Collie Brains

[Stabs 3]

I don't think I'll read a better post than that in a good while

[weasle 1,119]

Phil loyd always like your posts they always make sense,although i dont always know what they mean

Get that one though

[bird 9,870]

I don't think I'll read a better post than that in a good while

yeh spot on P/L , suppose most lurcherxs can do what you ask them. And regards bullxs they got enough brain deff, I had 1/4 bull 3/4 grey Bruce black dog ive put pics of him before, he was clever good on rabbits all brought back live, do foxes, I even used him for doging in for a old keeper lol, very good lurcher. Another good dog saw years ago was colliex grey x saluki grey big 27in dog he took everything you put him on .I suppose its what the dog going to used for most,? if just ferreting +mooching,bit of lamping a lurcher with good lump of collie in the mix prob take some beating but if other quarry there better xs out there , the lurher to lurcher bred dogs seem to do very well from what you here .

[sandymere 8,263]

To my mind I recon collies are intelligent but much as some people can be very intelligent it doesn't mean they have common sense. At the end of the day in the real world intellect needs to be utilised. I've stood and watched a few bright sparks, impressed me with their intellectual intelligence but would fall over their own feet if they tried to walk whilst carrying a cup of coffee. In the same vein seen plenty of collies bright as feck, perfect in a ring with agility gear, psycho out the rest of the time. Better an old farm collie bright but no intelligentsia, that can learn how to do just what is wanted.

A lurcher needs that common sense intelligence to learn to adapt to working in an ever changing environment and good collies can bring that intelligence in a way that others don't always manage. Best dogs I’ve owned had a splash of collie and both had a knack of anticipation that gave them an edge and only brainst could have brought that trait.

 

Bull crosses I find are bright enough and a lot less likely to the collies "over intelligence" but there not quite collie crosses

[Sirius 1,391]

I sometimes get more concerned about the 'brains' of the owners than the dogs :laugh:

[s.e.s.k.u 1,893]

Lots of good posts..I think personal preference is the main factor. Some folk just like collies. .myself included. Whereas some folk like whippets or beddies etc. .in truth most x will catch rabbits

[Tiercel 6,986]

Haven't read all the thread, but from experience I will say a fast dog with brains will out catch a fast dog without brains. I'll give an example I had two dogs, one collie x greyhound straight cross and one a ACD cur who was no slouch. The collie had brains the ACD did not.

 

The collie would work out for herself how best to tackle a rabbit on the lamp, if the rabbit was sitting on a hedge she would walk up as close as she could before rushing the rabbit and trying to put off. If a rabbit was out in the field and travelling towards the hedge she would go to the hedge and wait for the rabbit to come to her. If a rabbit was running along the hedge she would always position herself between the hedge and the rabbit. None of the above is anything you could teach a dog they just have to work it out for themselves.

 

On the other hand, the ACD cur was quite a bit faster than the collie and although he could get up on a rabbit quickly he never worked out that he could manipulate the rabbit, that if he hung back sometimes it would present a better opportunity later, granted he was a young dog and still had some way to go on the learning process, but as I suspected he would, he never made old bones. Too much prey drive and not enough brains.

 

TC

[pritch 335]

well all collie x's arn't intelligent why do folk think if you cross a collie & a sighthound you

will get the brains from the collie side everytime your just as likely to get the brains from

the G/H side & that goes for everything else,feet, stamina,coat, agility & nose. so if you

have had a collie x that wasn't all you hoped it would be,it could just be as simple as the

collie not passing on the desired traits.not all matings mesh in the desired way,it would be

easy & we would all have great dogs if they did

[dogmad riley 1,343]

,.and it don't matter to me if he is bred from Billy Big Balls,..the Skull Crusher,..or from Shep the fecking Sheepdog

 

Great post from Phil Lloyd like the last sentance ha ha as long as the dogs does what you want it don't matter

[the monkey 338]

I sometimes get more concerned about the 'brains' of the owners than the dogs :laugh:[/

The most sensible sentence ever

[Wales1234 5,490]

My old bull cross bitch had got alot of brain to her and surprised me how much brain she had got ! Boys have seen the bitch go and for a 5/8 3/8 more bull than grey she catches rabbits for fun !! Atm the I dont think I could get the most out of a collie cross as I think they need a different approach which as I said before in a good few years I will be one man and his dog and that will be a collie cur !!

[greenman 221]

I've said about this bitch on the 'Reece's billy' thread. She's a 3/8 5/8 bull out of billy. Comes to work everyday. Don't have to speak she's just 'there'. When I'm on the saw in the woods she just curls up by my quad or the fire if it's cold. She'll walk to heel behind any tractor/loader whatever I'm driving, sits in the cab too if I'm on the road. Used to work with sheep and cattle, pottered around like an old farm collie. If I look round she's there, if I tell her to stay, she's there till I get back. She's caught just about everything there is worth catching. I've never had a collie cross (had a cracking Alsatian grey which died young) but from what I've read on here on paper she would be a collie cur!

[morton 5,368]

The Collie offers an allround package that lends itself to a brighter than average hunting companion when bred into a lurcher,you only have to see a Collie at work to see why no other jukel will ever come close to matching its desirable traits in lurcher production,keen eyed,stamina and drive to burn,sound physical conformation that deals with a strenuous working lifestyle,jacket,then the collie brain,the Einstein of the dog world.Anybody who believes a mutt with a brain cannot utilise its noggin to add to the bag,well?,they are a mutt that will not suit all,they are to bright and difficult to work out for some,the owners who can utilise the desirable Collie traits and work around the not so desirable nuances of the breed,will never own a mutt without an honest Collie infusion.

[weasle 1,119]

The Collie offers an allround package that lends itself to a brighter than average hunting companion when bred into a lurcher,you only have to see a Collie at work to see why no other jukel will ever come close to matching its desirable traits in lurcher production,keen eyed,stamina and drive to burn,sound physical conformation that deals with a strenuous working lifestyle,jacket,then the collie brain,the Einstein of the dog world.Anybody who believes a mutt with a brain cannot utilise its noggin to add to the bag,well?,they are a mutt that will not suit all,they are to bright and difficult to work out for some,the owners who can utilise the desirable Collie traits and work around the not so desirable nuances of the breed,will never own a mutt without an honest Collie infusion.

But that again is assuming that all other dogs bar a collie is just running around hoping to crash into its prey.

As for einstein,Collies run around chasing sheep.

Labs, spaniels gsd,Are used all around the world doing all kinds of work,Not just the work they were bred for

[Tozer 385]

I've said about this bitch on the 'Reece's billy' thread. She's a 3/8 5/8 bull out of billy. Comes to work everyday. Don't have to speak she's just 'there'. When I'm on the saw in the woods she just curls up by my quad or the fire if it's cold. She'll walk to heel behind any tractor/loader whatever I'm driving, sits in the cab too if I'm on the road. Used to work with sheep and cattle, pottered around like an old farm collie. If I look round she's there, if I tell her to stay, she's there till I get back. She's caught just about everything there is worth catching. I've never had a collie cross (had a cracking Alsatian grey which died young) but from what I've read on here on paper she would be a collie cur!

Sounds like the old bitch of mine, had some bull in her somewhere, but she was always just 'there' everywhere I went.