Althouse: "Border collie Zoe & AMAZING dog tricks!"

February 24, 2013

"Border collie Zoe & AMAZING dog tricks!"

36 comments:

rhhardin said...: I don't like the heel (looking up at handler), a style that impressed women obedience judges and was started by Diane Bowman.

The Koehler original relied on the dog's control of his own attention to stay in position. He can look where he wants so long as he never gets out of position.

That makes it useful, say for going on walks. Let the dog look around. Just stay in position.; 2/24/13, 9:53 AM
rhhardin said...: Diane Bauman, apparently, not Bowman.; 2/24/13, 9:56 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I don't like the heel (looking up at handler), a style that impressed women obedience judges and was started by Diane Bowman."

I thought it was a special trick and not they way they'd normally walk.

Seemed like a combination of hugging and walking. Which kinda is what women like.; 2/24/13, 9:57 AM
edutcher said...: Border collies are like good cow ponies, so the idea this one can be taught a lot of extra moves isn't that surprising.

Not that watching her isn't a delight.

(York reaction: very good; now do it again; oh, you want me...? I'll get back to you); 2/24/13, 10:26 AM
Wince said...: Best in... Zoe?; 2/24/13, 10:35 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/24/13, 10:46 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Cow dogs. In the late summer we really get a kick out of watching the ranch hands and their 'cow dogs' round up the herds down in the fields across the river from us. We sit on the deck with cocktails in hand, binoculars at the ready and laugh our asses off at the interactions between the dogs, the cattle and the guys on their horses.

The dogs really can do the job on their own without a lot of micro managing by the ranch hands. You can tell the dogs are really really happy. Tails wagging. Jumping and running. Teasing the cows and yearlings. If we were closer we could see them smiling and almost hear their laughter. The cutting horses are pretty darned smart too.

Our end of summer show.; 2/24/13, 10:48 AM
Mike and Sue said...: Thanks (again) Ann. Perfect video for my sunday morning (mourning). My ten year old border collie, constant companion, and top ranch hand on our sheep farm is very ill and perhaps on his last legs. I hope I have given him a life worthy of his devotion and virtue. The video reminds me that life goes on and there will be future dog friends. I so enjoy your blog.; 2/24/13, 11:11 AM
Ann Althouse said...: @Mike and Sue It sounds like your dog had a great life with you.; 2/24/13, 11:23 AM
Kurt said...: Regarding rhhardin's point about the heel, I wonder if it's not a style that border collies are more inclined to do? That's how my border collie heels. I have trained him with a clicker, and I never took him to an obedience class. I wasn't training him to specifically do that, but I liked him looking back to check in with me.; 2/24/13, 11:30 AM
Kev said...: (the other kev)

Doggie Downers - stat.; 2/24/13, 11:31 AM
Deb said...: Zoe is a great name for a dog.; 2/24/13, 11:32 AM
Goju said...: Anyone who has owned or been around Border Collies can attest to their high levels of intelligence and constant willingness to learn new things.
A BC in Europe has a 400 word vocabulary and has made scientists there rethink the theories on animal cognitive abilities; 2/24/13, 11:54 AM
rhhardin said...: My first Dobie Susie had a vocabulary in context of 200 words.

You have to be consistent in naming, and interact a lot.

"Get your _ ball" (tennis, base, foot, lacrosse...) was a good genre, getting the ball from a pile, after which we go out and play with it.

My mother saw this and tried it herself: "Get your ball!"

Susie was incredulous. Get your WHAT ball?

Always play with the object fetched, because that's the reason to be interested in the words.

If it's just fetch this fetch that fetch that, it won't work. There's no reason to pay attention.

It can't just be a dog trick.; 2/24/13, 12:14 PM
tiger said...: I'm caught between thinking

1) How cool!

and

2) What a needy dog always trying to please its master.

Yeah I'm well aware of how smart BCs are and their ability to learn but the dog looks almost neurotic in its efforts.

Oh the other hand: better to have such a well trained dog vs having one out of control from the lack there of.; 2/24/13, 12:15 PM
JPS said...: When these dogs are brought up, I always think of Jonah Goldberg:

"Release a border collie into a cocktail party and pretty soon all your guests will be scrunched into a corner." I love the mental image of a border collie making that happen.; 2/24/13, 12:18 PM
MadisonMan said...: I still think Jonathan and Charlotte should have won Britain's Got Talent, not Ashleigh and Pudsey.; 2/24/13, 12:31 PM
Deb said...: There are a couple of very interesting documentaries available on Netflix (streaming) about dogs- The Science of Dogs, which is a National Geographic documentary; another from NOVA - "Dogs Decoded." I forget which one goes into some detail about dogs and their understanding of language. Truly fascinating.; 2/24/13, 12:56 PM
jr565 said...: I love this video by OK Go with dogs (and a goat) doing various tricks. I'm wonding if this dog is in the video (thres one dog that does look similar):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHlJODYBLKs

