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High Potential Dogs In Low Potential Homes


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Guest Panzer Attack!

There's not much sadder than a dog being forced to work when it clearly hates it :( Saw a fair bit of it when I was at my obed club with Scooter. He hates the pressure of working, so I've retired him until further notice. I'd never want to make him sad!

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Never heard of a w/l Australian Sheppard! Most of the ones that I've seen in agility are low - medium drive *dons flame suit because they seem to be the popular choice for agility these days*. Are there any in Australia?

Most of the ones I see are imports :) There was a litter earlier this year between a US import and the granddaughter (I think) of a Tri Ch which would have been heaven if I was in the market for a puppy/herding Aussie! As a consolation I still get to cuddle with one of the pups from the litter sometimes, she's already a tiny superstar :D

Part of me thinks that would be too easy tho :laugh: And for better or worse, my heart belongs to kelpies :)

This is what I think the other times :laugh: though inserting Mal or BC instead of Aussie Shepherd. There is something about the look in the Kelpie's eyes . . . :love:

There really is isn't there :) OH was having a bad day today so I sent in the kelpies and suddenly all was forgotten :)

Also I think I should get the hang of training a stong-eyed dog before trying to switch to a loose-eyed dog and getting myself all confused! :o Also buying well-bred, well raised dogs I'd miss out on all the "fun" of dealing with the myriad of issues the rescue dogs came with :laugh:

Some of my friends have young dogs just starting out in competition, and others have dogs that are almost ready for competition, all of them PHENOMENAL! Sometimes makes me tempted to change teams with the next dog :o

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Never heard of a w/l Australian Sheppard! Most of the ones that I've seen in agility are low - medium drive *dons flame suit because they seem to be the popular choice for agility these days*. Are there any in Australia?

Most of the ones I see are imports :) There was a litter earlier this year between a US import and the granddaughter (I think) of a Tri Ch which would have been heaven if I was in the market for a puppy/herding Aussie! As a consolation I still get to cuddle with one of the pups from the litter sometimes, she's already a tiny superstar :D

Part of me thinks that would be too easy tho :laugh: And for better or worse, my heart belongs to kelpies :)

This is what I think the other times :laugh: though inserting Mal or BC instead of Aussie Shepherd. There is something about the look in the Kelpie's eyes . . . :love:

There really is isn't there :) OH was having a bad day today so I sent in the kelpies and suddenly all was forgotten :)

Also I think I should get the hang of training a stong-eyed dog before trying to switch to a loose-eyed dog and getting myself all confused! :o Also buying well-bred, well raised dogs I'd miss out on all the "fun" of dealing with the myriad of issues the rescue dogs came with :laugh:

Some of my friends have young dogs just starting out in competition, and others have dogs that are almost ready for competition, all of them PHENOMENAL! Sometimes makes me tempted to change teams with the next dog :o

You know you want a BC :angeldevil:

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High potential dogs in low potential home?

Yep - my two both fit that category.

But I am doing my best, we are all having a good time, and they are very happy and well cared for.

The rest is jam. It's just that I really like jam. :)

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I also think its better for me, as a beginner in agility to have a slightly slower/lower drive dog than the other way round! I see plenty of fast, driven dogs with handlers that don't have the athletic or training ability to allow them to reach their full potential imo :flame: . Having said that, it is amazing the way some of these people develop their distance handling, but to me, agility is about the both the dog and the handler being fast and agile and working together.

As the un-athletic owner/handler of a fast, driven dog I would disagree with you. Darcy has taken me on one hell of a ride over the past few years, it's been a steep learning curve for me but we've loved every minute of it and achieved a lot along the way. I would rather learn to handle fast straight up than try to adapt later, and Darcy obviously enjoys every minute of it. Ask anyone here who's seen her run. :)

If the dog is having fun and not being corrected, yelled at, punished or their reward withheld for the handler's shitty handling and training, who are we to comment? I've seen experienced people walk out of a ring obviously in a strop because their dog shut down/blew them off or dropped a bar or missed a contact. If I can see their body language across 3 rings how do you think the dog feels at point blank range? What about when the dog gets dragged out by the collar for dropping a bar or missing the contact? Where do you draw the judgement line?

How many people out there are sufficiently good trainers and handlers to get 100% out of their dog training and trialling wise? My opinion is as long as the dog is having fun, the owner is having fun and no-one's getting hurt - bring it on! :thumbsup:

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I also think its better for me, as a beginner in agility to have a slightly slower/lower drive dog than the other way round! I see plenty of fast, driven dogs with handlers that don't have the athletic or training ability to allow them to reach their full potential imo :flame: . Having said that, it is amazing the way some of these people develop their distance handling, but to me, agility is about the both the dog and the handler being fast and agile and working together.

