I don't even agree with that entirely. The vast majority of dogs were originally bred with a job in mind. In pet homes, and in the World today, many of those dogs get no opportunity to dog the job their drives dictate. However, in pet homes we can utilise those drives in other activities that give an outlet for them so satisfying the needs of the dog and keeping the owner sane

I think the problem is more, especially with breeds like collies, that people think they are so clever they train themselves. They see them at Crufts running around an agility course, dancing with their owners, scoring high points in obedience and think it just happens. It doesn't!

Ive also now sen a few Double merle pups in rescue, purpose bred by farmers to sell to the public.

If an owner cannot control its dogs then it should not be let off the lead. It is my worst nightmare for my dog to be attacked by another dog because my dog is too heavy to pick up to protect her but I would be devastated if she got hurt

Well that type of scum don't deserve the title of farmer, and definitely not a professional farmer

Do the rescue know where the pups are coming from?

Im not sure, i suppose so.

Farmers just making xtra bucks on the side, to subsidise the farm.

Now im training i see lots of farm bred collies, in really unsuitable homes , really upsets me, but mainley i can help!

It is a crying shame that there are so many farm bred collies in unsuitable pet homes Thank goodness there is some help out there - for the people who ask for it of course.

Can I ask, what kind of problems have you seen in working bred collies, and what sort of help do you give them? (I wonder if we should start a new thread for this?)

Just basic stuff, Car chasing, obsessing etc, Help, i just train them, easily fixed!-with basic training

But the problem is that the border collie is still very much a working dog - it's working origins are not in the past and been bred out or diluted over the years. The majority of people who have problems with their collies are the ones who buy a puppy from a farm, bred out of working parents, and then stick it in a town home with no outlet for its drives (and some puppies simply HAVE to work - even sports won't suffice). The dog becomes frustrated, anxious and stressed. It has been bred to work sheep in the countryside, not to have lead walks in the park in busy towns or cities .... just simplifying/generalising ... but you get the idea.

Re: your second paragraph, I agree with that bit too, to an extent. I think the original One Man & His Dog may have unfortunately helped ignite the interest in having border collies as pets (seeing such responsive, well behaved intelligent dogs) but the pet market seems to have exploded over recent years possibly also due to the widespread sports of agility, obedience, HTM etc.

I have a feeling the double merles will probably being bred by puppy farmers rather than farmer farmers iyswim

Sounds too good to be true I wonder if a large part of the problem is that dogs just aren't getting any training and not enough exercise and play/stimulation?