My Truth about Maks (Border Collies)

THE BORDER COLLIE - At first glance, the Border Collie (BC) lookslike a typical working dog. Border Collie aficionados have graphically described the BCas a well-proportioned chunk of muscle. His coat is short to medium with colorcombinations that include black and white, red and white and merle with white. (Maks is Black and White)The ears do a variety of things from standing up to tipping over and pointing north and south. Many casual dog owners have mistaken this for an ordinary dog and taken it home. They spend an average of six weeks in rehab getting over the experience. A few do survive owning a BC. There have been no formal research studies describing the characteristics of the successful BC owner. However, anecdotal reports would suggest that these people:1. Have very strong egos that are not threatened by a dog smarter thanthemselves;2. Have superior verbal skills that allow them to explain to the neighbors why allof their children are standing in a tight group, pinned against the house,under the watchful eye of their BC;3. Are able to substitute other activities for the BC's desire to bring bikes,motorcycles, and cars to a standstill; and4. Believe in a Supreme Being.Let me explain that last, controversial comment. It became clear to me in my reading and observation for this article that ownership of a BC ceased to be about owning a dog at some point in history. It became a religion. In order to see if the relationship between BC and owner does in fact meet the criteria, let's start with the Webster definition of religion:1. A belief in a divine or superhuman power to be obeyed and worshiped as thecreator and ruler of the universe2. Expression of belief in conduct and ritual3. A specific system of beliefs involving a code of ethics and a philosophyThe interactions between people and BC fit this bill. Border Collie as Supreme Working DogBorder Collies are the Type A’s of the dog world. Every fiber in the BC's body screams that he should be working. With good training, a BC can win agility in the morning, hold down a paper route in the afternoon, and bring the sheep in at dusk. Consider that the well-conditioned BC can run 100 miles a day. With this sort of drive, it would be stating the obvious to say that BCs are happiest when they are assigned a job with their human partner. The challenge is that when they are left to their own devices, the BC reads the classified ads and goes out to get a job on his own. More recently, BCs are making a name as search dogs. Their obsessive nature has proven highly effective when they can be taught the mantra, "FIND , FIND , FIND ." Literature about Border Collies is bluntly honest: BCs hate doing nothing. This is a breed with spectacular ability to perform and spectacular potential to melt down. The author of the American Border Collie Network writes that each dog has the energy output of a small nuclear reactor. Want to be cool? Get a Border Collie. Want to do Search and Rescue? Get a Border Collie. Want to move a sheep across your 3,000-acre ranch? Get two Border Collies. Want to really compete at agility? Get a Border Collie.Want to have a job, a life, and your sanity? Get a Lab.