What your perfect dog?
Do you like a dog that is really on the muscle?
I find the fact that dog people use this term hilarious. We use it in horses all the time. A horse on the muscle either means they are jacked up so high you can't really do much but work them down or they (in the racehorse world) are so up on the steroids they give them that they are flying high LOL..
Its a lot of effort for minimal reward so I'll pass on a dog like that :)
Do you like a dog that needs a steady stream of whistles?
This would elude that I could spit out a steady stream of decipherable whistles...LOL so the answer would probably be NO
Are you a maximal or minimal whistler?
going with minimal
Do you like a natural dog that feels the sheep and just needs a little direction here and there?
Yes I like a dog with natural feel. Most of our work is done at home and I don't want to be barking out commands. Cover when the sheep try to break, hold them in the corner without me instructing you to hold them there, etc...
Do you like a dog that prefers certain type of sheep?
I have a mixed flock; slow wool sheep that will turn on a dog, crazy hair sheep that run like bats out of he!! at the slightest movement of anything, and some pet sheep that were attacked by dogs and require very careful dog working right now. So I need a dog that can work them all!
Do you like a dog that wants to partner up and be a really good team player?
Yes, I like a team player, but being part of that team means I also have to admit when I am wrong and the dog is right.
Do you like a dog that really knows what s/he wants and you, as a handler really has to manage?
Isn't that inherently bred into the working border collie? Maybe I don't understand the question, it is the afternoon before a holiday, I'm not really here...
Do you want push?
Yes, not too much push LOL
Do you want a good listener?
Yes, but I want them to not listen when I am wrong
Do you want try? (Not tri.)
Yes I want try and I have a bunch of tri's
Do you like a dog who gets the job done, no matter the sheep, but it’s a big job to get that dog listening?
No, I like a dog that trust me enough to listen for the most part.
Do you want it all?
Of course, doesn't every female
Can you have it all? Since I don’t know enough to know what I don’t know, what do you want? What do you like?
No, my OCD will come up with something else unachievable before I get to "it all".
I have 3 dogs right now. Jen was my first and she's a little spitfire! A whole lotta push and try with great listening. If I can get her geared down just a little she is going to be an amazing dog. Sometimes she frustrates me when I know she is just trying to be helpful, only because she has a bit of push. She has been a great first dog and has taught me so much.
Dutch is completely opposite. Quiet and reserved. Where Jen tends to upset sheep Dutch quiets them. Dutch's making a mess of things isn't anything like a mess, he neatly puts it back together and doesn't get overly flustered. As Pat S. once told me, this dogs whole desire in life is to work sheep perfectly the way you want them worked, he may be timid natured but he has a big heart and wants to be the dog I need him to be. He is honestly the go to dog at 2 years old for the irrationally crazy sheep I own right now just because he doesn't upset them more than they already normally are.
Hep is new to me and comes from great training. We are just linking up but she seems to be a mix of Dutch and Jen. She is a very nice dog and I really enjoy working her so far!
