Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2009. To me this was the quintessential Mattie photo! It captures his humor and love for life, despite how horrible he was feeling.
A friend of his, gave him this wooden figure of Sponge Bob! What you see happening here, was Mattie trying to give me his impression of Sponge Bob.
Quote of the day: They’re (herding dogs) hardwired for the job, whether it’s hunting, herding, ratting, guarding, or all of the above. You don’t train working dogs to work. Training merely instills a measure of control to behavior that comes naturally. ~ Land Report Editors
This morning, I started my day with seeing a TV show on the Animal Planet. The show interviewed a trainer of herding dogs. Naturally I know Sunny is part border collie, making him a herder. But I did not quite understand the full ramifications of this! After I heard this man speak, I literally said..... now I understand why Sunny chases squirrels and rats. I can't stand Sunny's ratting! Little did I know that herding dogs herd, guard, chase, and rat by instinct!
I remember meeting Sunny's foster mom. When I adopted Sunny, I wasn't in town to meet the caravan of dogs coming up from South Carolina. So instead, Sunny was fostered by a local pet lover for two weeks until I got back from California. Ironically, I remember when picking Sunny up from Leah's home, she told me..... he loves to chase squirrels and rats. I frankly did not make much out of that, until I took him out on my first walk. I won't forget it! Which is why I learned early on that I need to have a tight grip of Sunny's leash, otherwise I will go flying and he will go running. Sunny sees and senses squirrels. Lime he has x-ray vision!!! Sometimes I am prepared for his leaps and runs, and other times not! Squirrels are one thing, but RATS! We have more rats than people in DC. As soon as dusk approaches, out come these creatures. I swear Sunny is like clock work. At 8:15pm, where ever he is, he gets up, finds us, and wants to go walking!
Sunny loves his night walks, not for the walk itself but because he goes rat hunting! I am telling you, he is better than Orkin! Sunny will walk with his head crouched downward and looks like he is on a rat hunt. Which he literally is! I really thought the insistent focus on rats was about the chase! But after seeing today's show, I now understand this is his instinct. The instinct is to protect his space/farm by removing all PESTS!
The trainer on the TV show mentioned that herding dogs are NOT for everyone and many of them land up back in animal shelters because they are TOO much for their owners. Which I have NO DOUBT is what happened to Sunny. Sunny is demanding, emotional, a major herder, and knows how to manipulate you to get his needs met. He has perfected it to a T! But of course I love him and he has added an incredible amount of life to our home, which has been sorely missing since Mattie died. With that said, I really enjoyed learning more about his breed today, as it helps me better understand the behaviors he exhibits.
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