Bob

Male, approximately 7 years old
Black and White
Bob is being fostered in northern Illinois. For more details, CLICK HERE to contact Bob’s foster home.

If you are interested in meeting Bob to see if you are a match, complete an adoption application with WBCR. This must be done before we can consider you to be matched with one of our Border Collies. Click the Adoption link and read the full application instructions.

November 10, 2023

It’s so much fun to leap, corral, and return balls and discs on crisp Fall days. Check out Bob’s video: WBCR Bob loves to fetch.

October 31, 2023

 No surprise…Bob’s enjoying his first snow here.

October 27, 2023

Cheers to Bob, whose steady weight loss and innate love of play have been revealing the energy we expect from bright, healthy border collies! He’s in that wonderful midlife phase of BC life that’s neither frenetic youth nor winding down senior citizenship. 

Bob is always up for running, leaping and catching balls and discs outside.and he now has the stamina to do that a lot. He can focus and maneuver with his own ball or disc in a field of other BCs with theirs because he listens to what I’m saying to whom. The need for meaningful physical exercise is a given for BCs and Bob is in his prime. Vids to come will try to capture his outdoor speed, agility and enthusiasm.

Inside, Bob sticks close and brings toys and bones, inviting his people to engage. If he gets a “no”, he’ll lie down and relax. If a person is home and needs to be separate from him, Bob is cool with that even though he’d prefer to be with you. When no one is home, he’s content to be kenneled in his crate. This is expected BC behavior. We look for and train an off switch, an ability to calm and settle. Because his off switch is reliable, Bob’s normal BC energy has always been easy to manage. He’s an honest dog and if he can’t settle, he may need to go outside to potty. Or, he might be trying to tell us that the cat is in the closet again. 🙂  

He’s embraced this home in ways typical of active, engaged BCs. Outside and in, he appropriately alerts with the other dogs to new or loud noises. He quickly obeys “Quiet” after we’ve checked on the sound. Also, unlike my other BCs, Bob stands silently alert and stares into the night before settling down to business on his turn to go outside on leash before bed. He could be assessing critters that we can’t see- his sight and hearing are excellent. Maybe it’s a protective guard stance. Or, it’s just Bob’s unique bedtime ritual appreciating a moment at the end of each day. What a good dog!

October 3, 2023

Bob has added discs to his list of things he loves! He ran out and caught the very first throw and each one after. This is a thinking dog – I wouldn’t discount him figuring it out without prior experience.

He has also earned being allowed on one couch. He tends to ask first and isn’t pushy if you say “No”. Those times, he just lies down on the floor beside it so he can hang close with you.

LOL, Bob saves his begging for when he brings you an indoor toy to play with him. Even then, he reads people well and complies. He is still hopeful if he gets a half-hearted “Not happenin’, bud”. But, staying in the same room with you, he lies down with the toy as soon as you issue a firm “No”. It’s easy to live with Bob because he balances being both personable and biddable. He’s a great Border Collie!

September 10, 2023

Bob is blooming….not in weight (!!), but in comfortably exploring possibilities:

The cat…Bob stayed clear of her in the beginning and she didn’t invite interaction the way she does with our other dogs. Now, he’s gently reaching out to her and learning what she will and won’t tolerate.

The tennis balls…he’s extended his ball searches to the woods bordering our yard and doesn’t come to call quite as fast as he did when he was staying in sight. This is confidence and expressing an opinion, which we like to see in foster care.

And on first outs in the morning, he now plants himself beside the bucket of tennis balls on the patio before he goes potty- hope springs! It’s hard not to laugh as I order him to go to the yard to do his business.

Speaking of laughter, if we sneeze, Bob bounces up, grabs a toy and brings it to the sneezer, ready to play! I’m sure we’re reinforcing this behavior because we can’t never sneeze and we can’t stop laughing at his response. So silly, so fun! 😀

Here is a video of Bob playing with his toy.

August 27, 2023

Check out these precious pictures of Bob meeting a two year old. The adults made sure the 2 year old was gentle and respected Bob during the introduction.

August 24, 2023

Bob loves to play with toys and prances up, asking you to join in. When we toss bouncy ones, he likes to rear up on his back legs to catch it in the air and return. If I need to attend to something else, he’ll carry the toy to lay down near me, because, above all, he’s a love muffin. 

He’s smart, learning hand signals and seems to think about new commands overnight because he often can follow that command the next day without further practice. He’s done this with walking on leash when he was learning “Over” so that he would stop crossing in front of me. The next day, he knew it and stayed at my side. It still needs practice with distractions, but he understood quickly. He did the same with “back up” which is harder for him because that one comes up inside the house when he’s pausing in a doorway or moving with a swirl of dogs. It seems like he hasn’t been in those situations before because he’s calmly innocent when he’s being the neck of the bottle. And, the first time he had to jump in the back of an SUV, his rear end needed a boost. Yesterday, which was the first time he needed to load up in that SUV again, I was looking around the garage for something he could step up on, when he just sailed up from the floor into the cargo hold all on his own.

Bob has a soft personality and is gentle with people. He can be handled all over his body and has an exceptionally soft mouth. He’s probably carrying weight from too little exercise previous to coming into rescue because he doesn’t beg, gobble or counter-surf for food. Outdoor ball play is his passion- he focuses and rarely misses snagging his own ball even with two other BCs fielding theirs at the same time. It’s been a pleasure to see him gaining stamina and speed. Also, he’s a huge help as the best dog here at finding balls the other dogs missed- he’s made it his job to search and return balls to me after everyone else has stopped play.

He is comfortable/submissive with other dogs. But he doesn’t always read other dogs’ body language, like when he’s BC flopping down too close to another dog. He adjusts, but is surprised when the other dog reacts. I’m guessing that he was an only dog and that people were the center of his world. Bob’s sweet way of offering love and asking for love to be given back fits that possible profile from the past. It’s certainly what he’s bringing to his family here and to the lucky adopters who will be in his future.  

August 17, 2023

Bob’s been in our foster care for 12 days now and what an easy-to-be-with-pleasure he is! He came from a downstate shelter in Illinois who had gotten him from a home relinquishment in June. He’s 7 years old and in good health. He’s working on losing some weight, primarily by lots of ball play, which he adores. His dense, wavey coat has soft curls on his back and down his tail.

Bob is a laid-back boy with love for all and a sweet sense of fun. He blended easily with both his foster home’s Border Collies and its indoor cat who loves all dogs. He clearly knows a lot from living in a home previously- he is unfazed by stairs or washing machine, stand mixer and hair dryer noises. He arrived knowing many basic commands and is quickly learning new routines like sitting and waiting to go through doors and to eat. 

When Bob’s feeling giggly, he brings toys and asks to play. But he is also content to lay down and just hang wherever his family is gathered. He gives love easily and happily basks in love and attention flowing back to him. Bob’s a treasure who will bring fun and loyalty to his forever home!