It's time for a new BC here, so I'd be interested in reading any suggestions regarding selecting a pup (they are all cute little blobs with eyes and legs but nothing much to distinguish them apart, 25 days old at my neighbors farm) I'd rather have a female as they seem to be a little more steady. She will be spade. Our last one could have used a little more aggresivness. She will back down too soon when faced with our tough Cheviots. Any tips training books videos etc. you'd like to share would be much appreciated. TIA
Ross, I like "The Farmers Dog" by John Holmes, and "The Shepherd's Dogs" by C.W.G. Hartley. I had another really good one but my Border Collie pup destroyed it a while back and I can't remember it's name.
Thanks! Probably had the section to stop chewing!! We've had a good many dogs here spaniels and pointers obediance trials and hunting but very little of that experience applies to BC's training needs. Peg our first boarder collie does what we need but nothing fancy, and would probably have worked out better if we knew how to approach her training.
There's a book that *I* really liked called "Herding Dogs: Progressive Training". Mind you, I'm not training BCs- I'm training Cardigan Corgis, one of whom thinks he is an Australian Shepherd and really isn't herding material, and one of whom is a puppy who... I don't know WHAT the hell is up with her. She's either a complete fool or going to be a *really* good dog once she settles down. I would look for a middle-of-the-road pup- not the bossiest one, not the one that everyone picks on. I'd go for personality before sex, truthfully, especially since you're going to spay her anyway. At 3-4 weeks, I think tha'ts going to be as good as you can do- they're too young to really be seeing much in the way of instinct. If mom and dad can both work... pick something good and easy to train and just hope the instinct's there. Do you know what lines your pup is from? Just curious! I'd really like to get a BC in a few years, once I've got stock for them to work and I'm a better trainer. Great dogs!
The best dog I ever had was the bossiest in the litter. She was the easiest to train and luved the spotlight. Still I'm not sure she had any qualities you'd transfer to a herding dog. I was thinking middle of the road. The 4 females of the litter are somewhat smaller than the 2 males, not that it matters alot at 4 weeks. Mum is a small BC not sure about he sire's size. All are registered and the pups will be too. I was told the lineage (at some speed faster than my memory registered) I'll write it down. Parents are both working stock. Breeder used to keep sheep (I bought some of ehr last ewes) and now boards cattle which move nicely for the dogs. (granmother is there too, and is a very pretty blue merle) I owe so many people pictures I'd better find that darn digital camera cable then i can throw on some pictures too!
Anybody Can Do It by Pope Robertson. It is a good sheepdog training manual. Also check the library for books and videos.
