They ought to be looking for a pet that enjoys sitting around in small spaces watching the world go by. A cat maybe, a non neurotic lap dog, if they exist? goldfish. The very last thing they should be looking for is an animal that lives to round things up. A honest breeder would turn them down.
This is how I feel, as well. I once had a 150 lb dog, an 80 lb dog and a 25 lb dog who all lived in the living room of my house (the two larger dogs were young, so they didn’t have the run of the house). The arrangement went just fine, because no one expected them to get their exercise in the house and we had the time and energy to take them on long walks.
It is so very much this.
Plus knowing that there will be one very unhappy pup involved. 
And also that I have tried to say what I can, but there is a point where you can’t just be rude and say: “you stupid idiots, don’t do this, it’s cruel!” But hey, we’ll see. Maybe I’m wrong… Fingers crossed.
But now it’s all about the poor border collie of the future, when I intended the thread to be a broader discussion about the living conditions of dogs, and what they need in your opinion and experience 
I got some good perspectives. Anyone else want to weigh in with what worked or didn’t work in their experience?
Recommended reading on the topic.
Ha! That’s brilliant! I love this bit:
[QUOTE=From Pillar to Post]
When I first got him I called him Gilbert, the name I still introduce him by. The only word he will always answer to, however, is Food, so I generally call him that.
[/QUOTE]
My dog answers faithfully to the name “Biscuit”, though we definitely settled on Jana all those years ago. She also comes to the exclamation “oops”, as it usually means something has been dropped on the floor 
Incidentally, perhaps great danes are a breed that suits smalles spaces and city living? Aren’t they a fairly calm large breed? I may be very wrong…
The breeder is a moron and a border collie puppy is one of the worst possible choices for a small apartment. Not only does a border collie need space to run, but they need plenty of stimulation/work. I hope your neighbours aren’t too attached to their shoes, furniture, curtains, drywall, cupboards, etc., since the bored dog will probably destroy everything.
The only thing I can think of that you can do to help is to start looking for a farm that might take the dog after they give up on it.
This “breeder” (dog abuser) sounds so bad, I would lay decent money on this puppy having issues beyond just the fact that’s its an incredibly poor fit for their home. It sounds like you are in an apartment; if you guys have a landlord I would speak with that person about this situation. This dog is going to utterly destroy the property, and probably drive you as a neighbor nuts. I would do everything I could to keep these people from buying this dog, even if it damaged my relationship with my neighbors. If they get this dog, it will be damaged anyway.
They own the flat, or I would talk to the landlord. There is nothing I can say now, the pup has already been bought, and they know how I feel.
I like Implicit’s suggestion though, to start looking for a solution already. I know some very lovely outdoorsy people who live on a big piece of land… might just ask… Their gorgeous old Friese stabij (the name means “stand by me”, how’s that for a dog breed!) died a few months ago…
Bad news, I would hope the breeder would check out the circumstances of any home he/she was adopting out to - I know we did when I worked at a shelter.
Sort of off topic - I have friends who have 2 vizsulas. She is a stay-at-home mom so she takes these dogs on an hour-and-a-half hike almost every day, even during the Winter (not so much when it’s actually snowing or raining). The dogs are the most well behaved dogs I have ever encountered - no doubt due to their training and regular exercise routine.
A puppy farm farming out a highly intelligent, farm-working pup to a pair of lazy imbeciles is layered in irony.
I find it is really distressing that an inherently smart dog begins, and ends, with incredibly stupid and ignorant people .
brainstall is absolutely right; and this being a rescue dog in the making, Implicit’s suggestion is a very practical (if hopeful) one.
gracer, to hear the rattle of two pea-sized brains, I dare you to offer up the likes of this to your moron neighbours.
Honestly, I’d punch these people in the face.
As long as a dog is having its needs met to a reasonable extent, it doesn’t matter to me if it roams free on an idyllic farm or lives in a studio in the biggest city in the world. Growing up in small town Midwest USA, I’ve known plenty of sad frustrated dogs who got very little time, attention, mental or physical exercise - despite having a large fenced yard, belonging to a large family, and being surrounded by large tracts of land.
I live in a small two-bedroom in Philadelphia. My dog is 70 lbs, 12 years old, and seems to enjoy life sniffing the city on his daily walks and having an occasional jaunt to the park, just fine. At his age it doesn’t take much to tire him out. When he (and my former dogs) were younger, I took a lot more time to exercise them, and fortunately lived near walking distance of woods at the time. I won’t be getting a young dog with high requirements for stimulation unless I have a partner n raising him, and access to a car to drive to fun places in, since I intend to rent small places in Center City for the foreseeable future.
