what do i do? ..

Question
I have a Border Collie, i understand that their really smart because if someone says "squirrel"
she jumps up and runs to the door, whining and looking up at the trees. Or if we say "whos that"
she barks at the door. She learned things faster then all the other dogs in her class. sometimes we all think she can read our minds, because before we
tell her anything shes already doing it. but enough
with me telling you about what she does and has done. well when we take her on walks she would
act as if nothing was going on, but as soon as we  
turn back toward home she pulls foward and look everywhere. one time i decided to see what would happen if I un-hooked her leash. (its ok we live in a small neighborhood and if a car comes everyone runs out and watches, its rare....)  
so i took off her leash, bent down and told her
"go home Maddy, go home!" (Maddy is her name as
you've gathered.) she ran past aall the houses
and up to our door. (all the houses look alike
so I'm very proud.) how did she know that?
I'm sorry but, yes, I have ANOTHER question....
She has a hip problem, the vet said she wasn't allowwed to run again. Soon after I found a
mis-treated dog. I lead it home and put it on the padio and now she is aa full grown American Bull Dog. (Sorry i got a little carried away.)
Well Maddy plays around with Annuneeta (the American Bull Dog.) so she limps afterward.
She loves running and jumping but when she does she gets hhurt and limps around until her meds
begin to work. Can we help her any?



                              ~ Cait


Answer
Hello Cait,

In response to your first question, it is a matter of instinct.  Your dog knows where home is instinctively after being raised there, fed there and welcomed there as her home.  Most all animals will run back to their home including cows, sheep, horses, dogs, cats and the like.  Eventhough all the houses may look the same, dogs will remember which one it is by smell or something that is familiar to them about your home.  

As far as the other dog is concerned, I cannot say for sure why she is having such pain because I'm not a vet.  However, my guess would be that she has developed arthritis in there or simply has no fluid to cushion the joints while she's using them.  Therefore, she has pain immediately after such exercise.  You may want to ask your vet if there is some pain prevention medication you could use instead of giving her something after the pain is already there.

Best regards,
Ann Jordan