Skye vs Mac

    I know I am probably coming off like a new parent, who can only discuss one topic, but in my defense, our new dog Skye is, at present, the most interesting thing that has been happening in our lives.  Today I wanted to talk about some of the behavioral differences I’ve noticed between Skye and our previous dog, Mac.

    Walking down the tarmac at the McBride airfield was one of Mac’s favorite activities, so we were eager to let Skye experience it.  Because it is an open space, Mac’s keen vision could spot  deer on the sidelines at a great distance and he spent a lot of time checking out all of the wild animal smells.  

    Skye too, immediately spotted the deer, and liked the smells, but where Mac would immediately make a beeline toward the deer, causing us to really yell forcefully before he would turn around and come back (actually, he wouldn’t always come back, despite all our yelling).  Skye, who is much better behaved, walked over in their direction, but not very far and she quickly returned at our request.

    The big difference between the two dogs is how often they pee.  Mac, being a male, was a peeing machine, who seemed to stop at every other clump of grass.  It was a characteristic we got used to, since all of our previous dogs have been male, whose main occupation in life seemed to be marking their territory.  When we got Skye who is a female, we immediately started worrying because it seemed to us she would never pee.  Was there something wrong with her?  Instead of 80 pee stops at the airfield, Skye only stopped and peed once.

    Mac always took off way out in front of us until we had to call him back.  Skye stuck close to us and continually circled around us.  Joan said this was a characteristic often seen in herding dogs.  

    Mac was a real snow dog and loved to pounce and leap around in the white fluffy stuff.  I think snow is something new to Skye, but every day when I go outside and get rowdy with her, she seems to enjoy it more and more.  She loves tearing through the snow and, like Mac, is now starting to take bites of it in her mouth.

    Mac, who loved to play, was always up for a game and I have been happy to discover that Skye also, loves to pick up objects, dart around, tearing and zig-zagging through the snow, and to be chased.  This was one of the characteristics that caused us to look for a “sheep dog” breed, and I am happy we have found it in Skye.

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