Learning

There is always something new to discover.  In bringing Jackie into our home with Gunner, who is already fairly well advanced in his general obedience, it is interesting to observe the dynamic that having the presence of another Border collie in the same household has had for Gunner.  

Gunner’s recall is very good. His attention to me has always been on point as well.  Maybe I am just noticing it in contrast to Jackie, who has not yet had enough time for us to have a deeply bonded relationship, nor even begin her “formal” education, but Gunner’s attention to me has sharpened even more.  His focus on me and promptness was already very good, and I didn’t realize it could be even sharper.  But sharpened it has, just from the (competitive?) presence of Jackie.  

I am being very deliberate about making sure Rosco and especially the more sensitive Gunner have above and beyond adequate Mom time, and that they feel valued— because they are valued. Even with this idea in place, Gunner has displayed a sharpened recall, longer duration for behaviors that require patience and control on the dog’s part, and his heel is phenomenal — even though we haven’t practiced “show ring” heeling in years due to our focus on trick training, urban citizen training, and agility.  It has been interesting and informative for me to watch Gunner’s obedience skills deepen and sharpen in these last several days since we adopted Jackie into our home.

(A word about Rosco: Cocker spaniels have rich inner lives, I’m not arguing that at all. We adopted little buddy Rosco 12 years ago from a breed rescue [thank you Cocker Spaniel Rescue of East Texas!] as an adult dog, so he is at least 13 years old.  He is well educated using R+ and has an excellent foundation in obedience.  His daily needs have always been different than those of the Border collies in my life, and certainly now in his geriatric years his enrichment needs are a different intensity than those of Gunner’s and Jackie’s.  Rest assured reader that even though Rosco may not be the current focus of this blog, he has much enrichment, learning opportunities, and love in his life.)

What are the training lessons here?  I’m actually not sure yet, and I wanted to document what I’m observing in real time, in order to reflect later as well as ponder just now.  Is training in a multi-dog household superior to training a “singleton?”  If so what are the dynamics? And even though I currently view it as a positive outcome of interest, what is Gunner’s perception of the current situation?  Is his “increase” in sharpness due to jealousy?  competition? something else?  Is it good for Gunner or stressful for him?  A little of both? I want to learn more…

Dogs dogs dogs

Pearls:

• Dynamics change in a multi-dog household, the more I observe the more I learn; Gunner seems to have found a whole new gear in the presence of Jackie
• Rosco is a baller
• As I observe what is happening with my own multi-dog household, I am curious to learn more about other experiences when training multiple sport dogs in the same household