stumped

The perp was restrained and inactive, the handler was communicating with the dog and was bitten, if that was a real situation and not training that act could get his handler killed not saved, it shouldnt happen.

That is a great video, would provide for hours of discussion on many angles . Shows that extreme Mal enthusiasm, and how useful a committed K9 can be. My thought is that the same job can be done with a cooler head and no handler aggression, but that is one full on team of Mals.

Vickie, had forgotten about those articles, gettin' old they were written for straightforward stockman but the principles are applicable to any work l reckon. As for doing other things with pups when young, it will have little effect on their "instinct", if you have worked on control at a young age it may take a while for them to feel they can leave you, but if the instinct is there it is there. You just have to make sure you give them time and "let" them show it, many try to influence a pups actions from minute one, and probably dont know they are doing it, even your body language can interfere with the pup, just "let" it happen. And whatever happens then is a true indication of that pups level of work instinct and his method of work Tony

lnstinct and learned behavior can look the same, but when you know how you got there it is easy to tell the difference. The first time you put a pup down with stock and you watch for its approach to its work it is instinct , there is no association to call upon, so it must be instinct . You may not see this again for a lot of folks cant resist interfering and trying to adjust behaviors they dont like, so even the second time out a pup has some learned response or avoidance triggers. However its basic instincts are the same and if guided so as to make use of the tools it has can be bought to its full potential quickly and without to much confrontation . When an 8 wk old pup reads sheep it is instinct , when it takes you 3 yrs to get a dog to steady on runny sheep and push hard on doey cattle it is a learned response. They dont all have the same set of instincts, and a dog that has the ability to read and control flighty stock will be able to do it even if he has been trained on dogged sheep, it will be a little surprised when it first sees them but you will see it quickly adjust , because it has the instinct to call upon, one without this instict will be left behind and appear flat footed because he would never have been "taught" how to react and does not have the "natural" instinct. l have taken dogs that were worked as driving dogs on dull stock for several yrs and put them on racey young goats, and given their head quickly take control, they have actually been stopped from doing this their whole life, so must have had the "instinct" and had a good dose of it. Working dogs are great.

2000 dobes in 3 yrs, thats 2 a day the 99% is probably right though their is as much variation within a breed as there is between breeds

Rubeedoo, yes l am in NSW, you are welcome anytime , l am about 45mins from Tamworth. The better they work the better they look ;) Ashley, hope you get that pic up but he was some dog in the flesh, could move and was a confident lad...

Unfortunately old Napoleon is no longer with us but Craig has a new stud from SA, that will probably be the way it will go He is not so large but a very athletic dog. Never saw a pic that did Napoleon justice, he was a "wow" dog indeed

Rubeedoo, Nugget is a Sokket daughter, he is impressive But in the flesh Napoleon was the most, confident, calm but impressive dog l have ever seen l really wanted a male pup by him, hopefully some of his off spring will turn out as well. some early obstacle work !

Ashley, if you are ever heading north for a holiday, stop in with Tohko, we can always have a BB try out here

The Boerboel is South African, only a couple of breeders here in Australia. They are meant to be a utility farm animal, some would have more instinct to help with stock than others, they are meant to protect owner and livestock, help with hunting etc. l changed links above to see if they play better

Ataraxia Nugget at work, she loves cattle work, and is a very family oriented dog. She is always free on our property but stays very close to home, a pleasure to work with.