The Dogs

The Border Collie is a sheep-herding dog of exceptional qualities. For many years the Border Collie has excelled at sheepdog trials as a dog with uncanny instinctive abilities to herd sheep. The dog performs this function often without any direction from the herder. When direction is given it is through low whistles or hand signals on the part of the human Master. The Border Collie will lie down with uncanny timing and precision, will dart in or out at just the right moment to guide the sheep, all the while maintaining an intense eye contact or “staring” at the sheep; this eye contact is a well known characteristic of the breed. Anyone who has seen this dog perform at herding trials cannot help but be fascinated by the outstanding talents of the breed.

The Border Collie originated as the name implies, from the border territories of England and Scotland. The first Sheepdog Trials were held in North Wales in 1873, where a dog named “Tweed” won the trial and also a prize for being “the most handsome dog”. It is said that this dog became the foundation of the Border Collie breed.

The Border Collie was imported into Australia as a working sheepdog. The breed developed in that country as a versatile herding dog. It was used very successfully on both sheep and cattle and in the vast ranchlands of Australia became well known as the herding dog of choice. When it later began to be imported into the United States, it also joined the ranks of the dogs who are shown in dog shows and is popular as an Agility dog and Obedience dog.

The dog is extremely agile, able to crouch, spring and corner skilfully for the purpose of driving the recalcitrant sheep or cattle into line. The Border’s coat should not be overly abundant yet should be double and thick enough to be weather resistant. In appearance it is most like the collie but with shorter length of feathers. There is a “smooth coat” variety of this breed, however this variety appears mostly in Great Britain and the most popular type of coat is the “rough coat”. The dog is of medium height and build and comes in many colors, but white should never be predominant.

This breed is highly instinctive. Coincidentally, both The Border collie and the Newfoundland have been used in the genetic studies of the Human Genome Research Project as the DNA markers for comparison of strong inherited behavioral tendencies. The Border Collie is noted as one of the most intelligent of breeds and is not happy without a job to do. It learns quickly and enjoys the challenge of learning. This is not a dog who will be happy left alone for hours in a house and also should not be left unsupervised in an unfenced area. This dog needs mental and physical stimulation to be happy and healthy.

The dog does well in Obedience, Rally Obedience, Agility, Flyball, Sheep Herding Trials and is a popular Conformation breed. Furthermore their medium size and high intelligence have made them quite useful as Search and Rescue dogs. These dogs should always exhibit stable temperament and be absolutely without shyness. People who have this dog as a pet or as a utility dog will have a loyal and faithful friend, one who will respond eagerly and willingly to any request and is happiest when asked to perform a job.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Animals.

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You have heard the stories when the teacher asked the child where his homework is and he answers, “the dog ate my homework”! Maybe the dog did but what about the story where the little boy states, “The dog told me to do it!”

Isn’t it interesting that we can take something, make it humorous and then make it into a movie! There has been a series of movies lately with new born infants talking, then the animals are talking in the next movie, then similar movies with other animals talking. In most of these movies, the “humans” (or adults) were unaware of the conversations or the depth of the conversations. Do you think the people that came up with these ideas knew something, perhaps?

There is a book that was out 20-30 years ago about a woman that discussed talking with animals. She stated that prior to learning how to speak, we all possess the ability to communicate non-verbally. As we begin to learn to talk, we slowly lose this ability of non-verbal communication. Reach deep into your own memories and explore those times when something just was not quite right with one of your pets. As you deeply contemplated the problem, the answer came to you out of nowhere! It probably didn’t come out of nowhere and no, you didn’t rely on your own Genius. Your pet told you what you were looking for through telepathy.

We have studied animal communication for years through their behavior patterns. Depending on the type of animal, we could reasonably understand what certain behaviors meant in a given situation. This could be studying the interspecies behaviors patterns or studying the behavior patterns of a male to the female during mating season of one species. This brings to mind the bird’s broken wing act to lure a predator away from discovering where her nest is and preying on her young. What about the displays that two males might perform to gain control of their herd between challengers?

This has been something that we have been able to study and explain so as to make it feasible for the average person to understand. People that are into training horses can learn less aggressive means to train horses rather than the old cowboy style of bucking them out until they are “saddle broke”.

If you do a search on the internet under “animal communication”, you will now be able to find the people that were able to maintain their ability to communicate with animals. It’s a very small percentage of individuals that are able to maintain their ability to continue to communicate non-verbally. For them it is a gift. For us, it is a gift when you know one of these people personally.

The study of animal behavior is fascinating and it is something that most of us can understand and work with. The Telepathy method is not so easy to understand because we do not all have this gift nor is it feasible that we can understand and work with Telepathy as well as we can work with animal behavior techniques. There are numerous stories of how these gifted people are able to communicate with an animal that a veterinarian is having difficulty diagnosing and in minutes, they have a solution for the veterinarian. Some of these people, through their special gift work with veterinarians thousands of miles away. Some of them work with people with amazing results (but this is another topic in itself).

The next time you talk to your toddler, maybe he or she is right. Maybe, “The dog told me to do it!”

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Animals

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Originating in ancient times on the Island of Malta, the Maltese has long been held in esteem because of its small size and elegant appearance. It has changed very little since the time of the Roman Empire.

The most appealing thing about the Maltese is the glorious flow of white coat. The coat is single, not double, so it lies flat and flows easily with the movement of the dog. Any deviation from this type of coat in a show Maltese is considered incorrect. Folks who own a pet however often do not keep the coat long, because it takes a great deal of care. A short pet trim does not detract from the dog’s personality, only its looks!

The Maltese personality is as appealing as its looks. It is a small dog but behaves like a big dog. It is not as hyper as many of the smaller breeds and will lie quietly for long periods in its owners arms or simply lounging on the couch, appearing very gentle in nature. However, this little dog can also be a delightful clown and loves to play and romp. They have an elegant movement because the coat flows with the body and they appear to move much faster than they really are moving, because of this flowing motion; so they look to be very quick on their feet. The Maltese has been popular in the show ring for many years and is a crowd pleaser when it runs because of the swiftness of its movement and the fluid appearance of the silky white coat. With its lively expression and alert appearance, this little dog is often one of those who “asks for the win”.

Care has to be taken when a Maltese decides to play too hard around furniture though as jumping from a height taller than itself can damage its legs. The Maltese also have a propensity to develop slipping patella. Although this condition can be hereditary it can also be caused by trauma. An especially small Maltese can sometimes faint, this is usually caused by low blood sugar and the dog can be quickly revived by rubbing honey on its gums. This condition can occur when the dog is teething, at around the age of 4 to 6 months. The tear ducts can sometimes become blocked, a condition which requires a trip to the vet. Except for these aforementioned conditions, the Maltese is generally a healthy dog and lives a long life.

Maltese owners can take these dogs with them everywhere and often do. They fit easily into a bag type of carrier or even a lady’s shoulder bag. And since they are relatively placid in nature they do not create a stir on an airplane or in public places. They fit well into family life and except for making sure that children do not inadvertently hurt this little dog by rough-housing too much, they are fine playmates for children and companions to the elderly also.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Animals

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