lily4

Aren't collies quite highly strung and need alot of stimulation/ excercise?

Why would you want to chain one of these up all day?

I would say:

a) Fence in your land so the dog can't roam - not an electric fence
or
b) Keep the dog inside when you're out - he'll probably will sleep all day
or
c) Don't get a dog

Please don't get a dog to chain it up all day. I fear you may be posting back here in 6 months time to say you have a collie with behavioural problems.
Perhaps you could consider a smaller dog you could keep inside.

CreedonsDogDayc

lily4 wrote: »

Aren't collies quite highly strung and need alot of stimulation/ excercise?

Why would you want to chain one of these up all day?

I would say:

a) Fence in your land so the dog can't roam - not an electric fence
or
b) Keep the dog inside when you're out - he'll probably will sleep all day
or
c) Don't get a dog

Please don't get a dog to chain it up all day. I fear you may be posting back here in 6 months time to say you have a collie with behavioural problems.
Perhaps you could consider a smaller dog you could keep inside.

I dont think you read the post properly, he said

"i will be out during the day, home for lunch and then not home till 6 again.

My GF works odd hours so would be around a lot when im not so i think he should be ok for company.

I do a lot of mountian biking & hiking so would bring him out the weekends and evening doing that."

Between the OP coming home at lunch, and his girlfriend being around during the day (i assume bringing the dog inside) the dog wont be alone for long.

Also, the dog will be getting lots of exercise with the OP evenings!!

CreedonsDogDayc

ha-ya-said-what wrote: »

you can buy garden leads for dogs, they are heavy duty wire with plastic coating & swivel hooks on each end to avoid tangles, one to attach to his harness, the other to the garden weight or the garden fixture you screw into the ground (wouldn't advise them they come out of the ground)

yup, thats what i posted a link to above, they're very cheap too!!! (on ebay though, i bought my cope and screw in the pet shop and i was robbed;) )

lily4

CreedonsDogDayc wrote: »

I dont think you read the post properly, he said

"i will be out during the day, home for lunch and then not home till 6 again.

My GF works odd hours so would be around a lot when im not so i think he should be ok for company.

I do a lot of mountian biking & hiking so would bring him out the weekends and evening doing that."

Between the OP coming home at lunch, and his girlfriend being around during the day (i assume bringing the dog inside) the dog wont be alone for long.

Also, the dog will be getting lots of exercise with the OP evenings!!

Yes - will gf bring dog in and interact with him. Is OP at work 8 hours a day , say an hour for lunch - dog chained up for 7 hours a day.
OP hasn't said exactly how long dog will be chained up for.

Yes the dog will be exercised but I do not agree with chaining dogs up - can OP not fence in his land ?

OPs original question was should he chain dog up all day. My answer would be no.

ha-ya-said-what

CreedonsDogDayc wrote: »

yup, thats what i posted a link to above, they're very cheap too!!! (on ebay though, i bought my cope and screw in the pet shop and i was robbed;) )

Your links were opening for me but showing no pics, so I said I'd try describe em lol I had a feeling you had posted links to the same lead my mother used to have for her collie for a few hours during the day.

CreedonsDogDayc

lily4 wrote: »

Yes - will gf bring dog in and interact with him. Is OP at work 8 hours a day , say an hour for lunch - dog chained up for 7 hours a day.
OP hasn't said exactly how long dog will be chained up for.

Yes the dog will be exercised but I do not agree with chaining dogs up - can OP not fence in his land ?

OPs original question was should he chain dog up all day. My answer would be no.

Even if the OP is working 8 hours and didnt have the girlfriend, it wouldnt exactly be 7 hours tied up, it would be 3, then some play time, then 4. Quite different in my opinion. But with the information we've been given im under the impression that the girlfriend will be around during the day so further cutting the 3hour and 4hour sessions!

Obviously fencing in the land would be much better, but maybe thats not an option for OP.

Again, OP never said dog would be tied up all day!!

ste2006

Thanks for all the advice, Keep it coming :-)

I so not really want to get a small dog as i want to bring him biking etc with me,

Would he be happier inside or outside during the day???

I don't think i whould leave him inside during the day at all, What does anyone else think???

I have a small fenced off part at the front of my house but i think it would be a little small,

To keep him occupied would toys etc keep him happy???

CreedonsDogDayc

ha-ya-said-what wrote: »

Your links were opening for me but showing no pics, so I said I'd try describe em lol I had a feeling you had posted links to the same lead my mother used to have for her collie for a few hours during the day.

eek, I took the lazy option and copied and pasted the links from where I had posted them before, here it is
http://cgi.ebay.ie/BN-Stake-Spike-DOG-TIE-OUT-CABLE-Garden-Holiday-Outdoor_W0QQitemZ160414694979QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs?var=&hash=item6b1a3aedf0#ht_3269wt_939http://cgi.ebay.ie/BN-Stake-Spike-DOG-TIE-OUT-CABLE-Garden-Holiday-Outdoor_W0QQitemZ160414694979QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs?var=&hash=item6b1a3aedf0#ht_3269wt_939
you can scroll down to select the spike and different length cables!

ste2006

I just paced out my garden, Its about 40M by 20M with a small cottage in the middle,

Some of it is fenced off but just using standard fence posts so i reckon he could jump it if he wanted,

I also am only renting the house so cant start going mad putting up fences

Am i pushing my luck trying to get a Border Collie??? I just really like them :-)

bellapip

RECONSIDER...........


Do you need the dog or does the dog need you??


Why would you bring an animal into your family and tie it up?
You will regret it,. if a dog like a collie is going to be an issue and your really want a dog, go to your local shelter and speak to them. Or talk to breeders, see which dog would be best suited to being with you during the day, or best suited to spending a few hours alone.

