He was a Northern breed mixed with maybe some kind of Collie or Shepherd. But he had the best (worst) traits depending on your POV: he was not a herder but a runner. His rewards were anything that made him run. Chasing the ball was all about the running. But of course the bigger the prey the better, ahem, school buses.

He was also intense, and focused if he was doing what he wanted to...running. We swam him a lot to protect his joints. Trained him to pull DH on his bike with a custom bike jorking harness for Harry and a special flexible harness hook which extended from the main seat tube to the front of the bike. He loved it. He loved playing with half grown doggies and would bow to any dog entering a play area, asking for a tumble and run.

He had no boundaries, which is also typical for a Northern breed. Worthless as a guard dog. Hi, bark, bark, oh let's play. We put a GPS on his collar and turned him loose one day. He ran ten miles in forty minutes. In winter, we would put him on a stick out the car window on a wide tiny gravel graded road and run him from the car. Sprint at 25 mph and run steady at 15mph. We never took him more than four or five miles. No pad injuries, but we were afraid he wouldn't stop on his own.

With us he would look directly into our eyes. Soulful. And he hugged. He loved us on the floor hugging him. But he would not follow us around the house like Shelties do. Once he had his meals and a good run/swim he would back up to a corner of a stair landing and sleep.

As you may surmise, he was a rescue. Someone just turned him loose or he got out, obviously cute as a pup, but too much for working people. He was work.