On Tuesday, we travelled over to Valence in the Rhône Valley and took owner ship of a 12 month old Border Collie called Eric. His previous owner, an 84 year old man had recently died and he was been fostered. We've been on the lookout for a Border Collie for some time, checking on the puppies available on noticeboards in the vet, but Eric came through a friend of a friend and so we took the plunge.
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| Eric - ready for a run? |
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One of the attractions for me for a Border Collie was to have a dog that can come out into the mountains, and run for long periods over rough terrain, or hike all day. However, coming with a years worth of 'baggage', he's got a lot to (un)learn so we're keeping him on a leash for now.
I took him out yesterday for his first proper run. I did a short run up to the Mougious waterfall which he took in his stride. A couple of hundred metres shy of the waterfall, a deer shot out of the forest and across our path - Eric went crazy and tried to bolt after him, which pretty much vindicated my decision to keep him leashed.
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| Post-deer chasing Eric on his way home |
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The biggest problem I found was running with a short leash. I think the natural driving/herding instinct in a Border Collie means that he weaves from left to right a lot, and running with a short leash means I keep running into the back of him.
As usual, the internet is a helpful place and I've been given a lot of advice on running with dogs. I'm ordering a leash that will attach to a belt so I can run hand's free and have a little more give when he stops or speeds up. I'll review it on here when I've had chance to try it out.
