Bud is evolving, his very strong personality is emerging day by day, he is not the dog we got two weeks ago.  His true personality – strong, curious, willful – seems to emerge day by day.

He is not a submissive dog in any way now, he’s a little cautious about being picked up, but that’s about it. He is not in any way afraid of people, men or women, or large crowds.

But is intensely curious, exploring every floor and room and nook and cranny in the house.

He is playful. He loves to be outside, in all kinds of weather.

He is a hoarder, gathering everything that is soft – shoes, sneakers, boots, doorstops, stuffed animals, socks – into a pile under the dining room table. All of a sudden, he is  fascinated by shoes – mine and Maria’s and is collecting them. He hasn’t chewed or hurt any of them, but he wants them all.

Obviously, he doesn’t know the difference between a shoe and a stuffed toy, there is no point at correcting him unless we see  him doing it, and we never have. He is sly.

I think his latent puppy period is emerging. He doesn’t seem to be teething, just collecting and my shoes are almost never where I left them. I never see him do this, he is fast and efficient.

Bud is very (and surprisingly) interested in the sheep, and he has no qualms about trying to tell them what to do. This morning, he challenged Liam, our big wether who battles with Red, to stay close to the flock, and Liam did.

He doesn’t bite or nip, he keeps a distance. Bud is a dominant male, he has a lot of instinct and prey drive.

In the pasture, Bud has all the behaviors of a young and untrained border collie who needs to be calmed and directly. He is easily called off sheep or distracted, and that is good. I am working on his recall every day, it is getting very strong. He sits on command 9 out of 10 times.

I’m surprised about his interest in the sheep. He does keep the sheep together and stops anyone from drifting too far.

Like Fate he runs around the flock enthusiastically but unlike Fate, he will get close and try to direct the sheep.

I’m doing a lot of calming work out there with treats and voice commands, keeping him from getting too close and calling him off with voice commands and treats to keep him from getting too excited.

The important work is lengthening the reliable recall, getting him to sit 100 per cent of the time on command. The good news is that he responds well to his name, trusts me and Maria and loves food.

I haven’t figured out yet what to do about the shoes. And oh yes, the marking has pretty much stopped.