Jet and Ted come home to Alberta
Jet and Ted are both from Scott and Jenny Glen in New Dayton, south of Lethbridge. Making the decision to get a Border Collie (and then another) was life changing for me. It meant leaving behind a lot of ideas I had about conformation and breeding, and learning the concepts of dogs bred to work - based on real work, and not on the form and appearance of a working dog. For the past three years, they have filled my life with a lot of joy as these dogs are so bright it is like having little children who never grow beyond that adorable stage where they love you without hesitation. Since Scott bred them and has helped me train both of them, I can't take credit for how beautifully behaved or how smart they are. But I will take full credit for their quirks (well, maybe not all of Ted's) and the way they play. And what is interesting to me, is that the way they play is also how they herd. Ted is very gentle and happy, and eager to please; Jet is intense and all business.
Border Collies love to retrieve and so teaching them to indicate articles for tracking is very easy. Ted is downright possessive of any object he claims, from a big stick, to a glove, to the tiny piece of fluff he blew from his mouth onto my lap the other day, tail just wagging! When he finds something he lies back with his ears up and head cocked, waiting for me to toss it. He gets over-excited and is very eager to play and make me happy. Sometimes he reminds me of Charlie Brown's Snoopy the way he will dance with a toy or stick.
Jet is also possessive but in an assertive and bitchy way. She will lie over an object and touch it with her chin, which is her tracking indication. She will then guard it with an upright posture and glaring eyes. Since Jet is more of an experienced tracker, she also highly values getting an object to present to me, to prove her brilliance and superiority. Look at her submissive, happy look below as she gives me the stick she took away from Ted. Jet wants to please too, but in her own way, which does not involve any silly or goofy shenanigans. 
This is my very happy, very loving Jet. She does have that side, when she feels she has done a good job and knows you are pleased with her.
I have never seen dogs whose eyes were more expressive, from dark black and flat with intensity, to glinting with joy and mischief in the blink of, well, of an eye!
Category Article Border collie, Jet, Ted
