Bob CollinsWe are choosing to take some comfort in the knowledge that no matter what fresh hell awaits us in the news this week, we are still a people who will gather in the pouring rain, to watch a dog chase sheep from one end of the field to another, dispelling the notion that we return to work today to work like a dog.
Not even close, the Seattle Times reports today, after spending part of the weekend at the Sheepdog Classic on Vashon Island.
Sheepdog owners decline to name the dumbest breeds out of respect for man’s best friend.
So take that, Jack Russell owners. The terriers’ energy may be confused for intelligence, and they don’t make the American Kennel Club’s top 10.
And the queen’s corgis? Palace adornments.
Not only do border collies have high IQ’s, they love to work. And they’ve come to Vashon to compete at the annual Sheepdog Classic.
Sheepherding dogs have to solve the problem of the flock.
They have to read the sheep — from the slowest to be moved, to the one most likely to panic. Panic breaks up the group.
Sheep just want to eat grass and survive, not be harassed.
So the dog has to convince a flock of five that there’s no other option but to go into the 8-foot-square pen. The field is 400 yards long.
The drama was unmistakable.
