Angus and Sadie (7 page)

Later turned out to be before they went inside for supper. Once again, Angus had forgotten how to Sit!, but he remembered when Mister reminded him, and he forgot and remembered again when Missus took her turn to train him. When Angus was finished, Mister said, “In a couple of days I'm going to try him on a longer lead. I bet it won't be long before there's no need for a choke chain collar at all.” Mister's voice sounded happy. Sadie was happy, too, until Mister said, “Your turn now, Sadie,” and held out the collar.

Sadie knew about that collar, and she didn't wait one minute. She took off. She ran across the grass and up the hillside, as fast as she could. She heard Angus barking.
Where are you going?
Mister ran after her, but he couldn't catch her, now that she didn't have her cast on. Without the cast, Sadie ran faster than any of them, except Angus.

She didn't go very far before Missus said, “Probably you shouldn't chase her.”

Mister stopped running. “Then how do I catch her?”

As they were talking, Sadie stopped to see what would happen next. She stopped and watched, but she kept her distance.

“She's frightened of the collar,” Missus said.

“I know that. But she needs it for training. Angus isn't frightened.”

“Angus isn't Sadie.” Missus got up. “Let me try something.” She walked toward Sadie. “It's okay, Sadie,” she said, coming closer, holding out her hand. “Come here,” she said. Sadie ran up to her, and Missus bent over to stroke her on the head and down her neck, and to pull gently on her ear.

Good, nice
.

Then Missus ran her hand all the way down Sadie's back and pushed down on her rear, saying, “Sadie, Sit!” in a clear, plain voice. She pushed down until Sadie sat on the ground, watching Missus carefully to see what she wanted, because that voice was one that wanted Sadie to pay attention, and to do something. “Good dog,” Missus said.

Yes, me, too. Good dog
.

Missus walked away a couple of steps, and Sadie came along, too. Then Missus stopped and bent over to push down again, and to say in her plain voice, “Sadie, Sit!” When Sadie sat again, Missus patted her again and said, “Clever dog, very good, that's it exactly.”

Clever me
. Sadie liked being good and clever.

Again Missus moved and Sadie followed and Missus stopped. But this time Missus didn't bend over to pet or to push, she just said, “Sadie, Sit!” Sadie waited, watching, and in no time, Missus leaned over with her hand out to start pushing as she said, “Sit!”

Oh, Sit
. Sadie sat.
Easy
. Sadie hoped she had figured out what it was Missus wanted her to do.

“Good girl,” Missus said. “That'll do!” she said, and walked back to join Mister with Sadie running around her feet in circles. “See?”

“Yes, but will she remember?”

“Maybe not right away, but neither does Angus. It's repetition that helps them learn. It's practice, not the collar. How would you feel about not using the choke chain collar at all? The book said we should be consistent.”

“Probably, Angus doesn't
need
it.”

“I don't like the idea of choking a dog to get her to obey,” Missus admitted.

“When you put it that way, I don't either,” Mister said. “Anyway, they're border collies, they're smart, they can learn without a choke chain collar.”

I'm good, I can Sit! too
, Sadie said to Angus.

I'm not afraid of the collar
, he told her.

I'm not either, I just hate it
.

No, you're afraid
, Angus told her.

Sadie wasn't as sure about that as he was.

They worked on Sit! for days and days, practicing until both of the dogs knew what Sit! meant all of the time, on or off a leash, spoken by Mister or by Missus. They trained and trained, every day, as often as they ate. They had a routine, and at the end Mister or Missus said the words that meant the training was over,
That'll do!

One evening, after Missus said, “That'll do!” Mister tried something new. He picked up something round and flat and threw it into the air, away from the garden and the house, out into the long grass. Missus and Sadie stood together and watched him. Angus ran up to Mister, to find out what was going on.

“Well, Angus?” Mister asked.

Angus looked at him carefully, trying to figure out how to obey.

“I thought you'd use a ball,” Missus said. “I brought a tennis ball.”

“Frisbees are better,” Mister said. “The book said. Let's try again.”

He walked over to pick up the Frisbee, and Angus went with him. Sadie and Missus stayed where they were.

Mister put the Frisbee down in front of Angus's nose, and Angus smelled a nonsmell and also the smells of Mister's hands and the grass. He sniffed the Frisbee and looked up at Mister.
What's this? What's next? I'm ready!
Mister tossed the Frisbee into the air, back toward Missus, and Angus, without any hesitation—He couldn't wait! Now he'd smelled the Frisbee! He wanted to get it!—he ran after it. He chased after it, and he found it! He picked it up in his mouth, because he'd caught it now. Then he took it back to Mister, so Mister could throw it again and he could find it again, and catch it.

“I knew you'd like this,” Mister said.

Fun!
This game was much better than Sit! Mister threw the Frisbee, and Angus ran after it. He brought it back and Mister threw it again. Angus ran after it and caught it again. Mister threw and threw, and Angus ran and caught. Twice, he caught the Frisbee before it reached the ground, and Mister laughed. “You're a natural, Angus. It's too bad you're not human, you'd be a terrific outfielder.”