Sounds like the OPs lab has a great life. And I don’t understand anyone getting a Border Collie unless they intend for it to be a part time job, myself.
I boggled at that too. I mean, sure, I realize the first world has become rife with couch potatoes, but if you can’t handle a 15 minute walk, get a cat! And perhaps a gym membership.
FFS, if you live in a city, learn to walk. Even if you have a car, and especially if you don’t. You’ll spend less time walking those short distances than you would looking for parking.
Great Danes are the world’s biggest lap dogs, and like to loaf around.
Me too. Idiotic self centered cretins with no idea about the responsibility of dog ownership.
I’m not a fan of government interference in people’s lives but on this particular subject I’d wholeheartedly support a licensing system for dog owners, complete with severe penalties for the sort of morons who think that it’s OK to take on a dog that’s bred to work and leave it stuck in a small apartment all day long.
I hope their home gets trashed beyond repair and the poor dog finds a decent home shortly afterwards.
+10,000. This is the first time in over 30 years I have been without a dog. After my divorce, I left my beautiful 35-acres and moved into an apartment in town. The black lab stayed with my ex on the farm because it was the right thing for her (and him). She would be miserable inside all day while I was at work. Broke my heart but you do what you have to do. I desperately want another dog but, until I retire and can take one for long walks or trips to the dog park, I will have to get one like FairyChatMom recommends.
You know your own business, and I am NOT trying to talk you out of being responsible, but if you want a dog and miss one a lot, you can work with rescues to find a dog that would fit your life. An senior lap dog would probably be perfect, and senior dogs often have a hard time finding a home (which is crazy, because they are usually a much better fit than a puppy).
Thanks. For all the joy she brings me she deserves the best life a dog can have. When she was 7 weeks old I rolled a tennis ball away from her, and she retrieved it perfectly. I never once told her what to do, retrieving is just what she does. And that’s why I know what a dog bred for working needs.
She would’ve been a great gun dog, had she not been gun shy. But I know that to keep her happy she needs a long walk every day, and she needs to retrieve. Now, as an old lady, she’s ok with a few little runs after a tennis ball (and mean-mr-vet said not too much!). But when she was young I would take her out and work her for hours with dummies, whistles, hand signals, everything. And that’s what made her happiest.
And that’s what makes me sad, to know that this pup won’t get to do what we, humans, bred it to do. We make them want something so much, and then we make them live a different life. It’s not fair.
I know how you feel It’s for the best, you did the right thing.
Right. It’s settled then.
codgerone and I punch these morons in the face, and gracer,you grab the pup.
Any idea how these morons decided upon border collie as their desired breed?
Don’t get me wrong - I find BCs incredibly impressive beasts. But I’m also regularly intimidated by the amount of stimulation they require. Similar for many sled breeds, austrailian shephards, and some other very active breeds. I’ve known owners of such breeds who lived in suburban homes, took their dogs for long walks and even runs, as well as regular sessions flinging balls at the dog park, and the dogs STILL act as tho they could use more exercise/stimulation.
Hell, I’ve got a golden, and on days I work I make sure I give him a good run before I head off to work, and as soon as I return 9 hours later. And - fortunately - one of my favorite pastimes is taking long walks, incuding at places where he can walk/run/swim off leash.
There are plenty of breeds big and smal that would do fine in an apartment with working owners, but border collie surely is not among them.
Actually, yes. Ours sleep on the couch most of the day, preferably on or next to or draped over a human, until it’s time to go upstairs and sleep on the beds. (She sleeps on the dog bed until about 2:00 am, at which point she sneaks up between us. He sleeps draped over my legs unless it gets cold, at which point I wake up with 140 pounds of dog stretched out next to me, under the covers.)
Other than startling the hell out of people in elevators (which I’ve done), Danes would probably make very good city dogs.
ETA: “Narcoleptic Dane” is redundant.
Deal. This way I get all the belly rubbing & puppy smell before dropping him off at with my friends at the farm, ha!
Like I said, she had one as a kid. That was out in the countryside in Lithuania, I think. The thing is of course, that you have all the good memories of your childhood pet, without realising that he spent half his day working in the fields because you were a kid.
And then of course the breeder and some other mysterious source of misinformation (quite possibly teh interwebz) tell them they are great pets for a small flat. The fact that Ms Gracer Upstairs says otherwise doesn’t count for much…