He started out humbly, an 8 week old pup abandoned along with his Mom and Brother and Sister. They were left in a locked cage in an empty building to die. Fortunately they were all found in time and rescued. The next day we just happened to stop at Wayside Waifs animal rescue and there he was - the one in the cage that would come right up to anyone, chew on any finger that got stuck in the cage, and the one about whom the first words out of Jeff's mouth were "He looks like trouble". No more prophetic words were ever uttered. However, Jackie grabbed his adoption card and the rest is history. We remind him when he crawls into our bed at night that he won the "puppy lottery" that day! But actually, we were the real winners!
Number 1 most asked question. What kind of dog is that?
Well - we don't know for sure. Since we got Towse at the shelter they didn't really have him figured out. They figured Border Collie and Australian Shepherd mix. Most popular guesses from people when they saw him? When he was little he was colored just like a Bernese Mountain dog - so we got asked about that a lot - obviously he didn't grow into that. His body was really long so he was accused of having everything from "weener dog" to corgi in him. Now that he is fully grown we think the closest guess is probably Border Collie and Australian Sheppard - with maybe a touch of Sheltie. He loves to herd, and he is really energetic and extremely smart.
Second most asked question. Have you thought about obedience classes?
:o) This one was mostly posed in his earlier days by people who didn't want to come right out and say "For crying out loud get that dog under control!!!!" And yes - Towse made it through basic obedience class with flying colors. He is super fat headed and very independent so that sometimes gets in the way of his obedience. He always thinks he knows better than we do on how to do things so he hates to have to regress to our level. At 1 1/2 he knew about 30 or so words and commands, and if in the right mood may even do them when asked!
Number 3. How do you get your dog to do that?
"That" can be anything from sitting, rolling over, high fives, backing up, crawling etc - but is mostly asked regarding his tenacity to catch a frisbee. Although we would like to take all the credit - it really is all his. He is what people in the dog biz call a "high drive" dog. I think I might call him a "VERY" high drive dog. Some people have to coax their dog to tug - or fetch - or get on the agility obstacles. Not Towser. He has always done all of that without being asked. (At the agility course while we are setting up stuff - he likes to run up and down the walk and the A frame and tear through the tunnels on his own. It's like he is a little kid running his own course. I can hear the play by play announcer in his little head "Towser has 10 seconds to get through the remaining obstacles and win the gold.... 5... 4.... 3.... 2........ He wins!!!" - - And then the crowd goes wild etc etc - until he hears us yelling "Towser - get over here" and he has to snap back to reality.)
He will never let go of a tug toy, and will fetch a tennis ball for hours - even a bonus if it is in a lake! He LOVES to swim - he gets in the little kiddie pool at the local dog park and rolls around just so he can be sort of submerged. If you ever have had a dog that does some annoying thing.... Towser does them all. Roll in dead things? Check. Chase squirrels, cats, snakes, etc etc? Check. Dig up the backyard and catch moles? Check. Bark at cars, people or the wind? Check. Laydown in every mud puddle he comes across? Check. Roll down his window on his own in the back of the car and jump out of it while we are moving? Check. He really is "that" dog. But for all of his ....ummm... "challenging" traits, he has a ton of good and amazing ones. I guess that all goes together. He is an amazing little guy - our lives are forever changed for the better thanks to this little dog that nobody wanted.
Number 1 most asked question. What kind of dog is that?
Well - we don't know for sure. Since we got Towse at the shelter they didn't really have him figured out. They figured Border Collie and Australian Shepherd mix. Most popular guesses from people when they saw him? When he was little he was colored just like a Bernese Mountain dog - so we got asked about that a lot - obviously he didn't grow into that. His body was really long so he was accused of having everything from "weener dog" to corgi in him. Now that he is fully grown we think the closest guess is probably Border Collie and Australian Sheppard - with maybe a touch of Sheltie. He loves to herd, and he is really energetic and extremely smart.
Second most asked question. Have you thought about obedience classes?
:o) This one was mostly posed in his earlier days by people who didn't want to come right out and say "For crying out loud get that dog under control!!!!" And yes - Towse made it through basic obedience class with flying colors. He is super fat headed and very independent so that sometimes gets in the way of his obedience. He always thinks he knows better than we do on how to do things so he hates to have to regress to our level. At 1 1/2 he knew about 30 or so words and commands, and if in the right mood may even do them when asked!
Number 3. How do you get your dog to do that?
"That" can be anything from sitting, rolling over, high fives, backing up, crawling etc - but is mostly asked regarding his tenacity to catch a frisbee. Although we would like to take all the credit - it really is all his. He is what people in the dog biz call a "high drive" dog. I think I might call him a "VERY" high drive dog. Some people have to coax their dog to tug - or fetch - or get on the agility obstacles. Not Towser. He has always done all of that without being asked. (At the agility course while we are setting up stuff - he likes to run up and down the walk and the A frame and tear through the tunnels on his own. It's like he is a little kid running his own course. I can hear the play by play announcer in his little head "Towser has 10 seconds to get through the remaining obstacles and win the gold.... 5... 4.... 3.... 2........ He wins!!!" - - And then the crowd goes wild etc etc - until he hears us yelling "Towser - get over here" and he has to snap back to reality.)
He will never let go of a tug toy, and will fetch a tennis ball for hours - even a bonus if it is in a lake! He LOVES to swim - he gets in the little kiddie pool at the local dog park and rolls around just so he can be sort of submerged. If you ever have had a dog that does some annoying thing.... Towser does them all. Roll in dead things? Check. Chase squirrels, cats, snakes, etc etc? Check. Dig up the backyard and catch moles? Check. Bark at cars, people or the wind? Check. Laydown in every mud puddle he comes across? Check. Roll down his window on his own in the back of the car and jump out of it while we are moving? Check. He really is "that" dog. But for all of his ....ummm... "challenging" traits, he has a ton of good and amazing ones. I guess that all goes together. He is an amazing little guy - our lives are forever changed for the better thanks to this little dog that nobody wanted.
