Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Why I'm Not Choosing a Herding Dog (Patreon)

Published:
2023-09-01 18:31:55
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:
haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Downloads

  • 226571803.mp4

Missing 1 full-res photo, 1 video, as this post has not yet been imported.

Content

Hey Ya'll! 

Here's the Bubbles and Babble chat replay! I hope you enjoy this casual (and maybe too honest) conversation about herding dogs, working dogs in general, GSDs, CoolWhip, Cattle dogs ... i mean we covered a lot in this one! 

Note: There is some swearing that is not beeped out (turns out I have a potty mouth when I go unscripted). Also, I want to reiterate here that I am speaking in broad generalizations on this live. I am not in any way saying that there are no herding dogs that are good service dogs. There are tons of them! I am saying that I work in probabilities, have been on the "fixer" end of a lot of difficult breed-related tendencies during my 13 years of service/guide training, and that is one part of how I made my decision to not get a herding dog.  

Note #2: While I did not talk much about my disabilities, panic attacks, hypervigilence, and hospitalization are mentioned, so if this isn't the right time to listen to that type of content, skip this one. 

Thank you to all of you who allow me to be open and honest with these potentially sensitive topics. I appreciate you. <3 

Files

Previews only

Comments

Bridget

Hi Laura, thanks for this. Can you elaborate a bit more on the downsides of a dog who agitates easily in response to their human? I know in my situation my treatment team has found my BC extraordinarily helpful to reflect my true inner state because I’ve been suppressing/gaslighting myself for ages (a happy accident, she was a pet until last year) but I’m curious about an impact on a herding dog in most scenarios- you implied that panic could make it difficult for a herding dog to try new environments? Being in motion seems to be the most rewarding for herding dogs so I’m imagining that the opportunity to move would overcome the dog’s co-regulation to human anxiety? Do you feel there would likely be a lasting impact on a herding dog’s mental health?

Kirsten Hively

Thanks so much, it was really helpful to hear more about your thought process. I was already mainly looking at the Tried and Tested Trio (or T3 as I like to write in my notes lol) and leaning towards labs but this really confirmed it for me. I'm already playing life on hard mode with disabilities, plus raising & training a service dog is a huge and challenging project, so if I can start that project on even a slightly easier mode I'm all for it.

DOGGY•U
>>116612170

This last sentence is 100% it. I liken it to playing as the rabbit on Super Mario brothers - I'm not a video game player, so if I can play in an easier mode (T3 Mode lol) than I should do it! (plus a round peg in a round hole is a happier peg) :)

DOGGY•U
>>116590290

Hey Bridget! It's not actually that they wouldn't be willing to try new things, it's that they can sometimes outright refuse to, or become very stressed, in places that have caused you to be anxious in the past. This can then turn into them being stressed in new places that resemble a place that triggered big feelings for you, and then they can generalize eventually to "working is stressful". An example would be a dog that watched you have a panic attack in the mall and now doesn't want to go into that mall, or will do it because you're asking them to, but is very stressed the whole time. I absolutely believe it can have an impact on *some* dog's mental health. As far as the movement part - you have to be careful because the movement can also become frantic in response to your emotional state. So, example with GSD guides would be: I'm nervous about going near busses, now I'm going to move forward very quickly and practically race onto the bus. That's a stressed dog that is now channeling that stress into frantic forward motion. Hope that was helpful!

Bridget

Laura, what do you think of the new trend to use smooth or rough collies for service work?

DOGGY•U
>>116710476

I don't have enough experience with smooth or rough collies to have an opinion. The few I've worked with in a pet capacity have been very soft, which is not my preference for service work.

Cathy

I'm very late seeing this even though I've been on Patreon for over a year. You made so many good points! My current SD is a standard poodle, and I absolutely never want another one. He's very sensitive both physically and mentally, low food motivation (this has improved some over the last year using your suggestions, but it's still not very good), and as you mentioned, he does the things because I'm asking him to but he's not enjoying the work. I appreciate that he'll do the things, but I would rather he could enjoy it too! I like labs and goldens (have had both in the past), but felt pressured to get a low-shed breed because of my husband's allergies. (He's improved a lot since having sinus surgery.) I've already told him that next time is a lab or golden, never a poodle again. I'm not even sure it would be a good idea to have the next dog in the same household with this poodle, I don't want the paranoia modeled to the young dog! Ugh. (And of course that 3rd dog problem, I still have my retired SD who is 11 yrs old along with the current dog who will be 6 this summer.)

DOGGY•U
>>173829691

Idk if it's helpful, but I have successfully shielded Whip from Jake's things that I didn't want to pass on, and Denver from Whip's little weirdsies. It is possible but it does require a bit of a "crate and rotate" style model for the first few months/lots of separate training sessions.