We had two BC's, until last year when we had to have the older one put down, now we have just the one female - which is our third BC. The first one was the super intelligent one, but she had to be put down at 3 with a brain tumour - what she taught herself was incredible. No 2, a male and no matter what you did to prevent it, would take himself off on walks alone around the village. When my partner passed away, he mopped for weeks by the spot she had died.
I always remember the first one's constantly teasing me. I would be laid on my back struggling under the car, she would be laid on her back alongside me watching. I would put something down, she would pick it up and be away with it.
So now we just have No3, a female, around 10. I'm a bit limited for walking far, so my new partner does the exercising, at 5am and when she gets back from work. She gets her to our garden gate, then just asks the dog where she wants to go and follows her lead. My partner didn't know her way round when she first came here, but the dog showed her round and all the local walks. A place we sometimes go stay with the caravan, has a country walk of several miles well away from the roads. New partner didn't know the way, but the dog knew it well and showed her the route.
I put the dinner on ready for her arriving home from work just after 6, which is the signal for the dog to want to go sit by the front gate to await her return. I just keep an eye on her, waiting for the tail to start wagging, then I know partner is in sight and I can start plating dinner up. She spots her from 100 yards away, as soon as she turns the corner at the end of the road.
Between walks, she spends her waking time teasing and taunting me. Her favourite game is chasing and catching tennis balls, which she tries to throw back to you for you to catch and chasing cats, squirrels, rabbits and foxes, out of the back garden. She caught a squirrel yesterday, clambering up the wall of the garage and spent several minutes chasing it from one end to the other - it had incredible agility.