How Much Exercise Does A Border Collie Need

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Baby performing tricks in Austin, Texas

Finding out how much exercise a border collie needs can be a difficult task. It is recommended a minimum of 60 minutes per day but keep in mind that each border collie is different from one another and they will all have different needs and exercise limits.

My border collie gets lots and lots of exercise, yet somehow it still never seems to be enough for her. Honestly, I wish I had that kind of energy myself! She will walk the trail and then run at the dog park for 3-4 hours total out of a day and still want to play fetch at home. 

When we picked out our border collie, there were several others and we had a friend that wanted one as well. Our friend adopted one of her brothers. What’s interesting is, they are both from the same litter, but have completely different exercise needs. While our dog’s brother is still energetic, he definitely likes to lay around more.  He us perfectly content, for the most part, with a short daily walk. 

So, in all honesty you have to find out what your individual border collie’s exercise needs are. Most that I have ever met are full of energy though. Keep this in mind, because the amount of energy my girl has does not seem to be wearing down, and she’s nearly 4 years old.

How To Entertain A Border Collie Puppy

A border collie acts like a puppy well into their third or fourth year, so keeping them entertained is a constant job. Entertaining a border collie puppy can be a lot of fun! Everything is new to them and they are at a prime age to learn behaviors, good or bad. If a border collie puppy gets bored it may start exhibiting those bad behaviors so here’s some advice on keeping them entertained.

Play Hide & Seek

Try playing hide and seek with your new border collie puppy. Show them a toy and hide it while they watch. Have them retrieve the toy and give them lots of praise. Continue the game by increasingly making the hiding spots tougher each round. Hide and seek is a great way to physically and mentally stimulate your puppy.

Training border collie puppy

Have Your Border Collie Jump

Talk about cuteness overload! Baby border collie puppy paws hopping up and down are not just absolutely adorable but it’s also a terrific way to build muscle and release energy.

Take A Bunch Of Short Walks

When a border collie is a puppy it’s hard to tell exactly how much energy they are going to have. You certainly don’t want to over-tire your new pup so keep it simple. Take multiple small walks throughout the day to judge how much your border collie puppy can handle. This is also a great time to start teaching your pup how to properly walk on a leash.

Training Time For Your Border Collie Puppy

Training your border collie as a puppy is extremely essential in how their mannerisms will develop as an older dog. Take time every day to train your puppy different commands. Some great starter ideas are sit, shake, lay down, and stay. It’s certainly easier said than done but very important to stay on top of training when your dog is young. Training your puppy early will help when it comes to exercise time once they get a little bigger.

Border Collie Exercise

Border collies rely on their owners for exercise. They can be good at self-entertainment but it’s not enough exercise for a border collie. Exercise can come in many different ways. Usually my girl doesn’t care how I exercise her just as long as she’s getting enough every day. As I mentioned before, 60 minutes is the minimum daily recommendation. 

Border collies are a very active breed and they require a lot of attention. I wouldn’t change that unique characteristic about them but it’s certainly something to keep in mind before choosing this type of pet.

Border Collie Walks

Walking border collie
Daily steps and miles walked per day

Walking your border collie is extremely important when it comes to daily exercise. As you can see above, we are all over the place when it comes to walking ours. Some days we have time for really long walks, other days we’re a bit short on time. One thing is certain, our dog doesn’t have enough exercise if we walk less than 4 miles or an hour.

Take Your Border Collie Running

Take your border collie for a run if you know you don’t have enough time to walk them during the day. These are bred to be working dogs and love to have a job to do. 

When I run mine, I wholeheartedly believe she thinks dragging me down the trail is her job at that point in time. No complaints though because it pushes me to run harder and faster just to keep up with her leash pulls.

Becky and Baby hiking

Take Your Border Collie Swimming

When we first got out border collie she was terrified of the water. We tried and tried but she just didn’t want to go in. Once she fell in love with her tennis ball and playing fetch it didn’t take long after that. We threw the ball in and told her to go fetch it. Sure enough, she was on the go and ready to try again.

Now every time we take her swimming in a lake or to the ocean, we have to make her come out. She would swim all day if we let her. Of course, I have to play mean guy sometimes and make her take a break so she doesn’t get too exhausted.

swimming border collie

 

Try taking your border collie swimming and give yourself a break from all the daily exercise. Our’s is so smart she will even surf waves in the ocean just to make sure she gets her tennis ball. It’s truly an adorable site to see. Usually we have people stop and ask how we get her to surf. It’s a short and simple answer. We don’t make her, it’s just in her nature to learn things quickly.

Dog Parks

If you’re like me and have an amazing border collie in a city, you can’t just let the dog loose to go herd sheep or work the farm all day. So, we look for other options to make sure our family pet is getting plenty of stimulation indoor and outdoors.

In Austin, Texas we have several terrific dog parks to choose from, including many apartment complexes providing one in their outdoor layout design. My favorite place to take my dog in town is Auditorium Shores Park. Not only because it is super close to my house and usually on my daily walking trail, but because there is an off-leash area. 

Collies have a lot of energy they are ready to release so I try to stop at this park at least five times a week. We typically incorporate the dog park into our daily walk routine. We will stop for a 15 minute play session and then keep moving. Dog parks are also a great way to socialize your pup with other dogs. Although, my dog doesn’t want anything to do with the others present if her toys are out for fetching.

