How do I keep my Border Collie happy?

Question
I have a 5-7 year old Border Collie girl named Kristy, and my mom and dad had a new 1 month old baby. I've been helping them with chores, the baby, and other things, but I haven't had the chance to spend very much time with my dog. She doesn't seem happy at all and I've tried agility, tug of war, ball,taking her to the park, and running with her, but she doesn't want to do anything in that range. I was trying to play with her and she saw a sheep in our neighbors yard, and she ran over and started climbing the fence to get to the sheep. I got her down and thought that she might want to herd. We don't have any sheep or cattle or anything like that, but are there dog herding jobs out there for her? I want her to be very happy here.

Answer
Hi Sierra,
I'm so glad you want to keep your dog happy and occupied with things that she likes to do.  Texas is a big state, so I'm not sure where you are located, but there are ways to get your dog involved in herding, and there are even competitions in which you could participate.  This is the U.S. Border Collie Club site and there's info there on how to get involved in sheepdog training: http://www.bordercollie.org/training/sheepdog.html.  In Texas, there's also the Texas Sheep & Cattle Dog Association, www.texassheepdogassoc.org and Texas Hill Country Stock Dog Association, www.thcsda.org.  
Even if you cannot find a herding instructor near you, you can do lots of fun things with Border Collies, because they are so smart.  Often, they do very well with clicker training.  "Clicker Training for Dogs" is an inexpensive but excellent book by Karen Pryor that can get you started.  Remember that with any training, you need to begin in a non-distracting environment, so maybe NOT in the area where your dog can see sheep lol.
You might want to try trick dogging at some point.  "Do More with Your Dog" is a new program that allows dogs to title in tricks.  Their web site has info and you can download the requirements for your first, or "novice" title.
Other ways to keep active dogs like Border Collies and Aussies happy is to use interactive toys and food puzzles.  Activedogtoys.com has a big selection.  You can also try disc dog or frisbee with your dog - dogs that like to herd are especially good at this, especially if they are already inclined to retrieve.  
For most people, clicker training is the easiest way to get started toward more advanced training.  If you do get to try herding at some point, there is a Yahoo group devoted to people whose herding dogs have been trained by clicker training.  I think it's called  ClickHerd group.  
Whatever you do, do keep your dog out of your neighbor's property.  A dog that "worries" a neighbor's sheep is an unwelcome guest, and in some areas could be subject to a heavy penalty.  If it becomes hard to keep her in, you could ask your dad to build a "coyote roller" out of PVC pipe so she can't climb the kennel fence.  
Good luck with your training and have fun!