Roaring River Border Collies

Ray J.

Breeder of Border Collies

  • Rickman, TN
  • Responds within a day

Available puppies

Mr. Freeze

Ready May 24

2 weeks old · Male

Snow

Ready May 24

2 weeks old · Female

Meet the breeder

I'm Ray J., the breeder behind Roaring River Border Collies located in Rickman, TN. When we got our first Border Collie, we were instantly in love. Since then, we’ve made it our mission to bring happy, healthy puppies into the lives of other families. Every puppy we raise is adored and a part of the family from birth. Our puppies will complete your home, your family, and your heart.

Q. & A. with Ray

  • Why did you start breeding?

    Bandit was just a wonderful puppy. He is intelligent, even-tempered and eager to please. We then decided to find Bandit a companion. A beautiful Blue Merle female we named Skyler. The Border Collie is an amazing unspoiled herding breed. All was going well then covid forced us to put livestock plans on hold. But after living with these wonderful dogs I was just wanted to help preserve the breed.

  • What makes your program special?

    We birth and raise our litters in home with constant supervision day and night. We work to stay current with organizations like Good dog and American Kennel Club who have breeder specific training available. We apply Early Neurological Stimulation and follow transitional and socialization methods from The Puppy Culture workbook by Jane Lindquist and Raising the Empowered Puppy by Jeanette Forrey.

  • What are the different breed coat types in your program?

    Our puppies include smooth and rough coat varieties. Coat types may vary depending on the parent dogs.

  • What are the different breed coat colors in your program?

    Our puppies include lilac merle, gold merle, blue merle, white and blue merle, and white ticked. Colors will vary depending on the parent dogs.

  • Where do your breeding dogs live?

    They live in my home.

Matched dogs

These dogs are already reserved or have gone home.

Getting a puppy from Ray

Ray has been certified by Good Dog’s screening team for responsible and trusted breeding practices. When you’re ready, reach out to ask about the puppies or anything else on your mind. You’ll get to know each other through messaging, phone, or video and pay securely, all on Good Dog.

After buyers complete the application and screening process, Ray partners with them to find the best puppy match.

“We take great care in placing each puppy with the right owner. As buyers are screened, evaluated and approved for their new home. ”

Price

Puppy prices include a $500 non-refundable deposit and between $1,340 - $1,640 final payment, before taxes & fees.
Pay over time with Klarna.

“Price includes health warranties. All required age specific vaccinations, parasite prevention. Registered with The American Border Collies Association. Microchip with lifetime registration & QR tag. Non-refundable deposit are applied because once a deposit is given the pup is no longer available to other potential buyers. You have been matched with this pup and this is your commitment to them.”

Contract & health guarantee

Ray may provide a written contract or health guarantee when you purchase a puppy. This helps protect both you and your breeder, ensuring that you both have a clear understanding of the terms of your puppy purchase. If Ray offers a contract or guarantee, the details will be personalized by them. If you have any questions or want to know more, don't hesitate to reach out to Ray directly.

All contracts are handled securely through Good Dog.

You’re protected
on Good Dog

When you pay and communicate on Good Dog, you’re covered by Payment Protection.

What's included

    • From Good Dog
      • Lifetime support from Good Dog’s Care Team
      • 10% lifetime discount on Figo pet insurance
      • Puppy Training Program & private community
    • Enrichment & socialization
      • Various sounds
      • Car rides
      • Surface & tactile stimulation
      • Socialized with children
      • Socialized in new places
      • Scent introduction
      • Daily handling
      • Socialized with other dogs
      • Introduced to people of different ages and appearances
      • Socialized with other animals
    • Puppy health practices
      • Vet check
      • First round of shots and deworming
      • Microchip
      • Vet records
    • Extras
      • Blanket with mom & littermates’ scent
      • Toys
      • Initial potty training
      • Puppy starter kit
      • Food & treats
      • Registration

Location & pick-up

You can drive or fly to pick up your puppy from Ray.

Breeder's location

Meet in Rickman, TN

473 miles away

·

Other pick-up locations

Meet at Lovell Field

508 miles away

·

Meet in Johnson City, TN

327 miles away

·

More about Ray

  • Club memberships

    Ray is a member of American Border Collie Association.

  • Ray has been a member of Good Dog for about 4 years

    Ray was screened for responsible practices and has been a member since 2022.

  • Ray’s links

Ray is a trusted Good Dog breeder

Roaring River Border Collies meets or exceeds our community standards in these areas:

  • Responsible breeding practices
  • Health of breeding dogs and puppies
  • Puppy environment and enrichment
  • Buyer education and policies

Litter and program updates

Parent dogs

Parent health testing

Breeder-Reported Testing

Good level

Roaring River Border Collies reports to performing the health tests below on their breeding dogs. Ask your breeder about the tests performed on the parents of your litter. Learn more about health testing for Border Collies.

