One of the hardest things to teach a  young border collie is how to do nothing. They are born knowing how to work, to be obsessive. They generally do not know how to do nothing. That is the best thing I ever taught Red, and the only thing he needed to learn. Fate is desperate to work, eager to play, run, chase sheep. She struggles with doing nothing.

So it is my jog to teach here. I do this in a variety of ways.

First with calming and obedience training – sit, lie down, stay. These are ways to settle a dog.

Then with the crate. If she gets too excited, too busy, too anxious, she goes into the crate where is always a treat or toy for her to play with.

Also with work.  Herding sheep, walking, chasing a ball, all of these things help focus energy at work, make it easier to rest and settle.

And then, patience. Border collies are smart, they will do what you wish if you can be patient enough to give them some time to grow up and if you teach them how to be calm and do nothing.

A friend asked me this week if I wanted Fate to play with her new puppy. I thanked her for the thought, but I said that is the last thing maturing border collie puppies. People need their dogs to play, dogs just get more cranked up when they are encouraged to play with other dogs. Fate does not need to be cranked up, she needs just the opposite.

Puppies play on our guilt, we want them to be happy. Fate screams and complains when she is in the crate and Red goes outside to work. She wants to work too. If she screams, she just earns herself another five or ten minutes in the crate. Another battle that has to be won.

People love to make their dogs happy, to see them run and play and get excited, but it is not always a favor. Fate knows how to be crazy. It is my job to teach her how to be sane.