I wouldn’t say Border collies are the smartest dogs because that would send Labrador, poodle and owners of about a dozen other breeds into a fit. I’ll just say they’re smart.
My family has been tended to by a Border Collie for the last ten years. Bandit has served as an alarm clock for my children – after morning coffee in bed Karen or I would order, “Go see Skyler,” sending him to Skyler’s room, or, “Go See Lila,” prompting him into Lila’s. I couldn’t think of a better way to start a day.
Around the middle of Bandit’s first year he began the practice of circling our two retired horses, occasionally swooping in for a mouthful of horse tail. It seemed like a silly and dangerous thing to do, but we were unable to cure him of it. One Friday morning Atchafalaya, a generally staid draught horse, kicked him in the chest hard enough to make us think he would never run right again. By Sunday night it was like he’d never been kicked – except that both horses got more room and more respect.