How To Occupy A Border Collie

Start A Daily Schedule

Setting a schedule for exercise is beneficial for you and your dog. A daily schedule lets your pup know that at specific times of day, they will have their time to play. It also allows you some peace of mind because it tends to make your dog stay calm in anticipation of their walk, run or park time!

Toys To Occupy Border Collie

It certainly comes at no surprise that collies are highly active dogs. They require a lot of exercise and plenty of stimulation as well. Pick out some toys to self-entertain your pup. It’ll probably take a few attempts to figure out exactly what your dog prefers. Like I mentioned before, each border collie has their own personality. Explore your dog’s identity with several different options.

My girl loves squeaky toys that she can chomp on and throw around. Her favorites are a long snake (snakey) and a lengthy pig (oinky). She takes them and swings them around the house or rolls on them while squeaking it. These toys occupy her while I’m working or in between walks and exercise time.

Ways To Mentally Stimulate A Border Collie

Name Border Collie Toys

Name their toys and have them find it. I started this game fairly early with my girl when she was a puppy, and it’s something we do on a daily basis. I thought of this trick after reading about the border collie, Chaser

Naming toys to stimulate your dog can be a simple way to keep their minds active. I started with just one toy, a tennis ball, and praised my girl every time she would go fetch “tennis ball”. Gradually each week I would buy or bring out a new toy and immediately give it a name. Find out more about how to name puppy toys here.

Teach Your Border Collie Tricks For Treats

I love this game and I am fairly certain my girl does as well. Teaching your dog to do a trick in order to receive their treat can be quite entertaining. Now, collies are such great pets that they rarely need to do more in order to deserve a treat. Although, I will say that remembering tricks is a great way to encourage mental stimulation in your pet.

Baby, my border collie, loves to high five and shake. She will also do this amusing “dancing girl” routine for a trick. She spins in circles to demonstrate her well known trick several times before being rewarded with a tasty Beggin’ Strip or carrot.

When we’re on the road, our girl gets a happy meal if she’s extra well behaved. But to be completely honest; she gets a plain hamburger on all long-distance drives. Our backseat border collie certainly deserves it.

Road Trip Happy Meal

Make An Obstacle Course

Obstacle courses are incorporated into a lot of our daily border collie activities. We practice both indoor and outdoor.

Every day while out walking my husband, Eric, is typically in charge of creating obstacle fun for Baby. Her personal favorite is up/down (jumping) on park benches, short cement walls, and picnic tables. She’s always ready to please by following the guidelines Eric sets for her. He will tell her when to jump up and when she can jump back down. 

Another fun obstacle is practiced outdoors. While out walking Eric and I both make sure to tell our girl which direction to head at any crossings. We say commands such as “turn left” or “go right” and we praise her each time she gets it right. She’s still learning but most of the time she goes the correct direction. Collies sure are smart animals!

Our favorite indoor obstacle is teaching Baby to get ready. We first start by getting a favorite toy, it’s usually her frisbee (aka floppy), then we tell her to “get up on the couch and get ready”. She will intently wait and be in position until you throw it. At this point, she catches the floppy like a pro and throws it down for another round. This routine will keep our girl mentally stimulated for hours if we allow it.

Take Border Collie Shopping

Baby shopping for new treats and toys

Find stores like Academy, Home Depot, and Petsmart that allow you to bring in your dog. If your pup is well behaved around other dogs and people, then take them shopping with you. Of course, they should also be potty broken and behave well on a leash.

Shopping is a great mental stimulation for collies. It opens their sensors up for exploring. There’s new smells, a new environment, and typically a lot going on. 

You can make shopping fun with your dog by rewarding it with a treat or new toy that they get to pick out themselves!

Tips For A Very Active Border Collie

Sunshine watching in San Diego, California

Keep A Tennis Ball Handy

I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have been so happy that I tucked a tennis ball in a drink holder or a pocket of our walking backpack. I also keep an extra or two in the trunk.

Be Sure To Find Shade

Finding shade is extremely important when it comes to collies. They have lots of fur year-round so even if it feels nice outside in the sun to you, it's likely still very warm for your dog.

Tag And Microchip Your Border Collie

Collies are constantly on the move. Make sure they don't go chasing after a squirrel without properly having them tagged. Take them to get a microchip and a put your contact information on your dog's collar or vest.

Give Border Collie Lots Of Water

If I didn't force my girl to stop for water breaks, then she would go on playing for hours. I would hate to see her overheat so be sure to keep lots of water with you and make your pup take breaks from play time.

So, How Much Exercise Does A Border Collie Need?

collies need lots and lots of exercise. Not only do they need physical stimulation but mental exercise as well. A border collie instinctively thinks it has a job to do. Now what you train your dog to do is up to you. Maybe they think their job is to round up all their toys until you throw them 100 times. Perhaps their job is to walk and sniff for 2 hours a day. No matter what the job is, a border collie lives to please their owner with a job well done. So, if you teach them a task remember that it will continue it’s orders for a lifetime.

Bad habits can form if your puppy is not getting enough exercise. So before you go getting upset if your dog does something bad. Remember that it may be because of another issue all together. Rarely do I see a destructive dog just because it’s ornery. I cannot stress enough how important it is to make sure you take care of your pet family member as much as any other member of the pack.

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