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Australian Cattle Dog » Australian Cattle Dog Forum
GO!

jobs to do

This is a forum for bonding with your fellow Dogsters about the traits, quirks and idiosyncrasies of your favorite breed. Please remember that there are absolutely no animal sales or requests for studding or breeding allowed on our sites. All posts and interactions should be in the spirit of Dogster's Community Guidelines and should be fun, friendly and informational. Enjoy!

  
Maudie

1101325		 
 
Barked: Tue Sep 7, '10 1:52pm PST 
Hello. I have a 10 month old ACD mix (maybe mixed with Border Collie?). She's been a trying puppy, but she is growing up to be a great dog. She gets plenty of exercise and we provide her with a lot of structure within the home.

Everything I read about these dogs says that they need a job to do. My question is, what kinds of jobs would those be? She seems to treat fetching as well as jogging with me as jobs. Any other suggestions for activities that would satiate this need for her?

Thanks!
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kai

why are they not- all bowing?		 
 
Barked: Sat Sep 25, '10 5:49am PST 
Maudie!
Have you looked into agility? I still have not been able to do it bit I know Kai would be so great at it. Also look up scent training, it is all stuff you can do at home and is helpful to have them develop their instincts that get pushed to the back living in suburbia. And we just look on the computer for new and different tricks to teach her she loves to learn new stuff all the time. And she is getting so good at catching the frisbee, she loves it!
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Flash

cuddle bum		 
 
Barked: Mon Oct 4, '10 7:31am PST 
I know what you mean about trying! I have a 5 month old cattle dog/Australian shepherd cross. He's been a lot of work, but he is a great dog already!

I do obedience with him which he really likes, and you don't necessarily have to take a class. Just get a good book and follow the instructions. Clicker training is a great way to go, you can teach good manners as well as tricks.

Another good thing to do is make them 'work' for everything! This means before they get a bone, they sit, before you open the door to let them out, they give paw. Some people think this is mean, but in the long run it makes the dog happy to be working for his rewards!
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kai

why are they not- all bowing?		 
 
Barked: Mon Oct 4, '10 3:12pm PST 
I agree Flash, some would see that as 'mean' but if they had more experience with the breed they would know that they enjoy the reward of doing a 'job' right. I am the same way with Kai and if I slack off and she gets away with something she looks at me almost expectantly like "are you really gonna let me get away with that? Hurry up and make me fix my mistake so you can tell me how smart I am"
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Moo

Anyone who comes- to my door is my- friend		 
 
Barked: Tue Nov 29, '11 2:08pm PST 
When we take Moo on walks, we make her sit at every intersection before and after crossing the street. She also seems to think that jogging next to my husband is her "job". She is always looking for something to do and earn our love and affection. I am also looking for new ways to occupy her mind.
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Zephyr

1213425		 
 
Barked: Wed Dec 7, '11 12:35am PST 
Late to the party but you can make anything a job pretty easily. Keeping the squirrels out of the yard is a fun job for her and with a "Go get 'em" she's off to patrol and I can do something without a dog underfoot.

She accompanies me to the mailbox, waits at the end of the drive and comes back.

We bike every day and her job is to stay with the bike and look out for marauding alpacas. (We bike by an Alpaca farm. They'll never get out but it's highly amusing to see her puzzle out what they are.)

She loves obedience. Love love loves it. I can just see her brain clicking away trying to find what it is I want her to do and she's so pleased when she gets it. She gets a very "Look Ma! No hands!" face.
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Sheila

Bossy Diva		 
 
Barked: Thu Feb 23, '12 10:34pm PST 
Sheila loves to leap in the air and try to pop ALL of the bubbles before they fall to the ground. She loves chasing the laser pointer. A solid 10 minutes of either of these activities and she is ready to rest. I don't always have time to walk her on my lunch hour but I can blow bubbles for 10 minutes. She also loves to catch the frisbee and is getting better at it all of the time. Walking is her favorite thing. Our walks have really helped with her training. Waiting at curbs until I give the "okay" command. She is our second Texas Heeler. The first one was awesome for 15 1/2 years. He still did his "jobs" even though he was deaf for the last 7 years of his life. I was amazed at how he reader our hand and body language. I found myself adapting to show him what I wanted from him. I guess you could say we developed our own unique language.
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Gilda!

WonderPup!		 
 
Barked: Sat Apr 21, '12 12:49pm PST 
Our dog (ACD/BC x?) is 3 now. She is brilliant and fast and loves agility classes but not agility trials. Her other favorite jobs are pond swimming,therapy visits at the local pediatric hospital, playing fetch, and unfortunately, chasing deer!
The issue we continue to have with her is that she has decided that it is her job to guard the house. She will no longer let strangers in the house or even on the property. It is a huge issue at this point. I believe it comes mostly from the cattle dog...
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Quinn

Listen To ME!!!		 
 
Barked: Sun Jun 24, '12 10:24am PST 
LOL! I love this thread! People have always told me that if you don't give an ACD a job, they will create their own and that's just what Quinn has done. He has appointed himself to the position of sheriff in our house and if he sees the other dogs getting too rowdy when they play, he breaks it up. If someone- even my husband or myself- does something he thinks is wrong, he barks his freaking head off until they stop. It's not like he doesn't have other things to do. We have tons of toys, he gets at least a two mile walk every day (except it's been sporadic lately due to the heat), and he likes to try to "help" me in the kitchen. He also enjoys herding the other dogs around. I think he still gets bored though and it kills me because all we can really do for him is run him through all of his tricks and commands or give him some one on one playtime with his big sister, Brandy and half the time, she doesn't really want to play. Our other male dog, Obi, won't play with Quinn because he's terrified of Quinn. Other than chase, he won't play much with our other female, Pepper, because she's smaller and we think he's afraid he'll hurt her. Sometimes I really think he needs a cow or two thinking
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Lucy

1260575		 
 
Barked: Thu Jul 26, '12 10:16pm PST 
I was thnking agility would be great for my Lucy! Plus my 12 yr old can do this with her and she would love it. But I need to get obiedience out of the way first.
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