  • Full Embark Panel, PawPrint Genetic Panel (Breed Specific)

    Genetic testing reduces the chance of passing down a wide variety of hereditary diseases of differing prevalence and severity such as Progressive Retinal Atrophy (an eye disease) and Von Willebrand's Disease (a blood disease).

Verified owner stories

Hear what other owners say about working with Ray to bring home their puppies.

  • Paige A.

    Verified owner · Apr. 2026

    We found Roaring River in a rather unorthodox way as we traveled from Indiana to North Carolina for a puppy that ended up being a scam. We researched nearby breeders as I did not want to return home empty handed and found them on the way home through Tennessee. They were super easy to work with and welcomed us to view some of their available puppies that were ready to go home at a fairly short notice. We have had our Grimm ever since & he is the absolute best boy. Roaring River followed up by sending us his registration and you could tell they love their dogs! We are thankful to have worked with them & would consider doing so again if we are ever wanting another border collie!

    Madelaine H.

    Verified owner · Feb. 2026

    Ray was amazing!! Super easy to talk to and very knowledgeable. He made the whole process of getting my puppy way easier than I thought it was going to be. He responded super quickly and was very flexible with pick up. I told my husband if we ever going to get another border collie we are getting it from Ray again.

    MJ

    Mark J.

    Verified owner · Jan. 2026

      • +5

    Our new puppy, Ember Skye (originally Auburn), is our first fully registered ABCA border collie and we are thrilled with her. She is both beautiful and very intelligent. At 12 weeks old she is already potty trained, sleeping the whole night, has learned several commands and tricks, and is quite the snugglebug. She has adapted well to kids, other adults, and other dogs beside her siblings, and is working on getting acquainted with our kitties. She is a great sister to our border collie girls Trixie (9) and Vixen (3) and took to them right away on the long ride home from Tennessee. Ray did a great job with acclimating the puppies to different experiences (even cars) and the quality both physically and mentally of his ABCA Border Collie dogs/puppies at Roaring River Border Collies are outstanding. We highly recommend Ray - he was/is great at communication and did a great job raising the puppies until handoff to their new owners. Thank You Ray, we love her!

  • Brandon M.

    Verified owner · Mar. 2026

    When I spoke to ray last year in May of 25' he was super responsive and helpful with my selection of Border collies. I ended up getting this awesome black and white border collie. he looks exactly like his mom which was awesome seeing as he starting growing and finally a year later the pup has grown up and is extremely healthy and Ray even remembered this birthday and name top notch I would only recommend going to ray if you're getting that special border collie!

    Nancy K.

    Verified owner · Feb. 2026

    Ray was great to work with on our adoption of Holly (now Ginger)! He went so far as helping integration with our 5 year old Border Collie, Jeb, by agreeing to get Ginger’s scent on blankets and share blankets with our pup’s scent with her. He was so lonely after losing our 13 year old ABCA Border Collie, Sara, who was the best dog ever who passed from bladder cancer. We knew we wanted another ABCA female. We knew Holly was a sign to get her from Ray since this was Sara’s litter name when we got her from Kentucky in 2013. The scented blankets helped him as he was familiar with her scent before our long drive from Arizona to Tennessee. Ginger is so beautiful, smart, attentive and good natured. My vet said she is perfect and has a great temperament! She and Jeb are now best friends as you can see in this 6 year birthday pic for Jeb today.🥰

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    Anne D.

    Verified owner · Jan. 2026

    Ray is a responsive and engaged breeder. He still responds well even though the puppy has been with me for over a month! My puppy was examined by my own vet and deemed “perfect”!

Photos

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Health testing is one key piece of responsible breeding and is performed on breeding dogs to prevent the presence of heritable conditions in their puppies.

Health testing is one key piece of responsible breeding and is performed on breeding dogs to prevent the presence of heritable conditions in their puppies.

Health testing is one key piece of responsible breeding and is performed on breeding dogs to prevent the presence of heritable conditions in their puppies.

Health testing is one key piece of responsible breeding and is performed on breeding dogs to prevent the presence of heritable conditions in their puppies.

Health testing is one key piece of responsible breeding and is performed on breeding dogs to prevent the presence of heritable conditions in their puppies.

Health testing is one key piece of responsible breeding and is performed on breeding dogs to prevent the presence of heritable conditions in their puppies.

Health testing is one key piece of responsible breeding and is performed on breeding dogs to prevent the presence of heritable conditions in their puppies.

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