Little Red Devil.

I think the majority of people who own Border Collies have one time or another referred to them as 'a devil'. We don't mean it in the literal sense of course, but more of a way to describe their frenzied behavior.

Right now I have the pleasure of being owned by a little red Border Collie who goes by the name of Dash. He is in the middle of his teenage years and can be a huge pain in the rear. He is smart. And he knows it.

This is the first dog that I have ever trained using the Operant Behavior and they learn SO much faster with this method. He is eager to learn and will work longer than if I used any sort of traditional-type training. For those who don't know what Operant Behavior, a simple way to define it would be: Reinforce what you like and don't reinforce anything else! Dogs naturally do what is pleasing, so if they get a cookie every time they sit, you  better believe they will sit a whole lot!

It's definitely a lot harder than traditional training, but once you get the hang of it you will see that both you and your dog are happier. Dash learns things in only one session whereas in the past (with previous dogs) it took me mulitple sessions to teach one behavior. For example, last night the Hubby and I went to Petsmart and in the time it took to browse ONE aisle I had taught Dash how to "side" (line up on my left side).

I highly recommend anyone interested in this type of traninig to check out Susan Garrett's book Shaping Success.  It can be found on Clean Run or Susan's website Clicker Dogs. It has dramatically helped me in my training as well as showing me that I am not the only one who a red Border Collie who screams at the agility field. Ohhh my little red devil. <3

-B