Jim went running out on one side of the pond as Skye took off to run the other side.Both Border Collies were herd-chasing a pair of unwanted geese on a clients pond. Soon the geese felt uncomfortable enough to fly off. Jim ran on until the geese took well off and were sure not to come back. Soon both dogs were headed back to me, from where all the action had started. Jim had a big smile on his face and also a look of sheer relief. He seemed so happy it all went well. He loves his work. Most Border Collies and other herding breeds, like Kelpies, do, love their work.
But for Jim, the work is especially sweet. You see, Jim, who is as well bred as any working line Border Collie, was kept kenneled and not let out much for the first six years of his life. My guess is that the people who imported him as a pup from England did not do their homework. My guess is that they did not read up from the best sources and did not go to lessons from knowledgeable trainers. Jim is a cautionary tale of what happens if Border Collie owners, handlers are unprepared. A lot can go wrong. The great relationship with a smart, talented dog you thought was going to happen will end in disappointment or worse.
Border Collies, which originated in Great Britan, like the Kelpie in Austraila, are a bit of a mystery here in America. Yes, some American farmers still use them but on many farms, farm dogs were let go for work with farm animals, sheep and so on, for ATVs and confinement farming. Here in America, most people think of Border Collies as being the smartest breed. Though this may be true, it is only part of the package. Border Collies were bred to have a close relationship with their handlers, a strong give and take, as it were. But Border Collies are strongly instinctual to herd and are athletic with lots of stamina for long days on a farm. A smart dog cannot think its way around someone who does not understand the breed or individual dog.
Herding work, the instincts the breed was bred to do directly correlate to goose control. If a handler understands how a Border Collie thinks and reacts and works, as a breed and the dog as an individual, success will happen, and a long and happy relationship will follow. It takes work and time for a handler to gain what is necessary to become knowledgeable and practiced. See www.nebca.net for contacts and sheep dog trails. Sheep dog trails are a great place to watch and meet many different handlers all in the space of a day.
Jim and Skye and I got ready to leave that clients property in Massachusetts. I could see Jim was not prepared to go. Skye readily jumped happily into the vehicle for the ride home to New York State. But not Jim, he was not ready to go. He stood a few yards off from us with a pained expression on his face. He is the last one to come in the house at home of our five dogs and with goose control its the same. Jim wants to keep working or be where the work is. At home, when the sheep and poultry are out on pasture, he is preoccupied with making sure all is well. He watches the sheep and poultry to make sure they have not wandered off.
Self-motivation is a mark of a mature Border Collie. But I think with Jim, who is now ten years old, he did not get any real work for half his life, missing his puppyhood and his youth. I sometimes think he worries that it will all go away and he will be stuck in a kennel with nothing to do. All those instincts, that drive, and those smarts, just sitting there. He’s a dog that not only connects you, connects with you but a dog which you can do beautiful work with. This interspecies relationship, Human, Dog, Sheep, Geese is a beautiful thing when you work on your self.