OUR PHILOSOPHY: At Glen Highland Farm, we have absolutely wonderful, sweet dogs coming into rescue. That's why we called it "Sweet Border Collie Rescue"!.  On the whole, most of them are one to three years old and are just mismatched with the wrong home.  They are generally misunderstood and penalized for their natural Border Collie instincts so once in the appropriate home, they flourish.
	We believe there are no bad dogs, only bad situations that cause behavior issues.   While not every issue can be transformed, we do feel that with love, patience, positive training and alternative resources such as energy balancing, acupuncture, T-touch, holistic remedies, clicker training and animal communication, most dog's problems 'heal' and change.  Adopters are asked to continue whatever practice has been put into play in order to help a dog.  We feel that Border Collies and Border Collie mixes possess an incredible intelligence that creates an unparalleled companion experience.
Bred to cover unlimited miles, independently attending to sheep, working to solve problems, they are loyal and intuitively connected to what a person needs from them.  They are eager and  ready to work.  While we are not all shepherds on a farm, it's important to recognize the innate qualities of this breed.  They are not simple, low-key dogs.  They love and need mental, physical and emotional stimulation and need to be truly included in your life.

A DOG'S LIFE AT GLEN HIGHLAND FARM:

Thousands of Border Collies have found new homes thru the help of GHF,  with the majority being under the age of one year. An average of 35 dogs are in residence at any given time at the farm and an additional 10 in foster homes. Most come to us from the Northeast and some from out of state.  All dogs available through Sweet Border Collie Rescue at Glen Highland Farm reside onsite for at least two weeks, some for one month or more, depending on their needs.

Their daily life is full of play with other border collies as they circulate among play groups.  They are thoroughly socialized here.  Occasionally, a border collie will not mix well with other dogs so is separated and then adopted into a home without another dog.

A dog's environment here is full of toys, swimming tubs (which they LOVE) and they run on acres of farm countryside.  There are 175 acres here at the farm with about 20 acres devoted to open play areas for the rescue dogs

At night, they each sleep inside the barn on cozy, fleece beds and enjoy their own meaty knuckle bone treat!  If they particularly like another dog, they will often pair up at night, happiest with another companion.

Each dog receives introductory obedience work: sit, stay, come and many are introduced to clicker training which is rapidly accepted by border collies since it stimulates their mind.  When possible, they each receive leash training, practice traveling in the car and are cat tested to insure they can join a cat household.  Some dogs have specific fears so they undergo a program tailored to help them.  For example, many border collies coming into rescue have a fear of men, loud noises and loud voices so they often cower or hesitate when meeting new people.  These behaviors are transformed as both John and Lillie (the founders) work as a team to help them experience a safe, loving relationship with people.

At Glen Highland Farm, each and every dog receives high quality veterinary care and are fully healthy upon adoption.  Each dog is given rabies, distemper, a heartworm test, frontline for fleas and ticks, heartworm preventative, worming medication and are altered prior to adoption.  Any special cases of heartworm disease, lyme disease or other illnesses are treated before release.  All the dogs eat a quality dry food mixed with whole canned chicken.

Since many come with some health neglect, we feed the dogs one of the highest quality dog foods available and our favorite for our family dogs. We also use Nupro which is highly recommended as a vitamin supplement for joint support which is especially good in active dogs like Border Collie and especially good for older dogs.  Both are more costly but we feel important for certain older dogs or those needing a health boost.   Additionally, there are foster homes throughout the Northeast working with Glen Highland Farm.  Various dogs are integrated into these home environments, residing there for two weeks to one month or more.  Loving foster families care for these dogs until placed.  **If you're interested in fostering, please contact us.  We are always in need of loving homes to help save dogs.    TOP OF PAGE

Update - January 2002

And, even more exciting for the dogs...some of them get to enjoy their own furniture while residing with us.  Those that are completely trustworthy (housetrained & non-chewers), get their own chairs and/or sofas!