Quote:
Originally Posted by MerlinsMum
Nope, nobody taught me that at all. It was a personal observation, based on what working breeds do. Some stay behind the handler - many don't. A working sheepdog that stayed behind the shepherd wouldn't be a great deal of use - they have been selected for hundreds on years for initiative and knowing when and how to go out and sort the sheep out, off their own bat.
A sheepdog which always waited for commands would be no use to shepherds in real farm situations. It's the instinctual initiative that makes them successful sheepdogs - being able to work and do the job with the minimal of commands that makes them successful - and conversely it's that initiative which makes many working type dogs very difficult to train when kept as a pet in an urban situation.
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Border Collies chase sheep. That is 50% of what they do and are purposefully bred to do. The other 50% is to work with the shepherd and concentrate.
If border collies chase sheep all the handler has to do is tell them how and where he wants those sheep to be chased and they do this with the commands. Yes collies have brains and can think and they also use a great deal of "the eye" - never stare a collie down you'll ruin it's confidence.
If they didn't have a command for "Chill out and just stay near" the dog would be working all the time, be wound up to high heaven and would be a total wreck in about 18months because collies are highly strung individuals if you over work them so they need to know when it is their time off so they can clear their head, sniff stuff and generally be a dog and a companion again rather than an employee.