Characteristics and Herding styles by breed - Page 1

Some of you know that my rescue dog's daddy is an unknown. Beau will be two yrs. old in a few days. I was reading up on Catahoula Leopard dog's, their history and characteristics. Some things I was reading sounded really familiar as behavior I see in my dog. I think it explained what I had been seeing when both dogs go at it in some fast paced play, or even a sudden prowl alert. They both are territorial and know our boundaries, exactly.

I then did some googling on herding, and indeed, there is a whole vocabulary to understand! I think Beau aka Rhino has been showing his instincts as a header styled herding dog. He willl go for an "air" nip in the face and run, wanting Mojo to follow. I see him starting to do that with some people! They don't like it! And I was thinking I needed to nip this in the bud type of thing. And then I read, that is the style of herding a CLD would do to move hogs. Mojo on the other hand seems to take the "loose eye" approach and manuevers himself into a "balance point". They aren't just rushing around playing with each other, they herd each other, using different styles! 

There are some more interesting characteristics attributed to the Carolina Dog that I have noticed, in Beau, too. It has been suggested those dogs are in the foundation of the Catahoula Leopard Dog.

If anyone cares to add to this thread, their observations, insights or expertise, please do.

 

 

Our Australian Shepherd, Clover, is a header as well; very intense, but not as intense as our Border Collie, Lady, was. An interesting trait I have noticed with Clover is that she uses her body weight to herd the other dogs, such as running very fast, cutting in front, then slamming her body into the other dog's chest and nipping at thier face. I have seen her send a dog nearly twice her weight flying.  She has not tried this with people fortunately.

Lady on the other hand would trot very fast alongside us, then dart in front causing us to trip; she had to learn at a young age that humans were not for herding. She also had a very intense eye; it is impossible to win a stare down with a Border Collie.

The GSDs have a much more laid back approach; they prefer to lie on the boundry line of our property and keep an eye out for "predators" or trot around a group of people. The older of the two will occasionally use her nose to push the other dogs around, but she is the alpha female of our pack  and the other two females do not do that.  This behavior reminds me somewhat of behavior I have seen wolves display with each other on nature documentaries.  When you think of it, wolves also exhibit "herding" techniques when hunting large ungulates.

Eating time around here can be a bit odd, or so I thought. I thought there might be competition and possessiveness to contend with, I was on guard for any signs of food aggression. Instead, Beau is incredibly submissive to the point he absolutely will not eat out of his bowl until Mojo "rejects" it.

This is a pack trait mention in my reading, as found in the Carolina dog. They interestingly are known as American Dingos, a relatively new discovery of indigenous canine. I wonder if other breeds are known for this trait?

I see that trait in both my GSDs, but not in the Aussie; she has to be fed in a separate room behind a door, because she eats her food very fast and will then lurk around the other dogs' bowls, somewhat like a coyote lurks around a wolf pack at a kill.  It would be interesting to read others experiences with different herding or working breeds.

I found this video on Facebook and was very impressed. I don't think someone could do this with terriers, but I could be wrong.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10203242323767835&set=vb.1501248026&type=2&theater

bee...i think photos of Beau would be very helpful.. :)

@LF   I will try to get some pictures of him, tomorrow, on his "birthday". But starting this thread is not necessarily all about him. Ever since I "stuffed" him in that bag to carry on the airplane home, he has enabled me to see and understand differences in heritable dog behavior, in ways I probably never could have appreciated. It was suggested I use characteristics to suggest a possible answer to his question, "Who's your daddy?" When the lightbulb went off that both dogs playing, were using different herding styles, I thought! Oh, wow. And the rest sort of followed. Any one at any level of dog fancier can have their own moment of clarity when they begin to understand their dogs are relating to each other on their terms, without our human spin interfering with the interpretation or action.

@Northern Maiden

That feeding clip was interesting! I can really see how this feeding trait can be used if it is present! I think the comment by the Pug lady was funny, too! Never going to work for that breed!

Thanks for your insights shared so far. I too, would hope there would be a bit more of some very specific breed characteristics observed by the PDB breeders, too. Maybe the topic is coming across too complicated? LOL 

 

bee, i don't think its complicated i think with majority on here focused on GSD we are just lacking exposure. Wish there were more other breed owners on here...but it is very interesting to see it from owners (yours) perspective on the whole "who is your daddy" question. Do you know if any of the owners of the puppies kept in touch when they were adopted...Steph kept any records? I bet it would be amazing to see them all lined up and compare some key behavior, i wonder how much Mojo had any significant influence on Beau behavior that he may have not displayed if he was lets say shared a household with lab, or pug...

 

Happy Birthday to Beau Blue!

Not the greatest set of photo shots, but I did promise some pictures on his birthday. 

Here he is. I told him today he is 2 years old! My vet sent him B'day wishes via email, too! It is so nice when someone remembers your birthday! lol

 

Birthday meal, raw whole, quarter of chicken with Greek yogurt dressing.

That full feeling, yum!

And look what happens when I say, "Woodchuck!"   

If I say, "Squirrel", they both run to the front yard where the bird feeder is. Whereas, saying "Woodchucks", they run to the back!

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.... On a side note, here is a picture of one of his siblings.... and another of a Catahoula Leopard Dog I found on Google images. I can't remember if this is mix or what, but well, you can see what caught my eye!

Smoke, his littermate:

  

Catahoula Leopard Dog puppy:

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Happy B-Day Beau...and yes totaly see what you are talking about with catahoula dog...ever concidered DNA test?

**looking back at the pictures**

Boy..he is a hefty looking dog...