Do not "discredit" your dogs

If I put the amount of time this guy did into training his one Border Collie, I'm pretty sure I could train my dogs to clean my house.  :0)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18dog.html?_r=1

And, of course, my favorite eccentric friend, Malibu Bob.  His dogs are always trying to figure out what Bob is asking from them or visa versa.  They are now doing behaviors based on the treat presented to them before the behavior.  Different treats mark different behaviors.  If the dog sees a piece of kibble, he knows that means he should sort his toys.  If the dog sees a piece of jerky he knows to read a placard and do what it says. .ie. like fetch a certain toy.  Head games for Border Collies.  That's Bob, for ya.

http://www.unfilteredhistory.com/blog/uncategorized/bart-and-w-c-fields/


I think some people don't understand how SMART their animals are.  I know sheepdogs are a "tool"...but it still saddens me when people discard them, put them in new homes in order to get something that might be a better winner on the trial field.  That's almost as bad as the conformation people.  A toe in, a toe out....find the dog somewhere else to live.  Well, that's a whole 'nother blog for me.

I guess what I'm saying is people don't give their dogs enough credit.  They have different senses than we do.
And, they are way more developed than ours.  I always think back to how Jet survived the forest fire here.  He knew all the trails.  He knew where the bear dens were.  He really used his survival instincts.  And, the other night when I sat by the fireplace and rubbed my eyes after a long shift at the hospital, Kilt walked over to the coffee table and very delicately picked up my reading glasses all on her own.  She carefully walked over to where I was sitting and stretched her neck out to present me with my glasses.  Eerie!

There's a lot more to your canine friends than just winning at some event!