My Collie, My Kid

This was originally posted at www.ourdogsonline.com - a wonderful online resource that I encourage everyone to check out.

...I think Bug and Havana are psychically linked. And not in a good "Go save Timmy, Lassie!" way.

I sat through a painful ballet class with Bug. Her inner collie was hanging out for all the world to see.
-Initially so excited she couldn't shut up. (Bark much?)
-Had to tell everyone, including the instructors, what to do. (Round 'em up and herd 'em.)
-Did all the exercises her way.
-Was so busy being nosy that she missed instructions.
-Instinctively tried to comfort a frustrated little girl. (Collie empathy)
-Became bored with repetition for exercises she found useless and shut down.

Bug and Havana also:
-play beautifully with pretty much all other playmates, but will stand up for themselves
-need a good amount of physical and mental activity
-can be good at entertaining themselves
-talk. Constantly.
-are scary smart sometimes, but only show it when they feel like it.
-can do just about anything if shown the right way to do it in the right way.
-are very social.


I found myself treating Bug like Havana during class. I started with giving subtle signs, then I gave her a good scolding followed by explaining how to behave and marking good behavior. (Yes, I'm the dorky mom giving her kid thumbs up throughout class!) I even turned my head away from her when she was paying attention to me instead of her "handler". I found this really funny...when I didn't want to throttle my kid!

Trying to decide what dog to get for Sprout and then Wiggle to connect to. Something smart, obedient, but quiet...