Working dogs are bred to work,
so if you have no livestock for your herding dog to herd, you might need another dog to occupy the dear beast.
Prince came home with us
on New Year's Eve 2015, a purebred sable-and-white rough collie without the papers to prove it, so I joke about his working-class parents who herd dairy cows in hill-country near the Mississippi River. Our first year with Prince the Puppy kept me so active, so challenged, I lost five pounds. I couldn't keep him busy enough, so we started looking for a second collie. Our first pair were littermates, brother and sister; Blaise and Bailey lived more than a dozen years. We somehow got the idea that two dogs were more work than one, until we got just one.
Y'all know I regard Prince as a king. He rules his domain with a red Frisbee dangling from one tooth and assorted treasures in my flower beds, usually a rotting deer leg or a muskrat, sad to say. Herding dog, dear, not hunting dog, but he doesn't remember his parents, just his baser animal instincts. He also refuses to share with Bear.
No fair, says Bear
Bear's daddy is a World-Class champion with a pedigree,
not that we cared about that. We "rescued" the super-agile, quick, dainty little Bear when he was ten months old, so we missed out on his pistol-packing puppy days, which were the reason his young owners gave up on him and offered to sell him for a song (so to say) via NextDay Pets. Bear seems to have no idea he's descended from big shots (Sire: Bailey’s World Class “Onyx”; Dam: Bailey’s “Mystic Steel Blue Dandy”). Bear is so humble, unassuming, unpretentious, and unaware of his royal bloodline, while Prince, the wily coyote, is cocky and controlling and not at all eager to please. He reminds me of Jack London's Buck in "Call of the Wild":
Yes, there were other dogs, but they did not count.
I don’t know the names of Prince’s sire and dam, but I have no doubt our golden boy is “world class.” Bear is a good boy, or was, until Prince taught his all his conniving little tricks. (I don't like to talk about those: Outsmarted by dogs!)
Prince, born 2-Nov-2015 (sable+white); Bear, born 25-Jan 2016 (tri-color);
Bear's photo courtesy of [Bailey's Collies], but I thought Bear came from Cook's Collies in Kansas. I got the photo from the ad Bear's owner posted. Poor little Bear! His first owner was not well versed in the ways of the collie:
This willful dog requires a gentle hand to avoid shyness and refusal to cooperate with his owner.
Yes, he barks a lot; yes, he gets wild and crazy; yes, he can be annoying; but he is a clown, a court jester, a sweetheart. He used to flinch when we raised a hand to throw a Frisbee.
The Collie has an obedient nature, willful, and gentle. Classified as one of the easiest to train breeds in the dog world. This breed is very self-assured, sweet, gentle, and trustworthy. Next Day Pets: The Collie
"One of the easiest to train breeds" - unless you're me. At age two, these boys know they're not to jump on people but they cannot resist accosting, with joy and curiosity, whoever comes down our driveway.
Thanks to Bear running circles around Prince and taking over the chore of Tug of War over that precious Frisbee,
I gained back the five pounds
I had lost. Yes, I've seen videos of dogs at agility trials. Nope, I'm not ready to stop being a hermit hiding out on our acreage. As for all the time I've regained by having Bear occupy Prince for me, I regret to say, I've spent far too much of it taking pictures of the boys. They're so photogenic! And there's all these Collie Loving group on Facebook, and #dailypetphotography, and now #dogsofsteemit.
Obsessed? Happily.
EPISODE 22 #dogsofsteemit Challenge EXTENDED!
inspired this post. I'm a known addict of #dailypetphotography, and when a possible "rival" hashtag showed up, @kona was characteristically gracious and supportive. Also, @kona includes cats, horses, pigs, sheep, sometimes even insects, and all manner of creatures at #dailypetphotography. There's already #caturday, with lots of room for #dogs at Steemit.
Thank you, @supernovastaffy, for #dogsofsteemit!
Find out more here: EPISODE 23 #dogsofsteemit Challenge EXTENDED!
Participation Rules
Include at least 1 photo of your dog (or someone else's dog)
Include #dogsofsteemit tag as one of your 5 tags
Follow @supernovastaffy to qualify for rewards
Tag me in your post so I can keep track of all entries
Tell me a bit about your dog! I'd love to read all about your pupper!
It goes without saying but original content only. No plagiarised photos!
Spread the word!
Sponsorships are very welcome to help grow the prize pool for future participation in the challenge. If you like the idea of this challenge, feel free to upvote, comment & resteem this post to support the #dogsofsteemit tag.
I'll be checking the #dogsofsteemit tag most days of the week but feel free to insert a link to your post in the comments below & tag me in your post to help me keep track of entries. If you know other Steemians that have dogs please share this post with them or tag them in your entries to help spread the word!
@supernovastaffy.png
Other great animal challenges on Steemit:
#dailypetphotography challenge hosted by @kona & @dpet
#animalphotography challenge hosted by @juliank
@kona has created a discord group "dPet" as a hangout spot for all things animal & pet related! So please come and join us on discord and say hello!