We've been trying to train more things lately - various reasons. I'm trying to get the dogs prey drive more ramped up, mostly since I'm trying to get Oliver ready for earthdog now that he's got his RN and is working on his people skills heavily. Don't want the shelties to miss out. So here's Pow, working on his "squirrel" skills, treeing a very low rabbit fur squeaky in cage to work on him trailing to the tree then looking up for the squirrel. He doesn't want the squeaky, he's hoping there's a real mouse in the cage. Brick will be useless for this as an individual at the moment, he works silent. Kess and Pow are getting squirrel/tree stuff, Brick and Oliver and maybe Whiskey get earthdog stuff to work on.
Been thinking, especially with the economy and the abstractness of the dog show world, that I really need to sit down and think where I'm putting my time and money in training and breeding. I've been going through sports and what tells me the most about my breeding stock for the least amount of money, and what is the most useful for the average farm.
Obedience - valuable, the combo of CGC (Canine Good Citizen AKC) and Rally Obedience (APDT, UKC, AKC) necessary. Takes care of general focus, safety with the public, and a good foundation for everyday needs.
Tracking/SAR/Article Search/Detection - valuable and very useful everyday skill. I've used Pow multiple times to find things for clients, tractor parts, and used Pow and Brick in the woods if I've dropped a tool, etc.
Hunting/Earthdog/Retriever/Flushing/Squirrel, etc - valuable, useful everyday skill to a farm and to someone wanting to add some income or meat to the table. Takes care of prey drive, endurance, focus and several other traits.
Protection/Schutzhund/Livestock Guardian, etc - valuable, useful everyday skill to a working farm dog, takes care of focus, independence, stability, desire to take care of livestock and people.
Herding - of course, non-negotiable for a herding breed, and achieving a good balance of traits that would be good for a chore dog AND a trial dog, with emphasis on chore dog needs is a main goal.
Carting/Weight pull - helps again with chores, but also tells me somethng about the structure of the dog as far as maneuverability and strength from proper conformation. Also provides info on temperament stability and independence.
Flyball - not valuable
Disc dog - not valuable
Dock Diving - not valuable
Agility - not valuable, doesn't tell me anything extra that working it the woods wouldn't.
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