Collies and Tuna Casserole

This will heretofore be referred to as "The Tuna Casserole" incident:

I have a 3 yr old Sable headed white collie named Luke. He's always been a frisky boy.

The other night, I was making Tuna Casserole. I had it all mixed up and I needed to start the dryer (about 50 ft away). So, I think, "Okay, I'll go start the dryer and come back, throw this guy in the oven, I'll be eating in 20 minutes".

When I got back (less than 2 minutes) I discovered that the Tuna Casserole was gone. WHAT?? I looked around and I knew who the culprit was. LUKE! I really didn't know who the culprit was at first, because all of the dogs were laying on the floor. Luke was the only one with Tuna on his whiskers.

I went and got the rolled up newspaper and started smacking MYSELF in the head. "You've gotta watch him better, he's only 3" over and over. I must've been pretty ticked, 'cause I think I might've knocked myself out.

When I came to, Luke was licking my face. I decided to remake a new casserole. During that, I was thinking, that took creativity, bravery, accuracy, and timing. Timing was everything! It was definitely preplanned on his part. He's probably been waiting for weeks to pull that one off!

When he turns 5, he's going to be SPECTACULAR!! Until then, I'll be more careful preparing my meals.

Here's a few more things that you might want to be aware of if you're thinking of having a collie around:

Your collie will exploit your weaknesses, they will get fed up with how stupid you are and go lay down, then *sigh*, with the independent eyebrows going. And it takes every bit of willpower you have to not feel SOO inadequete. "What else do you think he might need? Maybe he wants to have a treat? or Could be he should've had steak for dinner instead of that premium dog food with the chicken and rice in it? Could it be that your bed isn't soft enough. Maybe I SHOULD start sleeping in your bed and you could sleep in mine? JUST TELL ME, please don't sigh and give me the independent eyebrows. Oh, those eyebrows, it's hard to resist them. It's hard not to let a collie manipulate you, very hard. You just have to be a rock sometimes. If you can't be a rock and resist those eyebrows, a collie may not be for you.

You will be covered in collie hair, collie spit and collie yips. If you put your head close enough to theirs, they'll clean the wax out of your ears! Helper dogs, always the helpers.

They love to snuggle and think they are lap dogs. If you don't want a dog on your couch, forget it. They love couches, you're not lookin', you can do the math.

You will have an assortment of brushes, they will all have chew marks in the handles. They don't like their butts brushed, so you will be going to the groomer every 6 weeks or you'll have maggots and poop balls living under the mats behind their butts.

If you leave your collie unattended outside, they will probably bark at the neighbors, telling them how stupid they are. (which they are, they aren't collies)

They can be jumpy as pups. Remember that your little pup will be 60 or more pounds in a few months, so DON'T let them jump on you when they are little. It will be MUCH harder to stop when they are older and it will just prove to your collie that you ARE an idiot.

My freinds always know when I'm training a new collie, because my shirts are covered in mud and dirt. I think these are works of art that should be displayed in a museum, but that's because I KNOW the dogs they are going to become once they are matured and trained. I mean, this is like Michael Angelo at 5 years old,,,,treasures.

Collies (for some reason) walk up to you, look you straight in the eye and burp. We haven't figured this out yet, but we suspect it is some advanced form of communication that we idiot humans haven't figured out yet. We've even tried to decipher it using morse code. Not working.

And that's what it's like to live with a collie. Your collie is smarter than you, accept it. Occasionally, they will outsmart you, enjoy it.

And it will rip your heart out when it comes time to say goodbye. You will wish he/she was barking at the neighbors, leaping up to grab the hat off your head so they can prance around with it like a prize, stealing your Tuna Casserole. Because, the last years have been the best you could ever have with a dog.

Our training motto is "If I didn't know what kindof dog they will become, I couldn't stand training the puppies". An untrained collie pup is really no fun.

The first five years can be rough. If you're not ready to continually train, groom, and realize that your an idiot, a collie may not be for you.

Luke's mom with mud on her shirt (training a new dog, ya' know)

PS. In a few weeks, I hope to be clean again LOL

If you're not responsibly breeding, Please spay/neuter your pets!