What is Perfect?

 

I have been spending too much time thinking, as usual. We are living in a crazy $@#% time! The Dogs surely keep me grounded and connected to getting out and about and with friends. Not life as usual, but at least life! 

Planning for the next "perfect" puppy and litter, I am doing my usual over-analyzing of pretty much everything. How great, perfect on paper, or accomplished a dog may be, doesn't mean they produce that. Some produce better than they are. Breeding is always a cocktail, the mix of ability and personality can be different even within a litter. 

Training and competing is one way to see exactly what you've got. More limited with Covid, but still some possible. I continue to be baffled by some who do lots of breeding, without any "data" of proving their dogs abilities, first. Not, that competing is the only barometer of a "good dog", but if they never leave home or do anything, how can you predict what they will produce? There are also lots of titled dogs that I for one would never consider for breeding, but it is one layer of who a dog is, to see how they handle working in public.

My criteria for a litter and subsequent pups, one of whom usually stays is: (not in any specific order)

.I love thinkers! Pups who assess and process and then move on. Not so much in their head that thinking about it prevents them from interaction, but not frantic energy, busy feet and flinging themselves at life either. A calm thinker always gets my vote.

.Connection! It is all about connection for me. I don't care what color or visual picture a pup is-if they get me in the heart, and capture me with their eyes...well I am done for. 

.Brains stay in their head~I love drive and a natural retrieve. I love natural instinct, on critters and in social response. I love a pup who is asking "what's next?" as we journey into life and training together. I love a dog who can be at the top of arousal and then lie down, calmly. I love a pup who does not swirl into the ether in arousal, but can turn on/off either naturally, or with some help in learning the skill. 

.Okay CUTE is important too! Markings, color, coat type aren't important to me. I do look for good structure, body confidence and awareness, flexible spines, tight/strong feet and prefer moderate size in Border Collies. But, Cute is kind of important as it helps get you through the Alien puppy and naughty stages. I also will admit to loving pointy ears, but there will never be stupid breathe strips or tape stuck in my pup's ears, to accomplish this. 

.Working space~I prefer pups that are flexible in their ability to move into pressure and do not have a huge working bubble. It makes it much easier to live with them and also train-both close and farther away skills. This is something I find very frustrating, if a pup can physically not come close-I know it is instinctual that they "feel" pressure, but one of my least fave things to work on. 

.Try!~I love Try! I love a pup who has focus and keeps on task, even if just for a brief time as young pups. Focus of course grows with maturity, but you can see the glimmers of Try, in 4-5 week old babies looking for a treat in a snuffle mat or getting up a step, or barrier challenges. The pup who wants to engage and continue.  The pup who says "Let's do this!" 

.Resiliency~a pup who can bounce back is priceless. At different developmental stages I know I will need to support a pup a bit more, but I love a pup who naturally possesses the ability to work through roadblocks. It is something we also work on as tiny babies, hoping to improve this ability as they grow and leave us. Most BC pups are one-trial learners +/- and in ways we don't always expect. So, I probably protect my pups more at certain times, but also let them fly to experience the world and build their own confidence. 

So, those are some of the things I think about when planning a litter. I get a lot of inquiries of first time BC folks who are looking for "fast" or a service dog or... 
I think thinkers need time to mature, so will they be fast out of the box? maybe not. Thinkers need time to think.

I really don't think most working BC are meant to be true service dogs, either. I have spoken with other trainers who specialize in this field, and they agree. BC's have been bred to be aware and reactive to changes in environment for many many many years, so it is counter intuitive to ask them not to be. A true service dog is more environmentally complacent than the average working border collie. If someone has a malady that their dog serves an alert function for, yes they are intuitive and sensitive dogs, so could be perfect for that. 

So, is the pup I kept from my recent litter, perfect? I think so. She's perfect for me! She's sweet, feisty, brave and damn cute! Who knows where we will be a year from now-but she is so much fun to work with, and I think she feels the same about me. Connection!