Border Collies Are Intense 46/365

Posted by Ellie

Even as pups, they soon become very intense about everything in life. As I write this, Joni is busy finishing off a piece of raw broccoli stem that has kept her attention for 10 minutes. As soon as she finishes with that, she will need to have another diversion. Her blue ball is always a favourite. Most dogs want a ball to be thrown for them to run after. Not Joni. We live in an older house with a very uneven floor, so any ball rolled along it will move here and there for a long time, with no further interference from dog or man. So Joni just nudges the ball and watches where it goes. She lies, under this chair, as though she is in goal. As soon as the ball gets within what she considers her area, she lunges for it to catch it. 

Here she is asking me to throw it for her, as I sit on the floor with my camera. But she wants me to throw it not for her, but at her. So she will shortly nudge it with her nose so that it rolls away from her until I can reach it, when I am expected to kick it back. If I can kick it right into her mouth, she is really pleased. I am not usually that good an aim and feel that I am a disappointment to her, in that area at least.

Joni was 11 weeks old on Saturday. She has lived with us for 4 weeks, it's hard to believe.

I'm a little tired, so will get up to date with my project as I can. 

#365project +G+ 365 Project by +Simon Davis-Oakley +Patricia dos Santos Paton

For   #dogsgallery  +Heinrich Wagner +Dogs GALLERY 
#dogloversworldwide +DOG LOVERS Worldwide by +Robert SKREINER  +Roswitha Böhmer  +Thomas Henry 

#hqspanimals  +HQSP Animals curated by +Alejandro J. Soto +Krystina Isabella Brion +Andy Smith

#noapologies #bordercollie #puppy #JonisDiary   #AdayinthelifeofJoni 


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61 Responses

  12. Collies.arewonderful,highly,intelligent,dogs.my.late.husband.and.i.had.two.one.black.andwhite.and.the,other.light.brown.and.white,both.rescued,dogs.they.were.much,loved,for,many,years,and,sadly,missed.when.they,passed.on

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  19. We rescued a border collie mix a couple of years ago; he is a second border collie mix. Yes, they can be work but they are so smart and wonderful, and GREAT Frisbee catchers. There is nothing like watching a fast BC beat a flying Frisbee to the catching spot. 

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  20. +Deeyan Floyd – they are wonderful dogs, as long as you have the time, the energy and the space they need. 

    +Sparthir Kiwiwarrior – my last one was the same. The only thing she cared about was her frisbee. She liked the blue ball, but it didn't do anything to get her excited like a frisbee. We always have to be one (or ten) steps ahead of them.

    Thank you +Heiko Mahr – and thanks for asking, a little better today. 🙂

    That's what they are bred to do, of course +Kathy A. Martin – and it can be very useful. Thanks so much, I'm glad you like it.

    Thanks so much Karen. I'm glad to brighten anyone's day and if a picture of Joni will do it, then I have no shortage. +Karen Cooper 

    THank you +Breanna Barker and +stephanie streets 

    I agree, +Laura Sleeman 😀

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  21. They do look very distinctive, +mouse fur 

    +Sharon Stone thanks for the warning. I had not considered getting tennis balls as this blue ball seems to be a favourite (with our last one, too). But that's good to know (and scary). :-/ That's a nasty bill.

    Thank you so much +Patti Colston – I do think so.

    Thanks for reading through them, +Christina Lihani – I try to get a good photo that I can write something about and I hope some have the time to read.

    Thank you +Rosalee Martel 

    I had better, +Shelly Gunderson – and actually, neither can I!

    You said it, +Scott Long 

    Thank you +Sumit Sen 

    Mine too, +Tom Tran – and the energy is really impressive. Without intelligence it would be kind of scary.

    Oh yes, Janet, you got her pegged! She will be always waiting for every order, for sure. That's who they are, even young like this. +Janet Patterson – thanks very much.

    +Veronica Kent – they get me every time, I agree!

    She would be ready +LOVE JOY 

    You are most welcome, +William McLean and a good morning or evening to you, too. 😀

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  23. Thanks +Allan Cabrera –  🙂

    Oh yes, +Elizabeth Lund – a handful for sure, but so worth it! It's the eyes that get me every time.

    +Ursula Klepper – you are a great #fanofjoni  and I know you would love her! 

    +Alayna Schneider  :-))

    Thanks a lot +Sharon Stone – and you are right, she is.

    +Thomas Henry – thanks for reading it, and for the comment.

    +yochi smilee – you did!

    +Terri Spoonemore – another border collie?

    Absolutely obsessed, you are right, +Allison Sekuler – and I can imagine the fun that was for them.

    Thanks +Kayla Koroma 

    I completely get that 'boredom can be destructive' bit. +Tery Higgins – until we got the invisible fence for our last border collie she had started to demolish the structure of the house. She was working her way through the kitchen, but as soon as she was able to get out and run when we wanted, then she (and we) relaxed. This one is pretty much trained on it, now, but the snow is so deep that it's not as much fun as it will be when it melts. A trick I learned was to mix some of her food up with a little bit of natural peanut butter (no sugar, obviously). I then stuff that into her kong and freeze it for a few hours. It keeps her busy for quite a while. 

    I agree, +Deborah Aldridge they are!

    +Michael G. Smith – and I say that an old dog can teach us new tricks!

    Me too, +Jenni Menzies 

    Reply

  31. My border collie, Ben, couldn't have cared less about a ball.  He is 1 year old tomorrow and is only getting addicted to chasing it now.  I have to sling shot him around behind me (basically I get him to run around behind me and then out and away from me) and then he will chase a ball or frisbee a long distance.  If I just throw it he might chase it say 5 meters and then give up.

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  37. Even at that young age +Ellie Kennard , it would seem that Joni can read your very thoughts and is attempting to anticipate your every move.  After all, you might need her to do something, and she will be ready.  No doubt about it.  Another great shot of that steady gaze of hers!

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  51. My Daisy (Border Collie mix) loves her tennis ball, but not for me to throw – she would rather do that herself.  She is also very good at disassembling stuffed animals with surgeon like precision.  The important thing is to stay one step ahead of her.  Boredom can be destructive.

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  53. We used to do flyball with our Border Terrier, Archie (same Border, really different dog). The height of the hurdles is based on the smallest dog on the team, so the teams usually were three Border Collies and one smaller dog (like ours). We didn't last long because Archie preferred sniffing things to balls, but the Border Collies were made for the sport – they were utterly and completely obsessed with the balls and would do anything to get them. Great dogs!

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