Please re-think bringing a dog to your home and then putting it on a chain....

Lorlie

CreedonsDogDayc

ste2006 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, Keep it coming :-)

I so not really want to get a small dog as i want to bring him biking etc with me,

Would he be happier inside or outside during the day???

I don't think i whould leave him inside during the day at all, What does anyone else think???

I have a small fenced off part at the front of my house but i think it would be a little small,

To keep him occupied would toys etc keep him happy???

In an IDEAL world, a dog flap to a fenced off area would be perfect if that was an option?

If your going home lunchtime then inside would probably be the better option but maybe leave her outside on sunny days (with shade).

A collie should be perfect for you, I walk three different collies / collie crosses and even though they can go and go and go, with the dogs I know, once they're regularly exercised, they just sleep the rest of the time!

ha-ya-said-what

ste2006 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, Keep it coming :-)

I so not really want to get a small dog as i want to bring him biking etc with me,

Would he be happier inside or outside during the day???

I don't think i whould leave him inside during the day at all, What does anyone else think???

I have a small fenced off part at the front of my house but i think it would be a little small,

To keep him occupied would toys etc keep him happy???

I had collies from the time I was a toddler up until I was 20 summit, one thing I learned about them they do not like to be housed in all the time caged up... toys errmm they were always no good unless someone was there to play with them. If you head down to a hardware store you'll get some 4-5 foot rolls of wire & some fence posts & make up a basic gate you can have a dog run made in a day, if you want a cheap effective solution.

ste2006

Will the dog just jump a 4 foot fence???

ha-ya-said-what

The posts themselves will come in various lengths, if you can only get the wire in say 4foot high what you do is buy say 8ft post, that way you have extra left on top where you can buy a plain roll of wire & just run it down & around each post & back up almost like your making a basket, but you dont have to have it wire beside wire, you can space each wire strand 2-4 inch apart what ever you prefer & just put the odd staple into the post in places to ensure the wire wont slip down the post & lower the height.

Even through time if your lucky to own a dog that does not eat your garden flowers you can grow creepers up the one or two sides of the run to conceal part of it, saw one person who did it before that way & it looked lovely, wouldn't even know she had a dog run in the garden when you came in her side gate, but she left the front of it clear so she could see the run & the dog from her back windows.

Ohh I forgot, to avoid escape under it you can use wire U's to secure the wire to the ground or tack the wire to fence posts to weight it to the ground, plus they make it easier to mow along the run!

Building site barriers work too but they are like 8 or 10 foot high & huuuuggggeee dunno how you'd make a run out of them but I've seen pics from where people have done it!

Just saw now you said your renting, you can acutally lift the home made runs out of the ground, roll them up & take it with you when you move, just fill in the holes again and that's it.

hipster2009

I have been told of a few dogs shot around here because they looked at sheep the wrong way (even a labrador)[/QUOTE]

You would not make that statement if you had seen the damage that dogs can do to a flock of sheep even if they only scare them it can result in miscarriages.
If you had seen the results of a full attack with sheep walking around with flesh hanging off and and intestines sticking out.

All types of dogs have attacked sheep even "labradors"

If you live in the country and want to get a dog then build a good run with a decent house. No dog ever looks happy on the end of a chain!

andreac

ste2006 wrote: »

Will the dog just jump a 4 foot fence???

Yes, 4 ft is nothing to a dog, it needs to be at least 6 ft. Build a dog run, they can be bought for a couple of hundred euro.

Please do not tie your dog up, it isnt safe and the dog can hang itself by getting caught on something.

I dont even leave a collar on my dog unsupervised as my cousins dog hung itself on the garden fence when it tried to jump it. She came home to find the poor dog hanging dead on the fence.:(

ste2006

Good advice, How long should a dog run be do you think???

ste2006

I assume people have the same opinions of a long dog lead as a chain???

peasant

hipster2009 wrote: »

IIf you live in the country and want to get a dog then build a good run with a decent house. No dog ever looks happy on the end of a chain!

They don't look particularly happy in a cage (aka "run") either.

The best in this situation is a proper fence (chain link, 6ft high and buried at the bottom so the dog can't dig out)

EDIT

just saw this

ste2006 wrote: »

Some of it is fenced off but just using standard fence posts so i reckon he could jump it if he wanted,

I also am only renting the house so cant start going mad putting up fences

Am i pushing my luck trying to get a Border Collie??? I just really like them :-)

as a fence is out of the question, so really is the dog ...especially in sheep country

ste2006

I asked the owner and he said i can fence off the front of it if i like, its about 20M x 3M,

Is this too small to let him roam free in, There is a door direct in to the house from there then also,

hipster2009

peasant wrote: »

They don't look particularly happy in a cage (aka "run") either.

The best in this situation is a proper fence (chain link, 6ft high and buried at the bottom so the dog can't dig out)

Try to be realistic the OP is in a rented house so I doubt the landlord will let him put up a 6ft fence all around.
Plus this would cost a lot more than a RUN which if long enough cannot be compared to a cage!

peasant

ste2006 wrote: »

I asked the owner and he said i can fence off the front of it if i like, its about 20M x 3M,

Is this too small to let him roam free in, There is a door direct in to the house from there then also,

It's better than nothing, larger than any of the so called dog runs and it'll do for throwing a ball etc

Should work out, imo

ste2006

Should a Border Collie have a lot more space than 20 x 3M during the day though???

peasant

ste2006 wrote: »

Should a Border Collie have a lot more space than 20 x 3M during the day though???

Space isn't really the issue, company is ...how long will the dog be alone for again?