Angus didn't know what that was, but he agreed.
Yes! Outfielder! Throw it again!

There was something about it—When the Frisbee flew out into the air, Angus absolutely
had
to chase it down and bring it back so that Mister could throw it into the air again. Angus ran fast, and faster. He couldn't stop himself and he didn't want to. This was better than anything.

“How about you, Sadie? Don't you want a turn?” Missus said, but Sadie was happy right where she was, next to Missus. She wagged her tail, thumping it softly on the ground.

Missus took a small ball out of her jacket pocket. “Here, try this.” She threw the ball away into the grass. It fell down and stopped still. Sadie looked at Missus. “Fetch!” Missus said.

Fetch?

Missus got up and walked over to where the ball lay in the grass. Sadie went with her, to keep her company. Mister had stopped to watch, but Angus didn't want to stop.
I'm here!
he barked, but Mister wasn't paying attention.
Again!
Angus barked.

Missus wanted Sadie to smell the ball, but what did Sadie care how that ball smelled? She walked away, around to the other side of Missus. Then Missus picked up the ball and tossed it back toward the place where she and Sadie had just been sitting. Sadie watched the ball and then she turned to look at Missus. There was something here she didn't understand, and she stared at Missus, waiting for an explanation. But Missus just stared back at her. Then she waved her hand at the ball. “Go get it, girl.”

Sadie waited.

I'm right here! I'm ready!
Angus stared at Mister, trying to make him understand. But Mister was busy watching Missus and Sadie.

Missus walked back to where the ball was. Sadie walked with her. Missus dropped the ball right in front of Sadie, then kicked it gently with her foot. Sadie watched the ball roll through the grass, until it slowly, slowly stopped. She looked up at Missus.

Mister didn't throw the Frisbee again. Instead, he came over to Missus and Sadie. Angus came right behind him, keeping close to the Frisbee.

“I wonder what's wrong with her,” Mister said.

“Didn't the book say that some dogs just don't have any instinct to fetch?” Missus asked him. “Like there are some people who don't like to play cards?”

Me! Me!
Angus reminded them. He nudged at the Frisbee in Mister's hand, to remind him of what he was supposed to do.

“I didn't think that would happen with a border collie,” Mister said. He kicked the ball with his foot.

All right!

As soon as the ball moved, Angus was moving after it. With one long jump he was on top of it, and had it in his mouth. He brought it back to Mister and dropped it.
Again!

But when Mister kicked the ball again, he held onto Angus's collar so Angus couldn't go get it. “Go, Sadie!” Mister said.

You do it
, Angus said to Sadie.

Do what?

Catch it and bring it back so he can throw it again
.

Why?

Because you want to
.

But I don't want to
.

“I guess you can't predict for sure what will happen with a border collie,” Missus said, and she was laughing. “I guess they're as different from one another as everybody else is.”

“Looks like it,” Mister agreed.

What's wrong with you?

Is something wrong with me? Where?

A
lthough Angus and Sadie slept in the barn, they had their meals on the porch, beside the kitchen door. The water bowls were kept there, too. The other animals were fed once a day, but Angus and Sadie were fed in the morning, at midday, and again in the evening, just like Mister and Missus.

They were fed three times a day, and they had training three times a day. That was their routine. After a couple of weeks, Sit! was simple, but then Mister added something new, Stay! You had to remember to Stay!, even if you wanted to move. Stay! was harder than Sit! They were also learning Come!, which was easy at the end of a Stay!, but not easy when you were digging a hole beside the cow pen or heading off for a drink from the stream.

Everything was easier for Angus than for Sadie, easier to understand at first, and easier to remember after that. Sadie liked the way Angus was so quick and clever, and so did Angus.

You're really smart
.

I know
.

Let's play!

Missus didn't say “That'll do!”

We could play after
.

Maybe. I'll see
.

All right
.

“Sadie,” said Missus, warning her. “Pay attention, you're starting to creep.”

Attention! Yes!

One warm, sunny day at the end of May, Angus and Sadie had emptied their food bowls and were waiting for Mister and Missus to finish cleaning their plates so they could have midday training. Angus said to Sadie,
The cows graze all day, eating grass, so really the cows feed themselves, like the barn cats do
. He thought some more.
Mister and Missus feed themselves, too. Because
, he said, as if Sadie had asked him what he meant,
they find their own food. So it's only us and Patches and the chickens that get fed by someone else
.

Are you hungry? I'm not
, Sadie answered.

Sometimes, Sadie made no sense at all to Angus.

At that moment, Missus walked out onto the porch, followed by Mister. “We're taking the afternoon off,” Missus told them.

Off!

What about my training?

“Only part of the afternoon,” Mister said. “And only sort of off. Do you two want to come for a walk?”

Walk, yes!

“We're moving the sheep up to the summer pasture,” Missus explained.

Sheep! Remember sheep?

Maybe
.

“You'll have to be on leashes,” Mister said. “We can't have you upsetting the sheep.”

I remember leashes
.