This story is about our Australian Shepherd, Freddie.

Author

Faraz Ali
February 26, 2024

My daughter and her family were visiting for a week a few summers ago. Our grandsons were 4 and 7 at the time. We lived in a cottage in the woods, on a private road - literally no traffic except us.

One morning, I was in the kitchen fixing breakfast when my husband walked past and down the hall towards the front of the house, with Max, our youngest grandson, following behind. I heard the front door open and shut, and assumed they had both gone outside. A few minutes later, I heard Freddie barking…and barking…and barking.

It struck me as a bit out of character for Freddie, but I didn't think much more of it. After several more minutes, my husband came back through the kitchen, at which point I realized that only Max had gone outside, alone, while my husband had gone into the bathroom! I ran towards the front door in a panic, knowing Max could have disappeared far into the woods by now. But I still heard Freddie barking….

When I got outside, I saw that Max was standing in the road, Freddie standing directly in front of him, barking. If Max turned, Freddie shifted in front of him again, still barking. It wasn't typical for him to behave like that; I realized then that Freddie was 'herding' Max, making sure he couldn't go anywhere he could get hurt or lost!

I was so proud of Freddie and so grateful that he understood that Max shouldn't be wandering around outside alone.

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