I had an Australian Blue Heeler pup that seemed more intelligent than we were. Even when she was a tiny puppy and ran for the first time, she and her siblings “accidentally” pushed themselves between my hand and a baby water snake I was trying to return to the water. I had to show them that I knew how to gently handle the snake, then they scampered off. Later, Naomi accidentally got in the way when a baby reached for a centipede. The baby tried to crawl under her, so she lay down. Then it tried to crawl over her and she stood up.
I never had to train Naomi to do anything..she’d observe what I was doing and help me..open gates, fetch the horses, find anyone who had wandered off.
If a horse was in trouble, she’d run to the house, make a sound at the window and I’d dash outside immediately. She made sounds that meant different things..strange car, strangers crossing the farm property, but she recognized the gas and power meter men’s trucks no matter who drove them, and let them do their jobs, although watching at a distance (casually).
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