So smart, so full of heart, so full of fun and just wanting to please. Wait, I'm talking about all dogs.

Not the type that was bred into stupidity for showing in a ring, but a stray my Dad found and brought home. Mom loved that dog and talked about him for years. I don't remember him really, just remember the stories about Spot.

Here is a picture of him with me when I was two years old:



I think the biggest problem with collies is that they are working dogs. If they don't have a job, they can get very frustrated and even neurotic. I've known several Australian shepherds that were mentally very confused because they had no defined role in their family. The dogs tend to be extremely smart so as long as they have some specific task they will be happy - but they need a job!

pet labs and hunting labs being the most obvious.

what irks me no end is- try to rescue a working job, to do a job.
you are a blasphemer and a horror.
i tried to rescue a rat terrier years ago, and the treatment i got for some of the rescues was nuts. just nuts.
i was even told by one rescue that they placed dogs to be companions and that was that. i told them that they had a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of dogs.
a terrier rescue made me go through the whole doggie social worker schtick, but it was clear that the social worker was not even listening.
i had a very sweet terrier at the time, who was a sweetheart, and a great little dog, but not much of a mouser. i just wanted one w some drive cuz i knew she would join in and get the job done.
i was even in contact w a foster mom, and was all ready to take the dog. worse part was they didnt have the nerve to explain themselves, just got radio silence.


and people wonder why people buy instead of rescue.

AKC show labs look like a wine keg. They ruined Irish setters, cocker spaniels, GSD, and the border collie. They are lead by a bunch of rich CEOs wives who value looks.

If you need a real working dog please look at the FCI registry. Dogs must be approved for breeding and ability tests that are very vigorous are mandatory. Form follows function

finest animal i have ever had the pleasure of owning.
breeders trying to undo what happened to the once grand english bulldog. interesting standard.
i would have gotten a boxer, but they are being quickly ruined by their popularity. all about the fancy colors and markings, and no one even seems to know what the temperament is supposed to be.
fortunately, biff is basically a short legged boxer. well bred and well behaved. my guardian angel.

akc= monetizing a rich man's hobby. and half the time, it wasnt even them, it was the kennel men that worked for them.
they always make me think of rich women who spend half their time and money trying to be prettier than they are.

They get them from a breeder that specializes in dogs for doing "trials" - some kind of version of the obstacle courses you see on TV at the big dog shows but around here they have them for the hunting breeds out in fields. This family gets the pups that are not up to those events but they are wonderful dogs.

We used to have a golden retriever that was bred to be a pet dog. Previously every retriever I had ever met was a smart dog and had a lot of sense. The one we ended up with - his previous family had been through a divorce and the dog lost out - had no sense at all. He lived to fetch but the only thing he'd fetch were sticks. He'd reduce any piece of wood that wasn't being repeatedly thrown to splinters. He'd fetch until your arm fell off.

The other dog we had at the time was a herding dog,maybe Catahoula. I found him on the side of the highway living off of road kill and fish guts. He taught himself to herd the horses and made that his job. His other job was keeping varmints under control on the farm. He killed an armadillo by crushing it's shell. Once he found a opossum in the barn - he'd bark at it until it played dead. When the dog went away the possum would get up and try to run away but the dog would see it and bark at it again. That went on for a good while until I took a shovel, picked up the possum and pick it at the base of the tree so it could scramble up away from the dog.

The herding dog refused to fetch. He did it once. When my husband threw away the stick that the dog had brought back to him, the dog just stared at him. I could see his mind working, "WTF? I brought it back to you, and you threw it AWAY? Fuck this shit!" He'd watch the retriever run after sticks with a sneer on his face.

I only ever adopted one dog from a shelter - a wonderful lab that was a great companion and protector for a single woman living alone. All the rest of my dogs were found or given to us.

Nary a farm or ranch in the west doesn't have at least one ubiquitous farm collie wandering around keeping track of things. That being said, the the premium field jobs are held by their short coated brothers who are not burr magnets.