My dog, when he was alive, loved to bark at the Amish buggies and horses, that would trot up and down our road multiple times every day.

He was a herder. He loved to chase things that were on the move, no matter what they were. It was more than “loved to”- he was born to chase things. It was in his blood, and part of his very nature. He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t not chase things.

We lived in a big old house with big windows that were low and had nice big windowsills. Big enough for a border collie/Australian shepherd to sit in. It was where he kept his watch.

You could hear them coming before you saw them- the steady clip-clop clip-clop of the horses, making their way down the street. As soon as I heard them, I knew that my dog would hear them, and the barking and crazed running would start.

This was one of those things were, we did work with him and train him for some time. And he would stop his barking and sit, and not run around. But it was difficult, for him and for us. And there were many times where, if I was in the middle of something, the horse and buggy would be gone before I could even get to the dog.

So we got used to it, more like, were forced to, because we couldn’t get to him every time a horse went by.

The best part was that, the office next door to us put a horse hitch right outside one of our dining room windows. Shep would sit there and bark at that horse for as long as he was there. He would probably bark until he dropped.

We didn’t let him, of course, and we did crate him sometimes, both for our sanity and his! But I swear, he would sit there and bark for 4 hours if he could. And the horse, who could barely hear him, and knew they were safe, could have cared less.

So if there is one thing that I could have gotten my dog to understand, it would be to leave the horse and buggies alone. They’re busy.