Since spring my dog has become my right hand man and side kick. He has figured out what I want him to do with the livestock and he has become great help. His mindset is "what's the job, I'm here, let's DO IT!"
He also thinks that I need him for ALL THINGS including when I go get groceries etc.
He paces, circles my legs, sits by the door, by the car. He's stopped running with DH because we might be herding soon. He's become obsessed with work -- I still can't really pet him, but he is wanting to be on the job 24/7. The only time he is "off" is when I'm on the lawnmower.
I'm worried this could turn into separation anxiety, or right back into "Pinker runs the farm" which was a bad deal. There are times now where he is bringing livestock
before I give the command, just because I walked toward a gate---eg yesterday I walked toward a gate to pull weeds under a bush, looked up and he's got 12 heifers
all crowded by the gate.
How to re-gain control without squelching enthusiasm?
Thanks!
Do you practice obedience just for fun? You could try stepping up your control behaviours, like practice long down stays near the livestock or attention heeling. Now that he understands herding, he should have it on stimulus control, so he only does it when you tell him to, not because he feels like it.
Is he crate trained? I love Susan Garrett's Crate Games for teaching self control and reinforcing the idea that a crate is a good place to be. Teaching him to chill out in a crate can also be transitioned to chilling out on a mat or on a chair, if you want to put him somewhere outside to take a break off duty. I was at a herding seminar a few weeks ago and the instructor's dogs would hang out in or on an open crate or in a down stay for hours until they were needed, it was pretty amazing.
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New problem developing
#361412 - 05/18/2012 07:05 AM 
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