Lola doesn't have a chance with the cats!

momofmany

TCS Member
Thread starter
Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
16,249
Purraise
70
Location
There's no place like home
Lola is our new puppy that we adopted last month from the humane society. She's about 10-11 months old and we were a bit nervous at first because she obviously has border collie in her. Border collies can be very high strung and prone to herding cats.

She was annoying the cats at first because, well, she's border collie mix. Then Stumpy got involved. I have no idea what exactly he does, but he did the same thing when Sam and Spike were puppies. He puts the "fear of Stumpy" in them. He'll actively engage a puppy, and when the puppy doesn't respond how he wants them to, he thwacks them. His expectations are simply: no rough housing and be calm when he wants to snuggle up to them.

The other night Lola wanted to walk up to me. Stumpy was between me and Lola. Lola started to walk up to me, stopped when she approached Stumpy and backed up. She repeated this about 4 times before she turned around, walked the long way around the room to come at me from another direction. All Stumpy was doing was looking at her. I laughed my butt off.

Later that night Bob came into the house while we were feeding the cats. The dogs are required to lay calmly on their rugs while we feed the cats and wait until they all walk away. The rugs are in the kitchen where we feed the cats on the floor. Lola has learned this already (she's smart). Normally Lola follows Bob around the house while he's inside because she wants to herd him. Bob sees Lola on her rug, walks up to her and taunts her with a full body rub then walks away to the food bowls. It took every ounce of self control for her to stay on that rug. I'll attribute this to Stumpy also.

Poor Lola doesn't have a chance with the cats!
 

mrblanche

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
12,578
Purraise
119
Location
Texas
But those border collies really learn FAST and WELL, don't they?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

momofmany

TCS Member
Thread starter
Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
16,249
Purraise
70
Location
There's no place like home
Originally Posted by mrblanche

But those border collies really learn FAST and WELL, don't they?
I can't say that they are highly intelligent, or just highly trainable.
 

mrblanche

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
12,578
Purraise
119
Location
Texas
Originally Posted by Momofmany

I can't say that they are highly intelligent, or just highly trainable.
Animal experts say the border collie is the most intelligent of dogs, and the English bulldog the least intelligent. Of course, the range there is probably not as great as the spread among "normal" human beings.

However, they do say that if you have a border collie, you'd better know how to keep it entertained, or it will have behavior problems. At the other end of the spectrum, the bulldog and the wolfhounds are just a little bit smarter than furrry furniture.
 

yayi

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Oct 9, 2003
Messages
12,110
Purraise
91
Location
W/ the best cats
Originally Posted by Momofmany

Bob sees Lola on her rug, walks up to her and taunts her with a full body rub then walks away to the food bowls. It took every ounce of self control for her to stay on that rug. I'll attribute this to Stumpy also.
I don't know, like mrblanche said, border collies are quite intelligent. Stumpy only proved it.
 
Top