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Are you training a dog for what it was bred to do, with a natural instinct, drive and talent for that job? What kind of training methods do you incorporate for this? Do you use positive reinforcement, and is it enuf? Or do you have to incorporate other methods for success?
I have a Border Collie, and I do herding. While agility and obedience is fun and clicker training works great, when it comes to the natural drive to herd, clicker training is useless. When my dog bites the sheep from a pressure situation, she gets a bop over the head with the plastic paddle. The sheep are no good to me if she’s constantly bloodying them up and she must learn that it is only acceptable to bite when a sheep challenges her (which they do not do). My dog learns to respect me and that herding is a partnership between us, not a solo flight for her.
So when working with a dogs real drive to do the job it’s originally bred for (no, BCs are not bred to be agility dogs), what works best and why?
Can service-dog training be a full-time career?
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