So you think you want a Border Collie? Before you write the check and load the new dog in the car, you need to do some homework.  An excellent summary of Borders can be found at http://www.rescueeverydog.org/collie_breed.html.    

To bring a Border Collie into your house is to bring a hyperactive, OCD addition into your home.  They will suck up every available moment and demand more.  I saw an adoption flyer which described the dog  as a "love sponge."  Well stated.  They are very good at algebra.  Each person has two hands, the number of people times two is the number of hands which should be petting the Border Collie.  They can figure out quickly who is not delivering the requisite number of strokes.

Border Collies require daily activity no matter how your day went.  Unlike many dogs, you are put on earth to be the source of amusement for your Border Collie.  If you wish to come home and collapse with a dog sleeping quietly at your feet, a Border Collie is not for you.  On the other hand, if you need to lose weight or get into shape, if you need a running companion, if you have time in your schedule for flyball, agility or herding trials, or if having a dog is like having a hand on the end of your arm, you might be a candidate for the right Border Collie.

They are eager to please, easy to train and incredibly intuitive, HOWEVER, they are extremely sensitive.  They do not like chaos or emotional turmoil and something as simple as rearranging the furniture can upset their world for weeks.  If you are a person who tends to get loud or shout as a part of your training, you will definitely want to turn training over to someone else.  NO MATTER WHAT YOUR DOG HAS DONE NEVER HIT A BORDER COLLIE!!!  It is incredibly easy to cross the line when training and upset a Border Collie to the point that they will be unwilling to continue working.  They will pout for a week at a time if something goes wrong and they grieve palpably when they lose something or someone they have become attached to.  

One other thing to keep in mind when you get your new dog, you may be the one who selects the dog and pays the bills.  You may be the one who picks up after the dog, feeds and does all of the work.  That will not prevent "your" new dog from selecting someone else in your family as their primary "shepherd" and your best efforts will not interrupt that attachment. Our last two dogs have been "my" dogs.  Although I am the one who picked up Danica and I am her trainer, she is my husband's dog.  Now I have a really big challenge, I need to train him!!!!  Too bad he's not a Border Collie.