Hello Everyone,

My big, amazing schutzhund trained St. Bernard/Belgian Malinois mix passed this year, ripping a similarly sized hole in my heart and family. He was a great dog, very loyal, protective, and hardheaded in an amusing and fun way, but it was his time and his kidneys began failing and we made the tough decision to put him down.

Which brings me to the topic of choosing our next dog. After some soul searching and research, I decided to go with a dog very different from Sam and chose to put a deposit down with an ACD breeder. I'm wanting to try out obedience and agility for a change of pace and also to avoid too many memories of my big doofus as we all heal and move forward.

My question for anyone who's worked with both Schutzhund/Belgian Malinois dogs and ACD's is what might I want to do differently raising this pup based on the breed difference? Both seem to be very high-drive and energy and both breeds seem to be the sort where tug will be a big factor for play as well as ball fetch. I've already dug out all my puppy tugs and balls, but I wonder if I might be oversimplifying the differences between these two breeds already?

Also...should I approach early training differently considering the differences between the dog sports?

Thanks in advance...I'm very excited to welcome our new little girl home and get back into training!

When I was involved in Schutzhund there was an amazing ACD in the club. The individual dog, not the breed will determine the direction you take.

Thank you, Bob! I probably am overthinking this since I haven't even met the pup yet and it's been 8 years since I had a puppy.

There used to be an active Forum member who did schutzhund with ACDs..Rosenquist? Don’t recall the name.
What I know about ACDs is that they are VERY intelligent..they are less driven to please in a bootlicking-“Lassie” way..but they want to know the rules and will try hard not to break them. They do not love classic obedience (We already walked around that circle FOUR times! Enough already!)
And fetch? After a few times it’s “if you are going to keep throwing it away, go get it yourself!”. But if you teach a skill “bring your bowl” it can quickly be expanded...eg, bring the screwdriver, hammer. They will do that all day. A “new” thing, where they have to use their mind...that really turns them on.

They like food rewards or tug better than petting. Some don’t really like to be touched all that much. Some are not brave “I am not going to walk on that ... I could fall off!” This self preservation attitude is critical for longevity in a farm dog. They like water....but not baths. A bath is a “procedure”, and they do not like procedures.

Be sure your dog comes from PRA and PLL tested stock. I have heard hips and elbows are a big deal but I have not seen this in my heelers. Deafness is huge too. My 12 yr old is now blind and deaf and it’s a real drag.

Betty, I love your description of the ACD.