Doing what she was bred to do!

When I adopted Lilly 10 months ago, I thought I was getting a completely different dog than I got.  Lilly was adopted from a rescue by a woman with really good intentions who was guilty of loving Lilly too much...

You see, dogs like Lilly need more than just food and love.  They need boundaries and a strong leader as well.  That is how Lilly found herself back in the hands of rescue a second time.  Lucky for me, I had temporarily fostered a dog for this group, and told them what type of dog I was looking for, so I jumped on the chance to adopt Lilly.

Now, I am not stupid.  I never adopted Lilly with the idea she was going to be an "easy" dog.  I by nature am a Belgian Shepherd sort of girl.  I like a dog that is spirited but honest, and wants to work with you.  I also love a "bad" dog...  Where I don't mind fostering "wallflower type" dogs, my most successful K9 partners have been dogs with a back bone that would just as soon flip you off than let you be right.

The day we met Lilly, I felt sorry for her.  She was an over weight, unemployed dog, begging for work, and because she had been living in a doggie daycare facility for quite an extensive period of time during her unemployment, she was driving people crazy with her antics.  I immediately noticed Lilly was wickedly smart, and tried really hard to impress me with her agility skills.  I was hooked!  

I signed her paperwork, and then I was handed a yellow folder with all of her medical information in it.  It was in the very back of the file that I found a letter regarding Lilly from her old owner and as I read through it I whispered to The Reluctant Farmer:  "What the hell did we just adopt, a gremlin?!"  The letter was a list of rules about what you could and could not do with Lilly.  No drive-thru windows, no wire crates, no food after 7 pm, and my favorite:  Don't allow her on your couch because she will bite you when you ask her to get off.  

I really wasn't sure about the adoption until I read that last warning, and that is when the illogical part of my brain went:  "Hell, yes!"  I love a dog with enough backbone that she will challenge me,  This is EXACTLY what I was looking for!

I took Lilly home, and then I realized within minutes, I did not adopt a Belgian Shepherd.  I adopted a Border Collie.  Very similar in drive, but 2 completely different breeds on several aspects.

  

1)  Border Collies have a neurotic side that Belgians do not have, and Lilly's neurosis was intensified because she lived in a 10 x 10 run at a doggie daycare until her owner agreed to re-release her to rescue.

2)  She didn't give two shits about me, and she didn't need me at all.

I cried.

And then I got really busy working with this dog.

In the beginning Lilly and I butted heads every day, but I have to tell you I have loved every moment with this girl, because she has taught me so much.  She has made me step out of my comfort zone, forced me to be a better handler, and subjected me to stuff I would have never done before.

  

That is why this morning I drove her one state over to Stockdog U for herding lessons.

I didn't need one more thing to do with this dog, and this sport looks hard as hell, but I know in my heart, Lilly needs this activity like a fish needs water and I respect her enough to know this would make her world complete.  She had a blast today and it was breathtaking to watch her instincts take over.

We can't wait to go back.  

I think we just found a new sport....