Another dog dialect in the pack – can Lottie speak “collie”?
We’ve trained Border collies and Kelpies, and now it’s time to try something new. We’ve taken delivery of our first Bearded collie, and she’s an absolute sweetie!
She has traditional Border collie markings, but Lottie is a Bearded collie (known as a Beardie). We’ve had a few Beardies at our weekend sheepdog training clinics, and some of them have surprised us with their aptitude for work.
Lottie’s only 7 months old (perhaps she hasn’t grown her full beard yet) but she’s already eager to work sheep. We thought it would be interesting to add Lottie’s training to our online tutorials. She’s a lovely dog with a kind expression and lots of character.
We were warned by Beardie owners that to own a Bearded collie demands a sense of humour. Lottie’s innocent bumbling and bounding, chasing around with the other dogs, has certainly made us smile since she arrived.
As with the Kelpies, we plan to employ our usual training methods for Lottie, as detailed in our sheepdog training tutorials. We’ll keep alert to any differences that her working style or temperament dictate, but we do that with any dog – even Border collies.
Our Kelpies took a while to be accepted by the collies when they first moved in, but Lottie has fitted in immediately. Kelpie William, currently, and surprisingly, at the back of the pack, has been keen to explain the existing hierarchy. However Lottie (like many Border collies) either doesn’t speak Kelpie or simply doesn’t care. Collies can be very “breedist” when it comes to playmates and Lottie clearly intends to join the Collies Only gang.
BORDER COLLIE SHEEPDOGS – OFF DUTY! (DVD)
WATCH THIS TRAILER!
Watch Pearl and our other dogs in action on this preview of our first DVD Border Collie Sheepdogs – Off Duty! (You’ll love it.) The DVD is available from our Online DVD Store. The price includes shipping worldwide – and we automatically ship the correct format for your country. More info.
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