I've had 2 Aussies for the last 11 years. One came from working stock. Not sure of the lines of the other, but I'm guessing show lines given he was much more reserved and mellow than the first. Both Aussies are gone now (one was put down last spring after a long and expensive battle with cancer. The other died last fall after some serious infection issues and some heart trouble.) We decided to try a border collie, thinking that having high drive dogs for 11 years would be a good experience base for the ultimate, the zen level of dogs (in my opinion), border collies.:hail:
I agree with what was said earlier in the thread more or less. I feel comfortable enough to make some comments on the australian shepherds, but may get a few things wrong on border collies, so please forgive. Also, this is strickly my opinion and no one else's. now that the disclaimer is out of the way:
Aussies: typically more mellow and laid back than Borders. They can be just as loud and in your face as a Border. Some prefer show lines because they are typically more laid back. Some, such as myself, prefer working lines as sometimes they tend to be smarter. As far as herding styles, they do have a different style of herding and from what I was taught about 10 years ago, they are used in different situations than borders. I don't remember the specifics of what I was taught (from the breeder I got my first Aussie, who breeds and keeps a few dogs for their farm then sells the rest. They also use Border Collies, so she could easily speak on both and showed me some differences.) They are great at agility, searrch and rescue, companion dogs. I even knew a lady that used a few aussies at a daycare (though not recommended.) If brought up properly, they can be great with kids. We had to give our first aussie to my folks when our first girl was born, as the dog had very strong herding instincts and was not good with kids. Our second Aussie was a dream with kids, almost to the point of being over protective of our kids and usually had to be put outside when the kids' friends would come over and play.
Borders: raise the bar a few notches for a border collie. Most say that an Aussie is like a Border Collie on Ridlin. That's a good analogy. We haven't had our Border Collie long enough to make a full assessment, but its easy to see he's more hyper and has a much higher drive and more energy than both of our Aussies did. He was the most mellow pup in the litter too which is scary. Borders are much more impressive to watch herding, with the low approach and the evil stare (which our dog hasn't developed yet
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Both breeds do require a lot of work and attention. When I come home from work, our pup is litteraly bouncing around and come flying out of his crate or from the kitchen (if we pen him up instead of crating him) and will almost knock me over. He's about 20-25 lb, 2 feet long and I'm 5'10" 185lb. After a 20 minute petting session he's good for awhile, good enough for me to turn my 20 month old loose and they will play together nicely. Neither of our Aussies were like that. There was the initial excitement, nothing that extreme. Even though our last Aussie would get worked up to that point occasionally. Our Border Collie loves to snuggle and follows us around continually, something normally considered typical of Aussies (they're called velcro dogs for a reason.) Our Aussies were more affectionate than the Border. Our Aussies were more focused and in tune with me more than the BC is, but he may be too young and we haven't had him long enough to develop anything like that though. When an Aussie gets real excited, they'll wiggle their butt (if the tail is docked), which is funny to watch. Aussies typically are more of a clown than a Border Collie. Borders are usually more focused than ana Aussie. Aussies want to be with you and do what ever you do. Borders want to not only do what you're doing, but improve upon it and take it up a few levels.
Sorry for being long winded, but that's my opinion. It also boils down to the individual dog. Both of our Aussies were total opposites in many ways.