In very general, you will likely notice that Old World wines tend to be more subtle in flavor and more reserved in profile than the bolder, expressive counterparts found in the New World wines. Old World wines pride themselves on the grapes' soil location and New World wines may mix grapes from a few locations to build the best bottle of wine.
Lately, as Lola improves on the agility course and JohnnyCash continues to excel at working stock, I have been thinking more and more about the obvious differences between these two border collies. Having worked in the restaurant industry for years and having and having enough knowledge of wine to understand grape varietals, I've begun comparing my dogs to wine; the Old World border collie being the dog that encompasses all the traditional qualities necessary in a working farm dog and the New World border collie that dominates the universe of dog sports.
Lets take Lola. My first border collie, I was certain that Lola and I would shake up the dog world with our beauty, our brains, and our unflinching spirit. She was the smartest little puppy with an abiding love for tricks and treats. Lola proved herself a quick student on training days and mastered each new agility obstacle with ease. At home she was the typical border collie we all hear about too often; wanting to play play play, tug, fetch, and having no off switch. It's a good thing I knew what I was getting into when I chose to live with this breed but I can certainly understand how people quickly become overwhelmed by a dog with so much energy especially if they are not prepared to meet the level of activity required to channel it.
So I had this young vibrant intelligent border collie and watching her obsess, stalk, or 'herd' my two ferrets, I contemplated the notion of having her work stock. She is a border collie after all; isn't that what they are bred to do? I was lucky enough to begin lessons with a dynamic seasoned instructor on a beautiful 57 acre working sheep farm.
This brings us to Lola's unflinching spirit or in the Old World lingo, what ranchers refer to as an unbiddable dog. It was eight months before I finally gave up trying to mold Lola into a decent stock dog. Eight months of aggravation, taking a step forward one day only to take two steps back the next, classes that left me in tears, questioning everything I thought I knew about dog psychology. Herding was primal terrain for us. There are no tricks, no treats, no cheerleading (as my trainer put it one day that I showed over exuberance for a minor accomplishment) and Lola was lost. She's a 'what's in it for me' kind of girl and if the only thing in it for her was the privilege of fetching me sheep, she wanted no part of it. So, my border collie was perfect in every way except for one tiny little thing: fulfilling her border collie predestination. In the end I gave up my dream in order to preserve our relationship. I could have broken that dog, I did not want to.
Good choice, as the New world trainers are quick to say, because now we can focus on the sport of agility and a world filled with sardines and chicken livers, ribbons and rewards. I encourage her to be driven and it's expected that she be worked up and mentally unrestrained. We don't play Flyball but I know that uncontrolled speed and fervor are just two requirements essential in the dogs that do.
While I did acknowledge that the herding instinct had been bred out of Lola, I still did not want to give up the time I was spending on the farm. I was lucky enough to have a young border collie to start anew with and still dense enough to believe that a dog from the same bloodlines as Lola would be any different.
But he was different.
From the moment he entered my life, JohnnyCash had my heart. He was so even tempered and untroubled. A far cry from my high maintenance, demanding Lola. He played, he slept, he definitely had an off switch, in fact the biggest issue I can remember having with him was the barking..the constant yap yap yap. As he got older it became clear that JC didn't thrive on reward. This was something new to me, I could get him to behave in a certain way just by letting him know that I was pleased. The one time that I used correction on him was when he did not come back to me while running in the park, and since then his recall has never failed us. Was this a biddable dog, I wondered? I researched his family tree and found that his mother came directly from Scotland, imported from a long line of herding dogs. I rejoiced! He was the chosen one! A modern day border collie with enough of the Old World left in him to thoroughly discombobulate most theories on bloodlines and the importance of the family tree.
My herding instructor remained skeptical.
She changed her mind after our first lesson. JC remained calm, controlled, interested, and most of all, quiet. There was no barking ( he still has not barked once while working), no frenzy, none of the neurotic behavior most of us choose to ignore in our new world border collies. Best of all, for performing his tasks correctly, therefore pleasing me, his reward was his sheep; and that was good enough for him.
So I have two very different border collies and both have a very strong hold on my heart. When Lola wins ribbons I'm exulted because we have worked together and we have achieved so much. When I finally call off JohnnyCash from sheep with 'That'll do' I'm exulted because he has worked for me.
I am so extremely fortunate to have the best of both worlds.
