[WillowTheWhisp]

Maybe there should be some sort of vetting (no pun intended) of people who wish to keep a dog and only then should they be issued with a licence and have to produce the licence when obtaining a dog - but how would you monitor that?

The "Lassie" type dogs are rough collies. Border collies are the black and white normal sheep dog variety. We once had a rough collie which had been mstreated by previous owners. They had encourage him to bark and howl which he did at every opportunity. It was difficult to get him to stop and also to get him to learn that he was not the boss but eventually we got through to him. However because of his previous upbringing I would never trust him 100%. He was a beautiful dog and his main focus in life seemed to be rounding us up into one room where he could keep an eye on us all. I think he thought we were sheep he had to protect from wolves - which could have meant that he would have attacked anyone he perceived to be a threat to the flock.

He was great to train eventually though as he was intelligent and responded well, keen to please. He loved being groomed and would hold up alternate paws to be brushed.