Thanks. That is true. They probably find it more fun. Also, they only ever got attention from me if they pleased me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Well I would say that "if she has the worse traits of both breeds" that may be a problem. Not knowing anything about her past maybe a problem too.
How old is the dog? I always go out of my way to the "puppys be puppys". Working any dog to much can make the dog reject training and trying to make a rejecting dog better with "more" training can make it worse.
That makes sense. She will be six years old on the 24th (can't believe she is already six). Her history, yeah, I've been away for a bit, so I will recap:
She was obviously a mistake at the breeder. The mother (aussie) should never have had pups, she did not want to be a mother. She did not want to take care of or feed the pups. In comes my beast and hunts down the mother and grabs hold so that the breeder could come and hold the mother so that all the pups could eat. She was the leader of her little pack since the beginning. Definitely a little problem child which no one (well, no one who knew anything about dogs) wanted. Have yet to meet a fellow trainer who does not say to me that they are glad she is my dog ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Anyhow, being a dog trainer's dog, the poor dear had to endure training from 7 weeks on. She learned every method in the book and then some. I never put titles on her, but we were working on UD when she was 14 months old. Then she was attacked four times within two months by 4 titled dogs -- the last one being one she had played with in the past. Completely lost all obedience as she thought some unknown dog would come flying out someplace.
We tried some agility to get her mind off stuff and since she loved jumping, but she was bitten at the club. Then some freestyle heeling. Just as she was coming around I left her in the house where I was living and went out for two hours and the guy there beat her -- extemely bad -- twice. Once where she slept and once where she ate. She went from a dog who feared nothing to a dog who feared everything ... then, as I worked to get her confidence back, she became aggressive. Worked through that ...
We got through all that and got her to even like obedience again. Got her to go back in the obedience room where the dog attacks had happened, but she still gets tense if she is in a closed room and many dogs come in. Also if a dog pounces on her borderline attack even in play, she gets all crazed. Not aggressive, but confused and running around not listening.
So, the decision to go into SchH instead of CKC came along. Can't do any protection work with her because of what happened, but she would be amazing in tracking (if I ever got my butt into gear lol). I am just going to do OB with her, maybe compete for the BH, maybe. Actually, she already knows all the stuff for BH and then some.
Anyhow, this year with this horrid heat, I have not trained her much. She is very comfortable in her skin (unless some big guy moves too fast or some dog pounces to hard on her) and when I do work her she even amazes me. Guess a break made her realize she actually likes to work a lot <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
The problem is that if someone leaves the door open (but only where we live) and she runs out ... wal, she knows I'm not going anywhere and she knows where she lives so ... "Be back later mum! After I play with the kids .. oh! the puppy! ... oh! more kids! ... oh! a dog! ... Oh! .... oh!... "
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />
Oh, healthwise: after the dog attacks she became really ill. Nearly lost her. We moved as well, but I was able to save her. Then, after the beating, we moved again but ended up in a very toxic environment where we got extremely ill again. We moved again. She is much better though we are still working on that, but it is not bothering her anymore for the most part. She is also finally adjusted to her home and environment. No more toxins, no more strange people coming in etc etc.