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Showing Original Post only (View all)What is your favorite dog breed and why? [View all]
Mine is border collies, based on one I had many years ago, named Laddie. He was not pedigreed (none of my pets have been), so he might have had another breed in his family tree somewhere, but he looked pure border collie. Got him from the Humane Society when he was 2 months old. He was tri-colored, white, black, and a rich sable color.
The best all around dog I ever knew. Protective, playful, excellent hunting instincts without any training, well mannered and rule-abiding, very intelligent, huge vocabulary, and able to make his own judgments about danger. (I never let my husband take him hunting bc I feared a stupid hunter would shoot him for a fox).
Most memorable and amazing thing that Laddie did. We were at a public park on the Lake Erie shore next to the mouth of a large creek that empties into the lake. It was early spring. The creek was just stocked with coho salmon and several fishermen were checking it out, tossing Velveeta cheese to watch the fish jump.
We were chatting with a young couple who had their 18 month old daughter with them. I had Laddie on a leash. None of us, except Laddie, noticed the girl wander toward the creek bank, which had a 30 foot drop and strong undertow from the lake.
Laddie barked so ferociously, while tugging HARD on the leash, that I looked to see why. None of us could have reached the child in time. Intuituvely I understood Laddie's intent and dropped the leash. He raced to the girl, knocked her down, and sat on her until her father reached her. Meantime, the mother was screaming in fear.
When the father picked up his daughter, Laddie trotted back to me. The father offered us $50 for saving his child. We said the dog did it, not us. He said, "But you gave the command." I told him that I said nothing, just let go so Laddie could do his thing, and that Laddie was not a trained rescue dog, only a pet.
The father could not believe that an untrained dog would recognize the danger and take action on his own. But, border collies are instinctively herding dogs. Laddie saw a young "human lamb" going astray and went after her.
I have had other dogs that I cherished, but Laddie has always remained my favorite.