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| Name: |
Ace
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Age: |
Six and a half years old
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| Gender: |
Male |
Breed: |
Border Collie |
| Home: |
Juneau, Alaska, USA |
Hi!
This handsome fellow is named Ace. He is a six and a half years old
border collie who lives in Juneau, Alaska. He came to Alaska by way of a
shelter in Montana.
He was 1 1/2 when he became part of our family. He proved himself to be
a very affectionate and smart dog. We were at least his 3rd home and it
took him a little while to learn to trust us.
Ace has some really strong herding instincts. When we first got him he
was horrible in the car. He would race around jumping over people and
seats acting like a completely crazy creature. After talking to a border
collie specialist, we found out that he was trying to herd the lines on
the road! We did some behavior modification training and now riding in
the car is safe and fun for all of us! It is one of Ace's favorite
things to do... he hears the keys and he is ready to go. Ace will fetch
my keys on command. When he thinks we have spent too much time at home,
he will fetch my keys (without the command) and bring them to me. If
they are not on the kitchen counter, he will look in my purse! Once,
when we were on the beach, Ace started to herd a pod of sea lions. He
was thinking that would be a lot of fun, until a big whale broke the
water's surface... I think he decided the whale had everything under
control and didn't Ace's help!
When we got Ace he was so well trained that we couldn't believe anyone
wouldn't have searched the world to find him! Somebody else adopted him
and took him back... didn't like him chasing the deer on their property!
Ace knows several voice commands as well as hand signals. Aside from
fetching the keys, he will also bring his brush on command. One of his
favorite jobs is bringing in the news paper. He sits on a bar stool on
command; otherwise he knows he is not allowed on furniture. The
exception to this is when he tries to sneak into one of the kids beds
before his own bedtime!
Our cats were initially not fond of Ace's herding instincts, but they
have worked that out. They learned that if they didn't run, he wouldn't
chase them. Ace figured this out too... and is constantly watchful for
his opportunity. Sometimes he even does a little friendly "prompting"!
Some of his energy goes into long trail runs. If my husband runs seventeen
miles, I wonder how many Ace puts in... In between runs he gets to go
for long walks on the wetlands where he can run free. The nice thing
about this is that he always comes when he is called. (I like that in a
dog!)
Ace has made his home in our hearts. He also has a great smile!
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