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Sunny will jump up, bark and growl if i am a sleep (if im asleep then he is normally asleep right next to me) and the window cleaner comes!He just doesnt like the window cleaner, he wont go near him and always growls when he is around the house. I would like to think that Sunny would protect me, but in reality i really dont know if he would or not.

Im Sneezy Wafflelips

I would say that a mastiff x collie could work out to be a great pet, if it is given the right amount of excercise and mental stimulation.
I dont know alot about Bullmastiffs, but i do know quite a bit about Border collies. I have to say that i wouldnt go for this cross, imagine a dog the size of a Bullmastiff with the energy, herding instinct and (possibly) nipping trait of a Border collie
All of that aside, if you have experience with difficult dogs, and have Border collie experience you could maybe make it work.Although really it depends on the temperment of the pup, im thinking that it would be: protective, intellegent, strong, full of energy, but it could be a lazy, dim softie

I would go for another Rough......although my auntie alice used to have a stunning cocker.

Lol!

Are you planning on breeding from the Staff or Staff x that you buy? If so make sure that they have a great temperment and low hip scores etc etc etc.......I really wouldnt redomend that you breed a staffi cross or a pure breed staff, but that is just my opinion, rescue centers up and down the UK are full of the poor dogs.

I recomend doing this, its a great way to help out and spend some time with all of the gorgeous dogs out there, its really rewarding too .

Where do i start I would have a lot more border collies, one of them would have to be a blue merle (i have always wanted a blue merle) . Anyways, here is my list:
6 x border collies
2x lurchers (one scruffy and one smooth)
1x Rottie
1 x Bulldog, either English or American.......maybe one of each.....
2x rough collies
1x smooth collie
2 x cross breeds
1x westie
1x white long haired GSD
3x labs (one of each colour)
1x golden retriever
1x Nova Scotia Duck tolling Retriever
1x Sussex Spaniel
1x Newfoundland
I would get as many as possible from rescue centers or breed rescues.
and i have probably forgotten a few too!24 dogs, id be in heaven. Although it would be hard work so id have a few servants to help out 

Happy new year lassie and everyone else here :grin:Hope everyone has a good one.

I agree, they are very intellegent and learn things very easily, alot of people can forget that they learn bad habbits just as quickly as good ones!
Some Border collies make fantastic family pets, but its not uncommon for them to nip at and herd young children and small animals, they may also chase cars. My old BC had a habbit of doing this and it took a lot of time and patientce to train her out of, BCs herd cars, kids and allsorts of other things that they arent supposed to because of their natural herding instinct.They get a buzz out of controlling things and making them move.
My current Border has very little herding instinct, but he dose do some nipping, "eyeing" and "clapping".Because of this and their need for mental and physical exercise, alot of them end up in rescue centers :-(But if you are prepared to give a border collie everything it needs (it sounds like you will ) then they are a very rewarding pet.

Stan, i agree with every thing that you have said, fox hunting is legal, the law is that hunting with dogs has been banned, wether it be fox hunting or any other kind of hunting where the prey is ripped to shreads by a pack of hounds.
I agree that it isnt very nice to think of a fox being ripped up and eaten alive, but you have to remember that the fox only suffers this for seconds, if it is just shot (as the law allows) then it has a big chance of surviving and being severley maimed, making it hard for it to catch prey, meaning that it dies a slow and painful death of starvation and gangreen.
Hunting is a way of life, i would never do it personally, but i dont have a problem with those people who do it responsibley (Keep their hounds and horses well fed and fit etc).
Alot of people have this idea that there are a number of foxes are killed every time that the hunt goes out, but in actual fact they are lucky if they catch anything.
Kerribaby, in reply to what you said about live stock, yes it can be the farmers fault for not putting his/her stock away properly, but not usually.Foxes are extremely cunning, they dig, they jump, they climb and they can squeez through very small tight spaces, if a fox gets into a hen house once then chances are it will get in again, even if its first enterance has been blocked. I am not blaming the fox for killing all of the hens/lambs, it is simply doing what is natural for it. But the farmers do need to make a profit, and the way farming is at the moment even just one lamb or hen is a big loss.In reply to what you said about bringing lambs in every night, it really isnt always in their best intrests. Sheep and lambs dont paricularly enjoy being moved, especially every night and morning being herded from a shed to a field some miles away, they get tired, they go lame and may get injured, and it is to big a journey for young lambs to make. Sorry if there are spelling and grammar mistakes in this and sorry if it doesnt makecomplete sence, im in a bit of a hurry!!!

Agree with whats been said so far, but if you do get a dog at anytime while you have kids around then i HAVE to recomend a staffordshire bull terrier, alot of people think that they shouldnt be around kids but in actual fact they adore kids (ok, every dog is different, but as a rule staffies are good). They are even nicknamed "nanny dogs" and story has it that in dog fighting days staffies would be transported to and from fights with the baby in a pram!Good luck with baby when it comes!

It is disgusting to skin animals alive for any reason, but for vanity!?
I do think that there should be laws against this outrageous treatment of animals, i also think that shops should be made to clearly lable what is faux fur and what is real. I think that the majority of people would not wear fur edged coats etc if they knew that the fur was real, if no one wanted the fur then the demand for ffur would go down, meaning less animals would suffer such a cruel fate.

I love border collies (although there isnt a breed or cross breed of dog i dont love!) The have got to be my overall favourite breed, ever