Border Collie + Beagle = Crazy
I thought I would start a series of posts that provide a little more insight into who I am and what I do outside of blogging. I figured I would start by introducing you to my dog, Maggie. That’s her to the left. I know the title gave it away, but she’s a border collie beagle mix. She’s insane. Sometimes she looks and acts exactly like a border collie. Other times she looks and acts exactly like a beagle.
When I first got Maggie, I also had two cats. I thought everyone would get along swimmingly. The cats had been around dogs before and basically ignored them. I realized about 2 minutes after bringing Maggie home that the reason for that is because the dogs basically ignored them. Maggie – not so much. Her border collie herding instinct immediately kicked in. This little puppy, barely bigger than one of my cats, immediately thought they belonged on top of the kitchen cabinets. From that day forward, the cats basically lived on top of those kitchen cabinets (although I can just imagine how they tormented Maggie when she was in her cage during the day). Any time one of them moved, Maggie would race over to the cabinets, leap at them, and bite at their tails if they were close enough.
The cats now live with my mom (not entirely because of Maggie’s behavior towards them), but that doesn’t stop her from going crazy. These days, Maggie thinks her job is protecting our house from people, dogs, squirrels and cats. If you are one of those creatures, don’t even think about walking by our house. Maggie will show you all kinds of crazy. She barks non-stop. She runs from the sunroom, up to a bedroom, and back down again. She throws her body at the windows. She will not stop until the “threat” is out of her sight. You don’t even want to know how she behaves on a walk.
We are trying to do our best to break her of this habit, but it’s slow going. I know all of our neighbors think she’s nuts. She has the ability to learn because we have been able to teach her all sorts of tricks. Unfortunately she wants nothing to do with “stop” or “quiet.” We need help. It would be great if we could get on “It’s Me Or The Dog.” We could definitely use Victoria’s help.
Despite all of the crazy, she is very sweet. (See right). She loves to lay with us and keep us warm. She is very pretty and soft. Sometimes she will sing with us. She hates to have her picture taken. She hears whenever I take the cap off the camera lens and will immediately change positions or stop doing what ever cute thing she was doing. It’s very strange.
There’s your introduction to Maggie. She may very well be the subject of future posts because sometimes she does the strangest things that make for good comedy.
Posted on January 22, 2011, in who i am and tagged animals, beagle, border collie, dogs, postaday2011, writing. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
Running In The Dark 
What an interesting mix of breeds. She sounds like a lovable handful. Love the name. I want to get a Border Collie but my husband worries they molt too much. We have one that lives over the back fence – his name is Wally. Wally the Border Collie.
Love the name Wally! Lovable handful is a perfect way to describe her. I think part of her problem is she doesn’t have enough room to run around. Our yard is pretty small. She does shed quite a bit, but border collies are great family dogs!
I too have a border beagle. She is the most loving dog I’ve ever had the pleasure of mothering. Her name is mazie and she is now 1 yr 4 months old. She is unbelievably smart, almost human, yet playful and has very ‘odd’ behavior at times. She too herds the cats every chance she gets. Border collies are not a good dog for cats families, but they don’t injure each other so I guess it works. She barks anytime she’s out back, or looking out a window, she eats every toy my child has out, and literally wants to eat food until she can bare no more. She is a fantastic companion though. So loving, intelligent, playful yet cuddly. She is short haired so her upkeep is minimal. Walking her is still a struggle as she becomes an overgrown, incredibly strong, 50lb beagle and pulls in the direction of every living creature. She also loves dogs of her own size or larger, but wants to eat smaller dogs like a savory snack. She’s definitely a pack leader kind of dog, which can complicate training her, but in the end she knows that I’m in command… For the most part. 🙂 I can’t imagine life without her. Border beagles need a ton of excersize. When they get that energy out, they are very well behaved, and very docile. The beagle in them also had a strong need to socialize, and be part of a pack, so if possible, try getting your fur baby around other energetic pups, or better yet, get a second dog. It makes a big difference in their behavior.
I had a border beagle. Her name was Schotzie. Best dog ever. She was so smart and good but had tons of energy even late in life. Best thing to do is exercise this dog A LOT! I trained her right from the beginning that I was in charge and exercised her hard every day and sometimes twice a day. That dog was strong! Great temperament but determined from the border. Good dog!
I adopted Benny, a four year old Border Beagle. He’s a wonderful dog, so loving and sweet. Having had a Border Collie in the past, I can definitely say he is more like a BC in temperament and looks. He’s black and white and looks like a short haired BC. Oddly, he also hates having his picture taken and will turn his back or leave the room when I get the camera out. The only negative trait is his Beagle yodeling! I love him to bits.
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