The Border Collie Chose the Quiet Corner Over the Herding Job

Hay dust floats in the light of a quiet barn, and in the corner a blue merle Border Collie has made room in the straw. A small white lamb, which we'll call Cotton, rests right against her chest, a thin collar around her neck. The two have their noses nearly touching, as if they're sharing a secret. The collie's marbled gray-and-black coat looks like a storm cloud beside the lamb's soft curls, and her pale eyes stay calm and half-lidded. Old wooden boards and loose hay frame the scene.

Border Collies were developed to work closely with sheep, and that history shows in how many of them behave around livestock: watchful, careful and intensely focused. They are also very smart, which means they do best with daily exercise and mental work such as training games or puzzle toys. A bored collie can invent its own jobs. Lambs, meanwhile, are flock animals that feel safest with company, which is why a single lamb will often bleat for a companion. Any introduction between a dog and a young animal should be slow and supervised, and a dog should never be left alone with livestock until everyone is proven comfortable.

For now there is nothing to herd and nowhere to be. Cotton breathes slowly, the collie keeps one ear tipped toward the barn door, and the afternoon moves along without them.