I wish I'd gotten a picture, but the description will have to do...
Maggie, our little Border Collie, is 15 months old, but still probably doesn't weigh more than 30#. Except for her color, (she's black and white) she could be a physical clone of Red, the old BC we had to put down in 2019. The similarity in photos at the same age are striking.
Max, our son's Pitbull, has finally gotten over his food issues, and is a solid 85# of muscle. The two dogs get along great... Max is still an overgrown puppy, and Maggie is the toughest little dog I've seen.. we worry about her, because she's fearless.
Anyway, the other afternoon, I saw Maggie way out in a back field, heading towards the property line. I called her, and she immediately came at a dead run (the shock collar has been invaluable on getting a solid recall on her... she WAS doing perfectly on the recall, until she hit about 8 months, and went "deaf"! It was amazing, within 10 minutes of the collar going on the first time, her hearing was restored!)
I grabbed a couple of dried liver treats and headed down into the shop, calling her through the dog door. After I praised her and gave her the treats, I quickly jogged back up the stairs to the apartment, so she wouldn't follow (its mud season here... the Border Collies have a nice heated shop to stay in).
About halfway up the stairs, I heard the dog door and saw Max had come in. I was poised to dash down to break up a dog fight... those liver treats are considered *very* high value by all the dogs, and Maggie has food aggression issues anyway.
But Maggie just calmly put one front paw out, against Max's chest, and held him off while quickly finishing up the treats. The big doofus just stood there with a dumb look on his face. When she was done, she took her paw away, calmly turned her back and walked away... Max stood there for another 10 seconds, clearly not sure if he was allowed any further into the shop!
I'd give anything to be able to read their minds!
Summerthyme
Maggie, our little Border Collie, is 15 months old, but still probably doesn't weigh more than 30#. Except for her color, (she's black and white) she could be a physical clone of Red, the old BC we had to put down in 2019. The similarity in photos at the same age are striking.
Max, our son's Pitbull, has finally gotten over his food issues, and is a solid 85# of muscle. The two dogs get along great... Max is still an overgrown puppy, and Maggie is the toughest little dog I've seen.. we worry about her, because she's fearless.
Anyway, the other afternoon, I saw Maggie way out in a back field, heading towards the property line. I called her, and she immediately came at a dead run (the shock collar has been invaluable on getting a solid recall on her... she WAS doing perfectly on the recall, until she hit about 8 months, and went "deaf"! It was amazing, within 10 minutes of the collar going on the first time, her hearing was restored!)
I grabbed a couple of dried liver treats and headed down into the shop, calling her through the dog door. After I praised her and gave her the treats, I quickly jogged back up the stairs to the apartment, so she wouldn't follow (its mud season here... the Border Collies have a nice heated shop to stay in).
About halfway up the stairs, I heard the dog door and saw Max had come in. I was poised to dash down to break up a dog fight... those liver treats are considered *very* high value by all the dogs, and Maggie has food aggression issues anyway.
But Maggie just calmly put one front paw out, against Max's chest, and held him off while quickly finishing up the treats. The big doofus just stood there with a dumb look on his face. When she was done, she took her paw away, calmly turned her back and walked away... Max stood there for another 10 seconds, clearly not sure if he was allowed any further into the shop!
I'd give anything to be able to read their minds!
Summerthyme
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Once they got mobile, every day was pure pandonium. 
