Celebrate Love with us this Mother’s Day as we Catch up with Border Terrier Super-mum, Laura Burns

As we celebrate all things motherhood this Mothering Sunday, we caught up with Border Terrier super-mum, Laura Burns a mum to two human daughters, no less than six Border Terriers, a German Shepherd, and a Border Terrier x Jack Russell Terrier, who all live with Laura and her husband in Mid-Wales.

Those of you who frequent the Border Terrier Facebook pages will know Laura from her fabulous photos she shares of family life and their adventures with her gorgeous pack. And we couldn’t wait to get the insider view.

How did you come to have six border terriers? How did it all start? 

I love having a little pack of dogs – we just seem to keep adding to the collection. Only five are mine, Arlo belongs to my daughter, but she still lives at home. She also holidays with us a couple of times a year so he is with the rest of the gang a lot. 

I have always grown up in a multi-pet household and that continued when I got my own place. The very first dog we got was a Border x Jack Russell called Jake. He was a tiny little runt – the mother had rejected the whole litter and the breeder was struggling to manage them all. He was 17 when we lost him! He was such an amazing dog and my girls grew up with him. I too grew up with a Border Terrier cross, Tinker, and my husband had Border Terriers when he was younger too. 

We have had various other breeds, Jack Russells, German Shepherds and now Borders. 

What do you love about the breed?

What’s not to love? They are all such characters, aren’t they?! I love that they look like little old men, even as pups. They are very adaptable; happy to lounge about but always ready for a good long walk. Also, they are so affectionate yet independent and very clever. 

Would you describe yourself as brave? ☺ 

No, maybe a little crazy, but not brave.

What are their names, from oldest to youngest? 

Roo is the eldest, he is 8. Then Nico, who is 6. Mylo is 2, Yogi is 1 (2 in April) then the two babies Arlo and Gizmo who are now 10 months old.

We also have Clyde a Jack Russell who is 18.5 and Mason, a GSD, who is 12.5. 

Are they related in any way?

The two youngest, Arlo and Gizmo are brothers, but none of the others are related. 

Describe their individual temperaments and personalities, are they social outside of the family? Who is the cheekiest? Who is the quirkiest?

We picked Roo up from near Barnsley on my birthday, he was the best present ever! At home, he’s always been chilled and easy going and is developing a real cheeky streak as he gets older! 

Credit – Laura Burns – Roo

He was such a friendly puppy, and was very keen to learn, so training was easy. Unfortunately, he was attacked by the same dog twice in quick succession, and the second time it happened the person walking the other dog kicked Roo several times to try and break the fight up. I had two German Shepherds at the time and was trying to hold them back. Now he’s become reactive and we have had to manage him very carefully around other dogs, but thankfully he still loves people! 

Nico is the most laid back; nothing phases him at all. When Nico wants a cuddle, you have no choice. He wriggles his way onto you, wraps his legs around your neck and gives you all his love. But when he gets a squeaky ball, he can bounce all over the house jumping on everyone, trying to entice them to chase him! 

Credit – Laura Burns – Nico

When we go out for walks, he never ventures too far, choosing to plod about, occasionally chasing after a crow or a bunny, if he can be bothered. Nico came from near Leicester.

Mylo is a mummies boy. He also is the peacekeeper, keeping order if he thinks there might be trouble. But he is very subtle about it, small changes in posture, little growls which is very effective in settling everyone down. 

Credit – Laura Burns – Mylo

We had a lot of upheaval when he was about 5 months old – my father-in-law lost his home in an arson attack, so he came to live with us, then I got Covid and was very poorly. Even at such a young age, he was amazing, he barely left me. I think that is why we have such a close bond and it’s shaped his character.

He loves everyone, and likes to talk in growls, which some people take as aggression, which, of course, it isn’t. He is the gentlest of all the boys. 

He also takes on the role of meeting and greeting unknown dogs – going on ahead to check them out. He has good social skills and can read other dogs well and will divert them away from Roo if he feels he needs to. 

I believe Mylo came along to heal my heart after losing my GSD very suddenly. He is from near Durham.

Yogi – well, Yogi is by far the cheekiest of the family. He has his own agenda and that, coupled with a high prey drive is the sole reason they all have to wear trackers. 

Credit – Laura Burns – Yogi

Unlike the others, he went to training because he absolutely had too! But unsurprisingly, he didn’t enjoy it, so I have put his (official) training on hold for now. 

I can guarantee that Yogi will always be the last one out of bed, and the first one in it. It is very tiring being that wicked all day long! 

Yogi is also the fussiest eater; he likes to have certain meals and refuses point blank to eat it if it is not up to his standard. He is also the most petite of my lot. 

