Here Comes Trouble

Many of you have heard me exclaim that Trouble (JRT) is smarter than all of my Border Collies put together.  I know, I know....how could that possibly be?  Trust me, I'm correct.  The Border Collies have a willingness to please and are wonderful at mimicking.  That's what makes them learn so quickly.
Now, the jack has a willingness to please ONLY if there is something in it for her.  She could care less about mimicking like a monkey.  Trouble is a "thinker."  I'm really sorry I haven't worked much with 9 yr. old
Trouble and even sorrier that I spayed her.  Everyone that meets her wants one just like her.

Wayne shuts my bedroom door when he goes to work on the days I don't work in hopes that I might catch a little extra shut eye.  The dogs HATE this.  They know I'm staying at home and they are ready to rock and roll.  Trouble hates it because she wants to sleep under the blankets "with me."  Trouble has learned that when my door is closed it's latch doesn't always keep it closed tight.  On her own, she has figured out how to take a running jump at the door, hit it at full speed, and voila, it opens.  This makes all the Border Collies bark and dance with joy.  This requires conscious thinking on her part.  Okay, I'm up already. :0(

It's the same way she pulls out crate mats and dog beds and moves them around the house to catch the sun rays.  "The sunlight is over here.  There is a bed over there.  I will pull out the bed, drag it to the sunlight, and,  now, I'm perfectly comfortable." 

Trouble has removed the cushion that belongs to her little couch

She dragged it to the sunlight (by me) so she had something comfy to sit on

It didn't take long for us to figure out that anything with a "zipper" wasn't secure if Trouble wanted something inside of the zippered compartment.  She can UNZIP anything.  She will not tear holes and rip apart objects to get what she wants.  She "carefully" opens it just like a person.  Last night I had a foil bag of unopened glygogen powdered energy drink on my computer desk.  I was ordering a new bag, because I didn't know what the expiration date was on this unused bag.  I was at work.  Wayne was home.  Trouble jumped up on the computer chair to the computer desk and decided she could smell the good stuff right through the foil zip locked bag.  When I arrived home from work, I found the bag opened.  She tore the foil at the top of the bag and opened the ziplock top and dumped some of the glycogen powder out on the desktop.  I'm sure she got a few mouthfuls and decided this was not her drink of choice.  It must belong to the 'stupid' Border Collies. :0)

The "crew"  13, 11, 9, 7 and 3 yrs. old this year.