Did you know that some animals pooh in piles?

Alpacas are well known pooh-pilers. Giant mounds of pooh.

Horses, male, and especially stallions, pooh in the same spot day after day in their habitat. Very orderly really and quite convenient if one needs a little (or alot) of something to put on the veggie patch.

And I have just discovered that wild rabbits pooh in piles. One night I shall have to venture out and see if I can catch the bunnies lining up to do their business. It does seem quite polite really.

Betsy, the beautiful intelligent adorable champagne-coloured Border Collie (pictured) is a pooh-aholic. Her fetish is of the bovine (cow) variety. Found not in piles but slopped randomly around the place.

She is not ashamed of her addiction. In fact she is happy to share her love of pooh with anyone who will walk with her.

She learnt from an early age that chasing a flying cow pat was terrific fun. They shoot up into the air and then roll along the paddock.

Every dog walk now involves her pacing back and forth at me, cow pat in her mouth. Drops it at my feet. Carefully…so that no other dog swipes it.

Obediently I (selflessly) pick it up and fling it off into the distance.

She has learnt now that the very dry ones are best (thank goodness). She uses both feet to dig them loose from the grass and then marches along proudly with it in her pretty little mouth.

She is also rather fond of the summer-time pooh-fling into the dam. She launches herself into the water, sometimes with such vigor that she is fully submerged for a second (I hold my breath), and retrieves the floating cow pat. On the game goes until pooh is fully disintegrated.

About a year ago Edwina, the black and white Border Collie (pictured), joined the family. She has learnt to love the pooh also.

Oftentimes we will be strolling along, my little caravan of hounds, with two of four carrying a mouthful of cow pat each. Adorable.

It is my fault. Of course. I taught Betsy. She passed the learning onto Edwina.

But I don’t fear the pooh...