I’d like for you to meet our dog Tuck.
We got him from TRU a few years ago.
He has turned out to be one of the best sheep-herding dogs you’d ever want to meet. One of the main reasons is that my wife and I have tried to teach him all we know about herding sheep.
Is that story a bit hard to believe?
What if I was to tell you that one of his favourite things to do is retrieve a rubber ring when we throw it? We refined the game but he appeared to come by it naturally.
You can maybe see why I have a problem when I hear people trying to persuade others using the line: “It’s the owner, not the dog.”
Some behaviour is certainly learned by a dog. Some behaviour undeniably comes with the dog as part of the package.
JOHN NOAKES
Kamloops
