Trout dogs are just as eager for fishing action as their owners.

They can be bird dogs or lap dogs, pure-breds or mongrels, but they all share a trait: They have an insatiable appetite for being close to the action of fish being caught.

Trout dogs would trot past a fresh cow pie for the chance to stand chest-deep in the water waiting for their fishing partners to hook a fish.

“Kasha would be described as a farm collie, with a little border collie thrown in,” says The Rev. Cynthia Wuts, a local minister and fly fishing enthusiast, describing her family’s faithful trout dog. “Farm Collies are derived from an older European dog know as a Scotch collie.”

When The Spokesman-Review invited readers to submit photos of their trout dogs, Wuts surrendered a portfolio of shots. “Here’s Kasha patiently waiting for me to select the correct fly,” she said. “My husband, Mertz, doesn’t need any help from the dog in these matters.”

Eric Larson, who fishes roughly 100 days a year, submitted a photo of Tega, a 4-year-old Lab-whippet mix who’s as crazy about catching and releasing fish as Larson.

They make a great pair.

Once a trout dog learns that its job is a supportive role, and not retrieving or dispatching the catch, it becomes the best of fishing companions.

Trout dogs don’t go overboard for large fish or cast dispersions about dink fish.

And they don’t drink your beer.

Rich Landers