This is an old article, but it’s really funny. And true. I have a pair of one-year-old Border Collies and everything in this article describes them perfectly. Luckily my last dog was a Border Collie too, so I know what I’m in for as they get older.
Border Collies have a trait called, “THE EYE.” The eye is a hypnotic stare that the BC turns on anything it wants to control. BC owners talk about “THE EYE” with reverence and love to expound on the way the dogs use it to control sheep. It would be fine if these dogs used “THE EYE” only with sheep, but the BC turns “THE EYE” on anything it might engage to produce fun or work.
Recently I dog-sat a BC for the weekend. Two days. Forty-eight hours of being stared at. No blinking. Unwavering scrutiny. In human culture, staring is wrong. Parents invest incredible energy teaching children not to stare. Being stared at briefly is uncomfortable. Try an hour with a Border Collie if you want to experience serious discomfort.
I would like to see them test this in that 99.99999% silent wrote you linked too last week
LOL. My dogs don’t stare, but one has a stalker complex. I find it cute that she follows me incessantly from room to room …then think just how creeped out if a human was doing the same thing.
Only thing that can rival a BC’s stare is my Italian grandma’s. Just thinking about has me freeze on the spot.
People who own Border Collies are nuts. I should know, I am one.
I had a collie/kelpie and he would just wait and stare… with several expressions thrown in: from ‘when’ to ‘yes’ to ‘in your own time’.
Amateurs 🙂