"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 16:17:31 -0500, DSK wrote:

Bill McKee wrote:
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.

Right from the git go in fact. 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.

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

Time spent with a very young puppy is the most bang for the
buck in terms of shaping the dog's behavior later in life.
It takes some patience, consistency, and willingness to work
with a puppy's instincts & attitudes... and for me it has
always been great fun to have a puppy running around.

Collies and most herding dogs need a lot of exercise.
They're also too noisy for me. I've had more retrievers than
any other breed, IMHO they are perfect boating

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

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.

This was a resue dog, and was about 6 months when the got her. Actually
Cloe is doing pretty well.