Description
Can a puppy be too good at doing stuff to make a competent adult service dog?
Meet Timber — a 5-month-old Border Collie. In this video I run her through portions of the Public Access Test and talk about why herding dogs are incredible demonstration dogs… and why that same wiring can work against them in real service work.
Border Collies and other stock dogs were bred to do complex jobs with a handler. They are pattern-smart, inquisitive, and built to work all day. Trainers love them because they pick up obedience fast, have huge endurance, and bounce back after a nap ready for the next session.
A lot of actual service work is the opposite. Follow the handler. Don’t engage people. Don’t engage dogs. Stay quiet and out of the way while the person lives their life. Asking a farm dog to do that all day is a square-peg, round-hole problem.
Timber is happy as long as she’s glued to me. That velcro quality turns into anxiety the second I leave her to use the bathroom, work in the garage, or train another dog.
Show-line Labs and Goldens are usually more confident, less owner-fixated, and more easygoing in public. Different job. Different dog.
Watch the session, then tell me what I got right and what I got wrong.
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