The kid's dog is here and is Lab, Border Collie mix. Still not completely
under control, but is only 6 months old.

That's the best time to work with them. Actually no, the
best time to begin a dog's training is much younger.


Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
Right from the git go in fact.

Yep. Our last dog learned "sit" and "heel" at about 14
weeks... within two weeks of bringing him home.

The important thing with a young puppy is to teach them to
pay attention to you, and imprint on them that they will be
rewarded for good behavior... good as defined by you, of course.


.... The difference with BCs is that their
attention span increases exponentially as you work with them as
puppies - if you keep them busy and active they can be as advanced in
training at six months as any other dog is at a year.

I'd say that's true with all working breeds, in fact I
suspect as a general prinicple, it's true of all dogs...
maybe all mammals...


Ours are strictly working dog stock and in general, have been much
smarter than the average BC.


That ain't sayin' much. I've known a few border collies &
small shepherd breeds that were often outsmarted by a plate
of meat loaf.



I've owned one retriever, but I wasn't overly impressed - that was
probably one dog that I've owned that I wasn't overly enthusiastic
about. Good dog, just not my style.

What, didn't he bark at nothing often enough?

.... I ended up giving her to a
friend who hunts ducks and she was very happy with him.


Good. Not enough happy homes for dogs in this country, these
days.


I've trained a lot of dogs in my time, but standard, non-registered
stock dogs, BCs, Heelers, etc., are the best in my opinion. They can
do pretty much anything.

Hmmm... it's rare to have a dog that can both point & fetch,
but how about one that also retrieves a wallet dropped out
of the boat? Chesapeakes have a bad reputation with people
who can't raise them properly, but IMHO they're the best of
the best.

Here is a story you might enjoy, and illustrates part of why
I think so much of retrievers in general and Chessies in
particular.

http://www.amchessieclub.org/a-reddog.html


Another thing: swimming is very potent exercise... a tired
dog is a well-behaved dog (and a dog that gets regular
exercise is a healthy dog). Playing fetch in the water for
1/2 an hour is the equivalent of at least two hours of
running around in circles on dry land.

Most people don't spend enough time with their dogs, I'm
glad to hear about you all including yours in the family.

Merry Christmas!

Doug King