Shelties and Working Trials

labgirl

labgirl

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I wonder if I've got this correct, can shelties train for and take part in working trials?

When I say working trials, I mean where the dog does tracking, agility and obedience. I've got someone bending my ear to try Cadbury at them one day and I have to say they look a lot of fun.

I notice collies competing in them and then I read someone competed with their shelties and I thought 'how cool, I would love to be able to train my sheltie for that too.'

So is it true? Can shelties compete in working trials?
 
Shelties will basically succeed (or at least try to) at anything you put their mind to do. They work hard for their owners.

I think the biggest obstacle for them would be tracking. Herding dogs don't have notoriously good noses, and Aztec can't seem to find things laying right in front of him even. That would take the most work - all shelties are different though, and you might end up with on that has a "nose-brain".
 
Aztec-

Funny you should say that Aztec can't seem to find food right in front of him. Bentley is the same way! He will drop a treat on the ground and it takes him forever to find it, if he even finds it then!


This would definitely be a challenge!
 
I know. I taught Aztec to "find my keys" and he knows the phrase, and will frantically search the house for them...but they can be in the middle of the living room floor and he can't find them unless they are where he can see them - he can't sniff them out. He has incredible ears though! So it makes up for his lacking nose sense.
 
Aztec said:
Shelties will basically succeed (or at least try to) at anything you put their mind to do. They work hard for their owners.
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Very very, true!! Caliber can sometimes get pretty frantic if I'm asking him to do something and he's not sure what I'm asking...he'll just do whatever he knows how to do until he gets it right! He is pretty good at tracking things tho...altho I'm not sure if it would just be his intelligence or his nose. If we're outside playing and I throw his tuggy and he doesn't see where it lands, i say "Find it!" and he'll walk around with his nose to the ground until he does! Same with things in the house. I'm sure it's more or less just the fact that he knows exactly what it is he's looking for. But yes...Shelties can do all those things, and from what I've seen at trials, and even videos, they are usually VERY successful in them!!
 
I think you can train them to use their nose. My two were never really good using their noses either, until I started playing hide-n-seek games with them. At first I made it really easy, where they essentially saw where I hid things, then I made it harder and harder. It is a clicker training game. GeeRome is the one that actually told me about it. It's great and it really does work. They both use their noses a lot more now.
My last sheltie, oh my, he would have his ball right under him, and he still would not be able to find it!
 
Ania said:
I think you can train them to use their nose. My two were never really good using their noses either, until I started playing hide-n-seek games with them. At first I made it really easy, where they essentially saw where I hid things, then I made it harder and harder. It is a clicker training game. GeeRome is the one that actually told me about it. It's great and it really does work. They both use their noses a lot more now.
My last sheltie, oh my, he would have his ball right under him, and he still would not be able to find it!
Click to expand...

I think shelties can learn and figure out anything! They have amazing, intelligent brains...I just think things don't come naturally to them, as it might come to a sporting dog.

My border collie mix is a total nose brain, she figures out everything with her nose. It made it twice as hard to train her, because she constantly wanted to sniff the floor. But when it came to finding things...she could find things I hid in the dryer! Or on the tops of shelves. Her nose is incredible.
 
My friend has a cavalier and it always amazes me how this dog can walk and not bump into everything as her nose is constantly glued to the ground!
 
Thank you for all your comments - I love doing things with my dogs, whether its just a lovely long walk or training for something like agility.

I also saw a lot of shelties in the heelwork to music section of Crufts and, boy, would I like to try that too! :smile2:

The more activites we do together the better (as long as they enjoy them of course).
 
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