Question: I have been working with cattle and working dogs for a major part of my life. However, I do not consider myself accomplished dog trainer. My last dog who just recently broke down (ie snapped archilles tendon) worked well for me and picked up all my commands with limited expertise. Unfortunately my young dog coming on (ie 16month old border collie kelpie X) is not picking up like my previous. He does show promise with great intent to work cattle and work the other side of the mob, but I cannot make him do it on command. Do you have any DVD with dog training skills or other tools that may help me better to train a cattle dog?
Answer: We don’t have any “dog training material” available, just the things on the website that Bud and I have written at various times. If you have read them you will see that we don’t work a dog like “trainers” do, they are just partners that help us get the job done.
We have found that every dog is different and we are willing to take the things that each dog is able to do and build on that to make the best “partner” that we can. Most people have a certain way that they train or work a dog. That way will work for some dogs but not for others. Most of our very best dogs were given to us by “trainers” who had given up on this particular dog. By working with them like I just said, they turned out to be excellent partners. Sorry that I couldn’t be more help.