Agility vrs. Rally vrs. Obedience

[Annette47]

Yeah the tollers i see are intense. but then i see them in dog sport venues I don't have much direct experience with the breed other than having meet a breeder (took a class on her property for hunt training) and seeing them around.

SOME aussies are placing and have drive but many are more moderate (great family pets). there are plenty of them though! and now many mini aussie's. There was an aussie in our flyball class - the poor guy couldn't motivate the dog to get drive. looked more like me and Rocky back in the day! but the aussie was very well behaved and all that Or maybe he just hadn't yet found what motivates the dog (i was in high management mode during flyball class so wasn't watching others that closely).

The friend I mentioned before with the Tollers used to have Aussies, and she said there is a HUGE divide between show lines and working (farm) lines - sound familiar? She said most of the show line dogs don’t have the kind of drive she is looking for to be successful, but that many of the working line dogs can be a bit sharp and hard to work with. Her last Aussie was a 50/50 blend and she put an OTCH on her. Sounds like the ones you are seeing are more from show lines.

[Scoutpout]

around here it seems to be Goldens for Obed and Rally. theres also a wide variety of "everything else". i haven't been up on Agility, so not sure. There seems to be a "core group" that trials in Obed and Rally, you see the same folks at most of the trials. There are a few labs, but not that many-lots of shows Scout is the only lab there. there's a new group of 2 or 3 girls with nsdtr's i've seen since last year. she is a bit loud, and her dogs are a bit all over the place, and the worst thing is she's going on and on about breeding...i find it hard to resist the urge to take her and her "posse" aside and ask if she has a clue... sigh.

we train with some nsdtr breeders. Their dogs are nice. they put their conformation titles on them as well as obed and working titles. Their dogs aren't allowed to be loud while working. They say it takes work since they are puppies but the dogs need to be able to be quiet while they're working, and not loud things disturbing everyone. they are both judges for HT and WC's so i guess they have seen lots of that noisy bit. They have expressed concern about the recent increase in popularity with the breed, worried for the health of the breed.

[Tanya]

oh the toller scream - makes me laugh every time! but could never own one. sorta like the hound baying - LOVE IT as long as it's not my dog or neighbour :P

The friend I mentioned before with the Tollers used to have Aussies, and she said there is a HUGE divide between show lines and working (farm) lines - sound familiar? She said most of the show line dogs don’t have the kind of drive she is looking for to be successful, but that many of the working line dogs can be a bit sharp and hard to work with. Her last Aussie was a 50/50 blend and she put an OTCH on her. Sounds like the ones you are seeing are more from show lines.

Haha does sound familiar. Actually from what i hear it's getting to that point with most breeds, i was hearing the same about BC's (those who show are useless as workings line of thinking). I wish there was a better compromise between show and work. I understand some "working lines" have gone extreme as well don't get me wrong. I also understand the time and cost to show a dog limits the time and ability to train for other sports. Luckily I am sure there are some breeders working on both sides.

I recently found myself drawn to border collies (i'm crazy!) and so have been asking about the difference between the breeds (aussie/bc) and many say the aussie's are just not drivey. Honsetly my first intro to aussie's was some very aggressive, reactive, insane ones (very bad breeding, very bad lines - I hear much of this breeder) so I think i never recovered from that. I know an aussie breeder with really great dogs but just can't bring myself to want an aussie. But BC - why not :P Anyway yes the BC people say that aussie's have really lost their drive/ability to work. Even for dog sports. I guess in a way this makes for nice flashy pets for pet owners.

[Snowshoe]

English Shepherds are not recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club but they are like a less intense BC. We figure my sister's first dog fits into ES so she went looking for her second dog, got Bonnie in Romeo Michigan. Some breeders will not sell a dog unless it's going to a working farm or will be used in agility or herding activities/competitions. Sis was doing agility but her back kept going out. ES might be worth a look/see but probably not if you want to stick with CKC dog sports.

Funny, all the Tollers I've met up with, I've never heard the scream.

[Labradorks]

I recently found myself drawn to border collies (i'm crazy!) and so have been asking about the difference between the breeds (aussie/bc) and many say the aussie's are just not drivey. Honsetly my first intro to aussie's was some very aggressive, reactive, insane ones (very bad breeding, very bad lines - I hear much of this breeder) so I think i never recovered from that. I know an aussie breeder with really great dogs but just can't bring myself to want an aussie. But BC - why not :P Anyway yes the BC people say that aussie's have really lost their drive/ability to work. Even for dog sports. I guess in a way this makes for nice flashy pets for pet owners.

I take classes with one of the best aussie breeders in the west. She not only has multiple puppies from almost every litter it seems getting their CH, but her dogs go HIT at obedience trials, do really well in rally, clean up in agility (against BCs), and also do herding. Higher level, successful competition trainers -- obedience and rally -- often purchase dogs from her. They are not only beautiful, but very talented. I think they can be a little reactive and have some anxiety, but from my experience, this is quite often a herding dog trait. Even after taking classes with about five aussies every week over the past few years, I still can't read them!

[Labradorks]

Funny, all the Tollers I've met up with, I've never heard the scream.

Go to a hunt test with tollers. Oh boy!

[Tanya]

English Shepherds are not recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club but they are like a less intense BC. We figure my sister's first dog fits into ES so she went looking for her second dog, got Bonnie in Romeo Michigan. Some breeders will not sell a dog unless it's going to a working farm or will be used in agility or herding activities/competitions. Sis was doing agility but her back kept going out. ES might be worth a look/see but probably not if you want to stick with CKC dog sports.

Funny, all the Tollers I've met up with, I've never heard the scream.

the scream is FANTASTIC LOL!

I also love koolies and know one that has awesome temperment! the possibilities are truely endless haha. i am just really afraid of hitting the reactive/fearful/aggressive dog when looking at working/herding breeds. even from good lines. I also just dabble in sports so need a dog that can take a day off :P the list of breeds i want is long :P