Middle aged decisions!! Clive

[persephone]

At around 6 years old - Clive has actually 'worked' some sheep ! He decided as a baby he was not going to be a worker , unlike his amazingly talented sibling, Dags . Clive has been shown sheep/goats at various times  with no interest. 
Yesterday I had to get a few sheep out of a yard .I could have just left gates open , but I decided to walk them out, through two gateways ...an interesting problem - me with my walking stick , and Clive for assistance ;) 
Anyway, Clive actually showed some interest , and as he would advance on the side of the small mob, I'd put the walking stick up in the air and tell him 'STOP' ..and he did! With me on one side, Clive on the other, and just letting the sheep go at their own pace , having a good look aT the gateways/fences- we got them thru at first attempt
Then, once they were out in the paddock, and heading for freedom, Clive actually headed them off, and kept them in the one spot for me !! (instead of just chasing them) I was most impressed
Sadly now, The Boss wants to take Clive with him on a future  feral goat mustering trip ( days spent away from home,) chain time when not working , no soft bed alongside Mum's bed , the other two boys , experienced workers - waiting to pay him back for all the stirring up he does to them - Oh Dear - I don't think this is what either of us wanted ;) He has had 6 years of being a pet ....shock horror !! 
So here is Clive, behaving like a real bush Koolie "muster dog" 

[Loving my Oldies]

Surely you have some say in the matter?   Of course, I don't know the whole story, but really, why can someone tell you what is going to happen to your dog?

[DogsAndTheMob]

That doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. The fact that he worked well for you at home doesn’t mean that he’ll work well for someone else in a very different environment.

 

Also, a different style of handling could adversely affect his confidence and his understanding of your handling style. Many years ago, I lent my obedience competition dog to a very skilled handler to handle in a display. (The handler went on to become one of the top obedience triallers in the country.) Despite her skill, it took me a long time to fix the problem she created by correcting him for actions she’d inadvertently cued with her body language.

[tdierikx]

If the Boss takes Clive to work, does that leave you without a dog yourself? That seems a bit rough... and your bond with Clive is special too. Clive helps you in so many ways, and you'd feel "less" and/or "lost" without him.

 

Does the Boss really need a novice dog out on a feral goat trip? If Clive doesn't work well for him, he will be more hindrance than help, yes? And feral goats are very different creatures than "tame" sheep used to being herded by dogs.

 

Clive has the same genetic makeup as Dags, so maybe he's better used as a stud with another good working female, and his pups may end up with better instinct than him and be assets for the Boss instead?

 

T.

[persephone]

19 hours ago, Loving my Oldies said:

 Of course, I don't know the whole story,

Thanks folks - The Boss is my brother , with whom I share the house. Clive adores him ....and goes all silly and excitable when they are together ...completely different than around me !  Novice dogs do get taken to work ....they normally follow the experts  if tjhey are keen ...and soon learn the ropes . If they are not keen , then they are left on the motorbike  or at the camp ....and exposed in increments .
Clive, being older, will probably NOT be taken straight out on a goat muster - he's not that keen- but he will probably be exposed to goats in the yards etc  on a muster ....goats running past up a race etc, to get his interest ....he will chase rabbits/cats , so has that prey drive , which is good. 
Mind you , The Boss may decide against it totally . I had to laugh the other night - Clive and The Boss were having a talk, as they often do , and The Boss was doing his 'command' whistles , and explaining to Clive what they all meant ......  "Peep"..now, that one one means Go left , etc etc ... It was so funny . 
As I am slowly making the move to town , Clive will be left here with The Boss anyway , so the more they do together the better, really . I will miss him a lot , but he cannot come to town  for various reasons . He's a good boy, and has a lot of wonderful traits ( and some not-so- wonderful ones , like being a stirrer around other dogs , then wondering why he gets bitten) 
The Boss was asking me the other day what I did when Clive was working - and I did what he and I do when training - when the dog eyes the stock, for example , we say "Watch Them ...good dog" ...repeat repeat ... When pups/dogs are learning and carry out an action , we use the correct command,and add lots of praise ....you can't make a dog go around to the left , or 'watch' , or go 'steady' . Most of the moves they make are instinctual , and they just have to associate a sound/action from the human  with what they are doing.  I remember once, many many years ago when I could whistle , I trained a dog to work , just using many different whistles , and was SO proud Of both of us ! She was not a mad keen worker- she did it to please me - but she did it, and she did it well - we even got praise from one of the older men in the shearing team  at one stage .
So, I am not anticipating Clive being anywhere near a good worker - but it will be an interest for him  when I go and he doesn't have Bobbin Cat to chase ;) 
 

 

[JRG]

Dogs who will work for anybody, anytime are few and far between.

in my experience of working spaniels in the hunting field, I can tell you that some dogs work better for men than for women and vice versa.  One of my first boys was a lady’s dog and although he would work well for men, he was never as good as when I Was in charge.

other dogs, although trained and looked after by me have gravitated to men all their lives even taking their retrieves back to a male in the group.

[persephone]

JRG - definitely!! We used to find this when training Guide Dogs, too. Often we would need to pass a dog to someone else - whereupon they would work brilliantly