We travelled all the way up to Lockerbie for Yogi.

Gizmo is my baby. I was in no way looking for another, but I made the mistake of going with my daughter when she picked up her pup, Arlo. Gizmo just made a beeline for me and would not leave me alone. I walked away, went home, told my husband all about him, who just sighed and said to go back for him, so I did! 

Credit – Laura Burns – Gizmo

Gizmo is the piggy! He loves his food so much – breakfast and teatime are his favourite times of the day! He gets so excited that at mealtimes he runs around the house barking, announcing it to the others (and the neighbours). 

I haven’t come across a food he won’t eat yet! Being so food oriented has made training so easy, he will do anything for food. He is also very friendly – he loves people and dogs. Gizmo and Arlo were born in Blackwood, South Wales. 

Arlo is my daughter’s first dog of her own. He joins in with the pack but also has lots of alone time with her. He is much shyer than his brother and is inclined to bark at things he’s unsure of. He is a very sensitive soul and takes everything to heart.

Credit – Laura Burns – Arlo

Unlike any of mine, he is also a licker! Mine will give a kiss, but Arlo will give you a full wash. Arlo was the littlest of the litter and is considerably smaller than his brother. 

He is also probably the most wicked in the house, he loves shredding things! paper, tissues, toys! Like Yogi, he is a picky eater, unless you offer him human food. 

How do you manage any conflict between them and how do you house them?

There is rarely any conflict at all, if anyone gets carried away, I am very quick to stop things with an ‘Oi!’ which usually settles things down. 

I have only had two minor scuffles between the boys in all the time I have had them. Once between Roo and Nico over a stick, but they were back to being friends two minutes later. The second was only a few weeks ago and was caused by a reactive collie lunging and barking at my lot, which triggered Roo to redirect onto Mylo who was trying to block Roo and got in the way. It was over in seconds.

All the dogs live in the house, they are free to go wherever they want. Mylo and Yogi nearly always sleep on our bed. Nico and Gizmo go between our bed and their beds on the floor. Arlo always sleeps in with my daughter and Roo is either in with my daughter, on the sofa, or upside down in his favourite bed in the living room. 

Does your day require a lot of planning?

Day to day living doesn’t really take a lot of planning, we have routine. Get up, feed the dogs, go to work (dogs included) walkies after work, home for tea then settle down for the evening. 

Myself and my husband work together and the dogs come and sit in the office with me, they have toys and chairs to sit on, and a big glass fronted building so they can watch people all day long! Weekends usually revolve around a good walk for the dogs then everything else fits in around that! 

Holidays are the only time we do a lot of planning because we feed raw so we must consider transport and storage, etc. 

What do they eat and is it expensive keeping them all healthy?

I started raw feeding many years ago when my GSD stopped eating. We never looked back after I switched to raw. 

To be honest, it was the difference I saw it made to Jake our Border x JRT . He was 14 when I switched him and he went from struggling to walk to doing zoomies again. I thought he was nearing his time, but after the switch, we had him for three more years!  

I find raw feeding to be fairly cheap. I buy complete minces in frozen blocks and it costs about £5 per day to feed eight dogs – Six BTs, one JRT and one GSD.

Do you groom them yourself?

We do groom them ourselves, hence why you will never see them looking perfect! Roo gets clipped as his coat wasn’t great and he detests being stripped. Mylo will only let me strip him. If anyone else does him, he wriggles and mouths to get them to stop. 

Describe their idea of the perfect walk and how do you keep track of them all? What are your favourite things to do with them?

Their idea of a perfect walk is to go somewhere with lots of cover and trees.

Credit – Laura Burns

They all love to sniff and rummage in the undergrowth, so we do lots of woodland walks with them. They wear trackers, but thankfully they never venture too far unless they find something to chase! 

Roo likes to find treasure on walks. It might be a stick, or a bit of discarded rubbish, which he’ll carry for most of the way. Yogi is the one we watch as he will pick up on a scent and follow it unless we stop him before he gets his nose on it. 

Most of the time they are good, but we keep a close eye on them all. I do lots of random recall on the walks and reward with a treat. I think it keeps them focussed and interested and makes sure returning to me is a positive thing and not only to go on the lead or end the fun! 

My favourite thing is just to be out with them and enjoy them having fun. And of course, I love taking photos of them! They also enjoy going to the beach, digging in the sand, and doing zoomies.

Sometimes, we attract attention from other dog owners on the beach who see a pack and make a beeline for us in the hope that their dogs can join in. I find that assumption tricky to navigate as I prefer solitude!

They all seem so well behaved. What kind of training regime do you have? 

