This is Finny.
Finny is psycho.
He is also incredibly smart.
“Go get your (insert name of toy here)” - Check.
Sit, lay down, touch, etc... - Check.
“Middle” - he’ll walk behind you and come through your legs and stop.
“POW” - yup. He does that too.
“Give kisses” - he licks my wife’s face. Blech.
Play catch until he drops over - yup.
We researched the breed and knew they were ‘high energy’, but had no idea.
Also learned A LOT about dog trainers. Most would be considered snowflakes anywhere else. By the way - you CANNOT train a herding dog with only positive reinforcement.
My wife was beside herself and thought she was going to have to put him down because of behavior issues until she found a trainer that says, “Yes - you will need to use a prong collar”. 5 minutes into a walk with that tool, and he was manageable.
All the tricks she has tried with him - 5 minutes and a few treats.
Finny goes to ‘doggie day care’ 1x a week to socialize and play with other dogs. They love him there.
But, my gosh - it’s a lot of work.
Good dog, Finny.