a reply to:
Lilroanie
Great pics!
ACD's are one of the most athletic dogs I've ever seen. For many years I bred, raised and trained Labrador Retrievers (hunting dogs). At one point
we wanted to get a cattle dog, so we looked into ACD's. Some ACD owner's are crazy, and we went through some of that. They all want your first born
as a guarantee you'll take care of them (and they can be a handful). Well, we have lots of land and they can run for miles. I have to say, in
retrospect, I now understand why some of the breeders are so protective of these dogs. People say Border Collies have a ton of energy, and well,
those people have NEVER owned an ACD!! The energy level of our Cisco (the ACD) is 10x that of any Border Collie! This dog can run for 10 miles and
not even break a sweat. BUT, here, we can let him out and he can run 10 miles before his breakfast, and do it four more times after that. So, he
gets
plenty of exercise (again the fastest dog I've ever known).
And jump??? Oh man! This dog can jump up onto a 7 foot tall hay stack in one bound. When I bring hay in on the trailer, Cisco will jump from the
ground onto the top of the hay (over 12 feet) and ride the trailer up to where we unload. It's crazy! He scratches up the last couple feet or so,
but he gets up there! And then he's on the top of the World! He's KING...and he loves that. Proudest dog I ever knew, prancing around on top of all
that hay. And when I unload the bales with the skidsteer he'll ride them down, and as soon as I set the bale down, he'll run back over and jump back
up on top again, and ride the next one down again. It's like it's his job. He's the supervisor.
I have to say, I always worry about that dog because he's just tireless and fearless. He's the only dog I've ever known who gets hurt because of
something he's doing. I've spent probably $1,000 dollars at the vet with him breaking nails (deep). The dang dog is walking wounded more times than
I can count, but that doesn't stop him. Shoot, he broke a toe one time and had a cast on his foot, and he was still bolting around catching rabbits.
He turned the cast to putty, and it fell off. He's got a crooked toe now, but he thinks it's cool...character, I guess.
For anyone who ever thinks about getting an ACD, wow, these dogs need space. They need to be able to run, and run FAR!
I joke with Cisco and the wife, saying we're going to move to an apartment in the city, and Cisco is going to have to live in a crate! He knows
exactly what a crate is, because his brother, the Aussie, had to live in one for 3 months (hip surgery)
If we tell Cisco to "Crate Up", his ears go back and he'll slink into the crate and look all broken hearted. He'll go, but he's not happy about it.
Then when we call him out (a few minutes later, after his time out) he'll come out like a fireball and go find some socks to steal (his favorite
thing). Then he'll parade his theft prize in front of you, doing that sideways run ACD's do, with his tail wagging 100mph until you tell him he's a
"Sock THIEF!" and ask him to give your socks back, then it's snuggle and nap time.
Absolutely wonderful dogs, but they definitely need their space.