I take them all to puppy classes, and we continue with training as we enjoy it and I think it builds a good bond between us and the dogs. Roo, Nico, and Mylo have all achieved their KC Gold Good Citizen Awards, Yogi has achieved his bronze and Gizmo and Arlo are booked in to do bronze later this year and Gizmo will hopefully do his silver too. 

I don’t do formal enrichment with them, but they often work to get treats, and we do little bursts of training and controlled play throughout the day. I would love to do something like agility with them, but due to work and the area we live in, I just don’t have the time, currently. 

Credit – Laura Burns

None of your boys are neutered. Can you explain why this is?

There is so much scientific evidence that neutering in males causes serious health problems and anxiety and we have experienced this with our previous dogs. So now, none of my boys are neutered and wouldn’t be unless there was a medical reason to do so. It certainly doesn’t affect their temperaments or their ability to get along with each other or other dogs.

Would you ever consider homing a rescue as it’s clear you could offer an incredible life to one?

I have always had my dogs from puppies as I am considered unsuitable by rescues for rehoming because I work and don’t believe in male neutering. 

To be honest, now I have so many of them, that as much as I would love a rescue, I have given up hope of having one. 

Tell us about your fabulous holidays? Where has been your favourite vacation with them and why? Would you consider taking them abroad?

We are very lucky and live in a small town in Mid Wales, so we have lots of lovely walks just a short drive away. But we do love to escape! We have a caravan based in North Devon, so spend a few weeks of the year there. We have a fabulous dog friendly site with woodland walks all around us. They also have some gorgeous dog friendly beaches. At the caravan, we set up the awning and have a dog fence that goes around so the dogs can have freedom to wander about. We always put extra sun loungers out as the dogs won’t give up a seat if it is in the sun. 

Credit – Laura Burns

We have recently fallen in love with Scotland too. We found a wonderful cottage near Dundee and have been there a couple of times now. The owner of the cottage is a BT owner herself. 

As for a favourite holiday, that is tough, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be Scotland last October. The weather was pretty good for October, and we just had beautiful walks and so much fun. The autumn colours around Perthshire are a must see! 

Thankfully, the dogs love travelling, so going long distances is never an issue. They either travel on the back seat in a hammock with a dog guard, or they have a crate in the boot.

I wouldn’t take them abroad as there’s too many rules and regulations. And anyway, why would we go abroad when there are so many wonderful locations in the UK that we haven’t explored yet? 

Inspire us ☺ 

What advice would you give someone who was thinking about sharing their life with multiple dogs? What are the best and worst things about it?

The advice I would give to anyone thinking about living with multiple dogs is to think carefully! I love having a pack, but it has its challenges. You also have to consider what would happen if any of them fall out. I have a plan in place and a strategy for dealing with them if they need to be separated on a long-term basis. I also have a plan if something was to happen to my health, long or short term. It is all the little things that you have to think about. 

Best thing about multi dog life is that there is always a waggy tail waiting and so much love, the worst thing is not having enough hands to fuss them all at once! 

Credit – Laura Burns

For those of us that only manage to capture the tip of a tail, how do you organise them so beautifully for their group photos?

I have always loved taking photos so naturally use the dogs as my sometimes-willing models! It really does just boil down to taking the time to practice. From a young age I teach the dogs to wait and stay. Once you have a good solid wait or stay it is quite easy. The other thing I teach is to look at me. This helps build focus out on walks as well, but for photos I get the dogs to wait, look at me and grab a few photos and hope that they are all looking at the same time! They have soon figured out that the quicker they have their photo taken, the quicker they can go back to playing again. Another little trick we use is “feet up”. I teach them to put their feet on something. This is great for taking photos on benches, etc. 

Tell us about any particularly memorable moments with your pack.

It is very difficult to think of any one moment, but I always feel very proud when we get compliments on their behaviour. We were at the caravan a couple of years ago and the people on the pitch next to us were astonished that we had six dogs, they didn’t even know we had any dogs. They said they must be very well behaved as they hadn’t heard them at all! I was happy about that as I always think it is a privilege to be able to take dogs to places, and I do worry that they might cause a nuisance, so to get a compliment like that did make me very happy! I know they aren’t angels all the time, but the hours and hours of training I put in must pay off. 

And finally…

Finish the sentence… 

I love Border Terrier pack life because… “They give so much love and just want love and food in return. No judgement, no expectations, just pure love, and joy!”

Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us about your incredible family life, Laura. I am sure that we are all just a little bit jealous. 

To keep up to date with Laura and her fabulous gang do follow her on Instagram @laura_dogmad

Credit – Laura Burns