As the un-athletic owner/handler of a fast, driven dog I would disagree with you. Darcy has taken me on one hell of a ride over the past few years, it's been a steep learning curve for me but we've loved every minute of it and achieved a lot along the way. I would rather learn to handle fast straight up than try to adapt later, and Darcy obviously enjoys every minute of it. Ask anyone here who's seen her run. :)

If the dog is having fun and not being corrected, yelled at, punished or their reward withheld for the handler's shitty handling and training, who are we to comment? I've seen experienced people walk out of a ring obviously in a strop because their dog shut down/blew them off or dropped a bar or missed a contact. If I can see their body language across 3 rings how do you think the dog feels at point blank range? What about when the dog gets dragged out by the collar for dropping a bar or missing the contact? Where do you draw the judgement line?

How many people out there are sufficiently good trainers and handlers to get 100% out of their dog training and trialling wise? My opinion is as long as the dog is having fun, the owner is having fun and no-one's getting hurt - bring it on! :thumbsup:

So well said Jess!

You and Darcy clearly have an awesome time, let alone your achievements :thumbsup:

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I'm in awe of how some handlers in agility who can't keep up with their dogs have awesome distance handling skills!

To me, agility is about successfully getting your dog around the course and keeping it as fun as possible (or unsuccessfully too, it's a bonus if you both do it all right!) and if that means running with your dog, or directing from a distance, it's all good! thumbsup1.gif

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Plenty of people own working line dogs and lead normal lives, work full time jobs, etc. You don't need 'time' to train so much as you need a plan and good management skills.

I have to agree, too many people get too carried away with the perception of working line dogs bouncing off the walls without mass stimulation, most of that I think is nonsense. Having said that, I don't agree that any dog's life should be fed and stuck in a backyard, all dogs need companionship, play and most of all "training" and the only thing different I have ever found with working line dogs is that they are easier to train with faster response. If you like interacting with your dog and you enjoy training your dog, working line dogs are a lot of fun. You can get "extremes" bred in working lines in GSD's Malinois etc where extreme aggression is bred into the lines or hectic prey drive bordering on OCD behaviours, tail chasers for drive release etc, you need to mindful of those in litter selections but a good solid working line breeding can still be great pet dogs just with a bit more get up and go when you need it, they are still just a dog who respond like any other dog but just do everything better and faster training wise :)

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Have to agree with you 100% m-sass.

As a breeder of working line dogs for 30+ years, I have always said that a good "pet" home is better than a bad "working" home every time.

A good working bred dog is mostly about what you make of it. Given love and attention, it will usually be equally satisfied as a high drive performer or a lounge lizard - just don't try ignoring it!!

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I think with a high drive dog it is more about constant training as in NILF type stuff rather than being able to train your dog for an hour every day. Just stuff like when you are going to the washing line saying to the dogs 'lets go to the washing line' and maybe asking for a drop when you get there. And being very consistent.

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I think with a high drive dog it is more about constant training as in NILF type stuff rather than being able to train your dog for an hour every day. Just stuff like when you are going to the washing line saying to the dogs 'lets go to the washing line' and maybe asking for a drop when you get there. And being very consistent.

Or just give them your lounge chair and they'll drop all by themselves :laugh: They even close their eyes on command :thumbsup:

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I think with a high drive dog it is more about constant training as in NILF type stuff rather than being able to train your dog for an hour every day. Just stuff like when you are going to the washing line saying to the dogs 'lets go to the washing line' and maybe asking for a drop when you get there. And being very consistent.

Or just give them your lounge chair and they'll drop all by themselves :laugh: They even close their eyes on command :thumbsup:

Dogs on furniture? :eek:

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I think with a high drive dog it is more about constant training as in NILF type stuff rather than being able to train your dog for an hour every day. Just stuff like when you are going to the washing line saying to the dogs 'lets go to the washing line' and maybe asking for a drop when you get there. And being very consistent.

Or just give them your lounge chair and they'll drop all by themselves :laugh: They even close their eyes on command :thumbsup:

Dogs on furniture? :eek:

Yeh, part of the ESS package apparently :laugh: Problem is, when they do get up they are really good about it - just curl up to the cats and sleep, even as puppies. Zig was a complete @r$e so it was easier to justify no dogs on the couch back then!

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Mate, I've got so many scars and bruises from the ACD's a few more just adds to my character :) Damn she's the bomb, what I'd give for just some of her drive in my young dog. Well.........I'm working on it. ;) Gotta lift my game.

S

Your young dog was lovely! Can't wait to see your progress :)

And naturally I agree with you, Wis is definitely the bomb :cool: :laugh: She's still so young so will be great to see how she develops.

I would love to meet Wisdom some time, I bet she is awesome :) All of the dogs from that kennel that I have met have been awesome :)

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