I know I have talked about this in the past (but don't ask which blogs as I'm terrible remembering!). Taking Teach (and now Tucker too) every where with us is always fun. It lets people see what good dogs Collies are and also lets people know there is another variety out there (the Smooth).
Of course we gets lots of questions with them ... is he shaved, is he part greyhound, is he part German Shepherd. And I always think back to this saying from Cafe Press:
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| I'm going to have to get me one of these shirts! |
I always tell people that yes he is a Collie. He's just like Lassie only no hair. That seems to make sense to them.
Another part of why we get attention (besides our looks) is they are very well trained. (well Tucker is working on it!) I can put Teach anywhere for a picture and he will stay there for me. People see that and often compliment us on our abilities. For the past year I have taken the route of positive pet training and even signed up for several online classes at the Fenzi Dog Sport Academy. We have learned a lot of valuable information from there and will continue as the +R (positive reinforcement) community grows.
It has paid off for both of my dogs. Even Tucker is coming along quickly.
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| You get farther by being positive than you do being negative! |
Most importantly having a well trained dog makes them more enjoyable to be around and have around other people. Sometimes I do think I have easier than some because by nature the Collie is a smart, gentle breed who wants nothing more than to please its people.
Thanks to the hosts of this Blog Hop, Cascadian Nomads, Dachshund Nola, and Tenacious Little Terrier.
Well, our somewhat parallel lives continue, Rebecca, because part of the well-trained dog ambassadorship that my boys do is definitely posing for pictures. People are always comimenting their stays and asking how I do it. It never occurred to me you'd get questions about your collies being hairless (tee, hee.) I'm sure you've read about it numerous times on my blog but the t-shirt we need is about Brychwyn. "No, I am not an Australian shepherd corgi mix. No, I am not a pembroke with an undocked tail. No, I am not a new designer breed." I especially hate the last one. I often snap back that corgis are one of the oldest known UK breeds. Grr. Are there positive reinforcement training classes for teaching people? I'm good at it with the dogs... :) Thanks for joining the hop this month (even if you procrastinated. Wait. More parallels... I wrote my post before bed last night!)
ReplyDeleteApparently no one knows what Corgis look like. Someone asked me if Mr. N was a Corgi.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post!! I love smooth collies and think they are so beautiful! I've been taking Fenzi classes, too! They are so fun! :D
ReplyDeleteWhich classes have you taken at Fenzi? It's always hard deciding which ones to take.
ReplyDeleteThe staying put for photos thing is always an attention getter here, too. And LOL at the confusion on Smooth Collies!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous dogs! I've known "rough" collies, but don't think I've met a smooth one. I love that T-shirt!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay in this response. We've taken Ring Confidence, Relationship Building through Play, Shaping, Get Focus, and Empowered Puppy. Next term I think I'm going to take the next Focus class and maybe the intro to Agility. It is always hard to decide which one to take.
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