Connecting dog parents through pawsome stories
Floss the Boss – The Unstoppable Collie 1/2
A Collie Named Floss
Floss officially joined the family when Andy’s daughter, Annie, was six. Annie had a children’s book about a farm that featured a collie named Floss. It was her favourite book, and it inspired her to want a collie with the same name. How dreamy, right? From fiction to reality.
When they went to visit the litter, Floss was the one who made the choice. She waddled straight over to Annie, pressed her cold nose into the little girl’s palm, and gave it a lick. From that moment, they were a pair.
They grew up side by side. Annie dragged Floss around with rope toys, giggling uncontrollably, and plonked her into elaborate doll games. One of Andy’s most heartfelt memories is overhearing Annie talking softly to Floss as if she could understand, weaving her into those make-believe worlds. Floss endured it all with saintly patience. And when Annie whispered secrets into her ears, Floss just listened, lying close, tail thumping occasionally against the floor.
Another Round of Fetch?
Floss is thirteen now — a senior Border Collie who spends much of her time snoozing in her crate or padding gently along riverside paths. But in her younger days, she was unstoppable energy wrapped in black-and-white fur.
Andy laughs when he remembers those early days. “I’d walk her for an hour in the morning before work, and then again an hour in the evening after work. I’d throw ball after ball with one of those plastic launchers until my arm ached, and still she’d come bounding back, bright eyes locked on me as if to say, again!”
Back when Andy lived in his previous house, he had a nightly routine with Floss. Just before bed he’d take her out without a lead in the quiet, low-traffic streets nearby. Every so often, a rustle from a muntjac or a fox would catch her ear and she’d vanish into the night, leaving Andy standing alone. At first he’d worry, but he soon learned there was no need to search. Floss always came back. With CCTV at the front door, Andy would wait inside and watch for her return, sometimes thirty or forty-five minutes later. Sure enough, she’d appear on the screen, trot up to the door, and bark to announce she was home. Around eleven at night, the ritual repeated: Floss off for her adventure, Andy waiting, knowing she’d find her way back.
Floss the Copycat Swimmer
Water wasn’t in Floss’s nature at first. Border Collies aren’t usually swimmers. In her early days she spent time with an elderly gentleman and his Labrador who loved the river, and Floss — ever the imitator — copied everything he did. Soon she was diving in daily, but only on one condition: Andy had to throw a stick or ball in first. She wasn’t a water baby, she was a retriever, eyes glued to the prize.
Tricks, Treats, and Treasure Hunts
At home, Floss proved to be sharp. She mastered puppy training with ease, but when pushed into advanced classes — with jumps and flyball-style circuits — she had a meltdown and hid under a chair. That was the end of her Crufts career. Andy realised all he really wanted was a dog who came back when called.
Instead, he taught her games at home: the “treat under the cup” trick in which she ended up knocking off all the cups, nose-targeting his palm like a button to access the treat in the other palm, and treasure hunts around the house. Even now, she loves a treat trail — though these days Lupin, Andy’s partner Amy’s dog, tends to beat her to it.
When nobody had the time, Floss made up her own games. She’d haul a tennis ball to the top of the stairs, nudge it down with her nose, then trot after it — over and over. It was like watching a one-dog version of Snakes and Ladders. And if she wanted to rope the humans in? She’d smear that slimy ball against Andy’s leg until he gave in.
Coming soon in Part Two: the day Floss stormed a football pitch, her cartoon leap that cost £3,000, and a menu of food choices that were anything but normal.
