Because our house has a large yard which came with an invisible fence, and because we like dogs, we have rescued a number of dogs over the years, all of whom came with a few quirks, but our latest adopted dog is a Border Collie, and she’s the quirkiest dog we’ve ever had. Sure, our 80 pound Shepherd mix has no idea she’s a large dog, so she would run away from a puppy (has been chased by our cat) and Pugsley was adorable but not the brightest animal in the stable. I’m not sure Pugsley ever learned his name.
But beyond a doubt, Shadow, our latest adoption, is the quirkiest. She’s a Border Collie, and although probably a mix, she has a pure Border Collie look and temperament.
As just a funny aside, when we adopted Shadow, the previous owner’s paperwork said that Shadow was a Rat Terrier. We didn’t know what a Rat Terrier was, so we looked so dumb when the veterinarian asked what type of dog Shadow was, that he actually laughed. Our vet grew up with Border Collies.
So Shadow doesn’t hunt other animals like a Rat Terrier, but she sure herds them. Border collies were bred to herd farm animals, like sheep, but they herd everything, including our two bigger dogs. This instinct can get out of control, because herding is what they do. When we open the door in the morning Shadow herds the big dogs out the door. We haven’t seen this, but I’ve read that they’ll even herd children, if there’s nothing else to herd. The herding instinct is so strong, it makes you wonder about free will.
What’s really odd about a Border Collie is that they are “one person dogs”, in that they bond tightly with one human, which in Shadow’s case is me, which is a problem because the dog will go into a real depression if I’m gone for a long period. When I went to New Zealand in January, Shadow just laid in a chair in the mudroom, looking sad, and barely moving at all. Even when I had returned, it took a while for her to recover.
For instance, just yesterday we drove to UNH to see our daughter Erin and have dinner with her and her boyfriend. Because I wasn’t around to feed them, I got all their food ready, and then at around 6:00, approximately when we feed them every night, my mother in law Judy set their bowls down for them, which apparently reminded Shadow of the time I was in New Zealand, as she was back in the chair, looking like she was in a deep depression. It took a lot of petting and telling her she was a good dog for her to figure out I had not actually left.
So Border Collies aren’t for everyone, but they do have many remarkable traits. For one thing, they love to catch frisbees, and Shadow is especially good at getting tennis balls hit really far with a tennis racquet. She’ll fetch balls endlessly–seriously, she’ll do it for hours. One morning I was having a cup of coffee and ignoring her wanting me to throw a ball, so she dropped the tennis ball right in my coffee.
The other odd thing about Border Collies is that they are highly intelligent, so easily trainable, so if you are interested in taking your dog to agility competitions, which is a big thing these days, Border Collies are the best at it. Virtually every single agility championship in the world is held by a Border Collie. They’re agile, but because they’re intelligent, they actually get the concept. Of course our Border Collie is out of luck for agility competition, since her owners don’t know anything about it, including how to train the dog to compete in these events. We’ve actually considered trying it, but it will take longer for us to learn about it than the dog.