Dogs doing tricks are always fun.; 2/24/13, 12:59 PM
Lisaocean86 said...: Sitting here on this very grey New England day and I have to tell you that video just put a song in my heart! dogs are just the best.; 2/24/13, 1:26 PM
JAL said...: Skidboot and his master/friend are my all time internet favorites.; 2/24/13, 1:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Smartest dogs I've ever had. That's for darn sure. They live to herd.; 2/24/13, 1:49 PM
Anonymous said...: As to the cocktail party, I'll bet border collies can separate out the Democrats.; 2/24/13, 1:50 PM
Kylos said...: rhhardin, as others have alluded to, I don't think that was heeling so much as the herding instinct that border collies are known for.; 2/24/13, 2:00 PM
Kylos said...: rhhardin, as others have alluded to, I don't think that was heeling so much as the herding instinct that border collies are known for.; 2/24/13, 2:01 PM
kentuckyliz said...: I have a cousin in law (if there is such a thing) who is a shepherdess in Wales in the Black Mountains. Up and down the steep mountain twice a day. Her herding dog is amazing, but it's normal. It's instinct plus training.

Zoe is beautiful. Those must be some really powerfully tasty treats.

Cats would never compromise their dignity to such a depth.; 2/24/13, 3:59 PM
Nini said...: I really enjoy watching all the dog videos posted on here.

We have a border collie, named Kiana and I agree that BCs can be considered the most intelligent of all dogs.

From our experience with her, I'd say that she seems to have memory and can sort of express by her demeanour and actions, her reactions to what's happening around her. She normally sleeps with my 20 year old daughter and I sometimes let her sleep on my bed. I sometimes wake-up in the night to find her tossing and turning and breathing deeply like a person. I have not heard her snore though.

It's funny that when she saw herself the first time in the mirror, she barked and got a bit frightened. Of course, she answers to her name. But I wonder if she has a sense of self.

We always say that she is a part of our family. When people ask her name we say its Kiana including our surname.

Although BCs are very active dogs because they are working dogs, Kiana is a very gentle dog. We have a he-rabbit who is the more aggressive between the two.

Last year prominent scientists made The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness which concludes that animals have consciousness,including lower level animals such as octopus.

If have the time and background to understand the studies pertaining to the declaration you might want to visit their site. http://fcmconference.org/; 2/24/13, 4:34 PM
galdosiana said...: Herding dogs in general tend to be very intelligent (and also very energetic and high-drive!). My German Shepherd pup, who is 10 months old now, knows about 40 tricks so far in both English and Spanish, and we're constantly adding more. (Today, in fact, she started learning to play a little piano.) These dogs are amazing to watch, because you can just see them working things out in their minds, making connections. I teach mine a lot of tricks to keep her occupied. If I didn't, she would surely make me regret it!; 2/24/13, 5:40 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: All three of my Belgians did that head looking up, close-in, wrap around type of heal naturally. With no reward at all. It's mind blowing. No exuberant praise, and no cross admonishments, just continuous unexcited calming quiet whispering voice, "good girl," and withholding that if it isn't right. Which drives them NUTS. When I showed in obedience the dogs would have points knocked off for crowding. I loved it, and so did the dogs, and so did observers because it's so fun, but it never helped our scores. Whereas my German Shepard who had at least 30 X more training without exaggeration, always tended to lead and never came close to anything so intimate or frenetically neurotically attentive as that we scored poorly for other reasons.

I love the part in the video of the dog's forepaws on the handlers bent leg, looking above the handler's leg, holding on, looking below the handler's leg. That is adorable. I haven't seen that before.; 2/24/13, 6:00 PM
Aridog said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/24/13, 7:08 PM
Aridog said...: rhhardin said...

I don't like the heel (looking up at handler), a style that impressed women obedience judges and was started by Diane Bowman.

She didn't originate squat...the heel at attention or "fus" is a Schutzhund protocol in obedience and has been since Max von Stephanitz founded the German Shepherd breed in 1899. It is a specific action related to other commands given out of motion in a trial, not a "show."

The same protocols apply to Rotweillers, Dobermans, Boxers, and any other dog if participating in a working trial for tracking, protection and obedience, or police dog trials.

The normal "heel," stationary or in motion, with the dog holding position but other wise looking ahead and around is also used when just walking at leisure or working to clear an area in hunting or protection...e.g., the dog is supposed to look around...such as in walking gun dog trials.

Some lady finds "Fus" stylish for AKC is no surprise...almost everything in AKC is stylish before functional. This is why I am a member of USCA.; 2/24/13, 7:12 PM
Aridog said...: Free heeling in the Schutzhund style for performance out of motion ...e.g., when other commands are anticipated and executed within one stride.; 2/24/13, 7:34 PM
Saint Croix said...: Awesome video, Althouse, thanks!; 2/24/13, 8:24 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: I love border collies; they rock. (I once studied viola with a guy in London who had a border collie. No lesson could start without my first playing five minutes' tug-of-war with Portia over a knotted sock in the kitchen.) That said, that is, hands down, the ugliest border collie I have ever seen. What is with the tongue thing?; 2/24/13, 11:30 PM
Anonymous said...: I assume you've seen Ashley and Pugsey?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv_gOBi8Wpk; 2/25/13, 3:03 AM
Nichevo said...: Amazing. Nice dog, too. (I could stand to meet that redhead); 2/26/13, 8:35 AM