Loading ...Working Dogs Should Work
There are few sadder sights than an overweight miserable dog designed for country sports lolling by the fire waiting for the next meal to magically appear before it.
From sheep dogs to gun dogs to hunting dogs and beyond we often see these dogs bought and kept as family pets with little more than a ten minute walk each day.
Anyone guilty of owning a working dog and treating it like a family pet needs to get along to a rural show and see working dogs in action to appreciate how happy and healthy they are.
I’m going to hold my hand up here and say I am guilty of spoiling my ‘pet’ dog and I do feel suitably ashamed when I visit friends farms and see their sheepdogs working, the loyalty and devotion their dogs show them puts me to shame … as my dog Brandy is only devoted to the sound of the fridge door opening.
I recently saw a gun dog training course and was really taken with the alert responsive attitude of the dogs, when they emerged from the water carrying their ‘prey’ in the form of a bright orange dummy I swear they were smiling.
Unfortunately my old boy is now too old and would no doubt heart attack if I asked him to do more than move from his bed to his feeding bowl but hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing.
If your dog is younger and has the ability to get off their bed and get active I really encourage you to get them doing what comes naturally, it really will provide them with a better quality of life.
There is an excellent reference library at the The Gundog Club website and includes information about training courses around the UK and an online shop for training aids.
Sheep dogs are a breed apart (well I would say that coming from a farming community so I am perhaps just a little biased) and I have seen nothing sillier than a dog being sent away for three months training, at great expense, only to return to a farm to find the farmer totally unable to communicate with the dog …. frustration for both farmer and dog. Try to find somewhere local to you that offers training for dog and handler, my local area provides training at Lake District Working Sheepdogs but you can just google your local area for training sheep dogs.
Your dog doesn’t have to be involved in country sports or live on a farm to enjoy an active life, dog agility classes can give them a happy healthy life and will improve your relationship (hey you might both even lose a few of those unwanted pounds). The Agility Addicts website has a forum where you can get lots of information on dog agility training.
If you are still not convinced then take a look through the photos on the websites linked above, then look down at your spoilt overweight pooch and ask yourself does my beloved pet deserve a happier healthier life? Of course the answer is yes so get searching for a class near you and get active with your working dog.
August 25th, 2008 at 7:24 am
I am lucky enough to be a shepherdess and have a working collie. I enjoy seeing him working immensley, and know how many hours of hard running he can do in a day; a collie is a very intelligent dog and unless he has mental and physical stimulation he can become bored and start to exhibit many behaviour problems. This is most often seen in collies bought as family pets … there are hundreds and hundreds of Border Collies in Rescue Centres all over the country whose owners found they could not cope with the dog when he starts destroying furniture and carpets, or chasing cars, or nipping people (a herding dog may often start to ‘herd’ people and cars in the absence of being given a ‘job’ to do)
Flyball is an excellent ‘job’ to give your pet collie … there are many Fly-Ball Clubs across the country and Fly-ball is now to be seen at Crufts Dog Show.
Another interesting and rewarding job for your pet collie is Search and Rescue - the people and dogs who take part in rescuing lost walkers out on hill walks are a voluntary organisation who receive no government funding but who save many lives each year.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Hi Jan, so pleased you remembered flyball and sorry to have forgotten it. As everyone can see Jan speaks from first hand knowledge of working dogs and the problems they can face when ‘unemployed’ ….. so grab your dog and get out for some energy burning fun.