Drew is a jumping fool

[havingfunnow]

Drew was hilarious at parkour last week. We were at one of the nature centers and had lots of big rocks and stumps and logs to work with. One of the moves is to jump on objects; another is to do gap jumps between objects. He loved it! Got so excited that he spontaneously jumped on everything -- including the bench he was supposed to go under. Any time we stood around with a loose leash, he jumped on something, then told me he deserved a treat.



Then we went over to the children's play area, where there is an enormous turtle statue, the back higher than my head. He tried to leap onto that! Only thing is, there are ceramic shapes all over it, mimicking the patterns on a turtle's back. He couldn't get a foothold and slid down -- fast! -- and I caught him. Whew! It didn't worry him, though; he did a two-paws-up on it a minute later.



I think he looks a bit embarrassed in this photo, eh? He's a jumping fool!

[Queen]

LOL!! Go Drew!!

When we got our Tess she was already a year and a half old (she belonged to a grad student in mathematics who loved her very much, but had no time for her). I wanted to trim her nails so I put a rubber backed bath rug on the dryer and was going to lift her up to do the job, she made eye contact and figured out what I wanted and just hopped straight up onto the dryer. Border Collies are amazing!

[Bethers]

Hey Drew... Good job.

You all know how high up overcab beds in Class C's are right? A friend was visiting me and went up in the overcab area to read.... Her big, muscular dog looked up at his mom and jumped up in one leap. My big, long-legged and smaller dog looked at their doggie friend like he was nuts. He then jumped up whenever his mom went up there.

[avalen]

He's having fun!!

[MandysMom]

What special dogs the Border Collies! I would love a dog that loved to "play" like that!
Velda

[SoCalGalcas]

Yes, Border Collies are special! I just finished a book about a Border Collie. Was a tear jerker, although it did have a happy ending. It was about the compition
of Border Collies chasing and corralling sheep.
In the back of the book it warned people to not go out and get a Border Collie if they did not understand the bred. Remember all the "fire dogs that got adopted after the 1000 Dalmations came out?
Lyn

[Cudedog]

Yes, Border Collies are special! I just finished a book about a Border Collie. Was a tear jerker, although it did have a happy ending. It was about the compition of Border Collies chasing and corralling sheep.

In the back of the book it warned people to not go out and get a Border Collie if they did not understand the bred. Remember all the "fire dogs that got adopted after the 1000 Dalmations came out?
Lyn

I read a fabulous book many years ago to do with a Border Collie that I still remember with fondness to this day, "Nop's Trials".

https://www.amazon.com/Nops-Trials-Donald-McCraig/dp/0517551896/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505609854&sr=8-1&keywords=Nop%27s+trials

The title of the book kind of has a double meaning - a "trial" in sheep dog lingo refers to a sheep dog competition. And, of course, a "trial" in human terms is an unfortunate series of events.

Poor little Nop experienced both kinds of trials during the course of this book. If I remember correctly, it all came right in the end.

Was this the book that you recently read, Lyn?

I found it excellent.

Anne

[Liz]

I can see that Drew (and his mom) knows how to have fun!

[havingfunnow]

We do indeed have fun! I wish I'd seen your friend's dog jump into the overcab bed, Beth.

I do remember all those adopted Dalmations, Lyn! I was really seriously annoyed when Border Collies were recognized by the AKC (their association had turned down several previous offers of recognition). They're wonderful, brilliant dogs, but not suitable for all people and all situations -- that's why so many of them end up in shelters. There's a BC Rescue in upstate NY that I'm hoping to visit this fall. They have a really unusual program to rehabilitate their rescues, and I want a good look at it.

[Queen]

...I was really seriously annoyed when Border Collies were recognized by the AKC (their association had turned down several previous offers of recognition).

We were really upset when that happened, now they're breeding for looks rather than intelligence and working ability. Very sad.

I think when we're out roaming, we'll be stopping at any BC rescue we can find, see if a nice middle aged girl needs a home.

[Queen]

Louise, is this the place you want to visit? If so, please post your thoughts on them when you do, we would seriously consider several of the dogs they have.

http://glenhighlandfarm.com/

[havingfunnow]

Yes, that's the place, Mickie. Don't they sound amazing? I think they only adopt dogs in New England, so it's a good thing I'm not looking for a second dog right now. I just want to see the place in action!

[Queen]

It looks amazing! We added it to our travel "must see" places.

[JudyJB]

My cousin was camp hosting at a high elevation in Colorado where a lot of cows were grazing. One of his tasks was chasing cows and an occasional bull out of the campground when they and their calves came wandering in. (They were sometimes aggressive to campers.) One day,when my cousin was chasing cows with a stick, one of the campers had a Border Collie puppy and asked my cousin if he should let him loose. Cousin said sure, why not, and the untrained 6-month old puppy just started rounding up the cattle and chasing them off--just plain instinct. A few days later, the owner had a stroke and had to be airlifted out, so my cousin took care of the puppy until relatives could come get him. The owner died in the hospital and it took a month for them to come and get the dog, but my cousin fell in love with him and had his own cattle dog for a while. He really did not want to give him up, but relatives wanted him.

Those dogs are amazing, and probably the smartest breed ever, but do need special homes.

[SoCalGalcas]

Annie, yes that was the book. Lyn