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I think most dogs can have selective hearing at some stage.
Our Westie refused to "hear" or acknowledge the word Stop for his whole 13 years with us.
One day he was with me at the gate when a cat appeared in the driveway opposite. He took off at the speed of light...luckily our street is very quiet with very little traffic but I still yelled for him to stop. I was comprehensively ignored but when I called out Sit you could see the skid marks in the middle of the road.
I knew guide dog training was a slow process but did not realise just how slow. I still marvel at how the dog knows where to go seemingly without any help from it's owner. The butchers shop does sound like a reasonable place for any dog to know.
Some years ago we used to see a young lady in a wheelchair with an assistance dog when we were doing the shopping. A couple of times I reached up for some items for her and the dog got to know me. We were both gobsmacked one day when I was just standing deciding what to buy and she came down the aisle behind me....the dog just gave me a nudge and kept going. Apparently she had never done that before with anyone.
@lyndal1838 wrote:I think most dogs can have selective hearing at some stage.
Our Westie refused to "hear" or acknowledge the word Stop for his whole 13 years with us.
One day he was with me at the gate when a cat appeared in the driveway opposite. He took off at the speed of light...luckily our street is very quiet with very little traffic but I still yelled for him to stop. I was comprehensively ignored but when I called out Sit you could see the skid marks in the middle of the road.
I knew guide dog training was a slow process but did not realise just how slow. I still marvel at how the dog knows where to go seemingly without any help from it's owner. The butchers shop does sound like a reasonable place for any dog to know.
Some years ago we used to see a young lady in a wheelchair with an assistance dog when we were doing the shopping. A couple of times I reached up for some items for her and the dog got to know me. We were both gobsmacked one day when I was just standing deciding what to buy and she came down the aisle behind me....the dog just gave me a nudge and kept going. Apparently she had never done that before with anyone.
The sheep dogs get a rush of blood whenever a lamb or adult sheep seperate from the mob. The natural instinct is very strong to run it down. This is complicated by the fact that we deliberately run a single sheep from the mob when it needs attention in the paddock and the dogs are used to capture it.
The dog is not allowed to harm the sheep and it takes a lot of training to get all of those bits right.. I walk the young dogs on a lead and command "stop" regularly. The dog is made to sit or drop before we continue. Once this is working I remove the lead and get the dog to stay while I walk a few steps away. The distance increases until the dog remains stationary while I walk from view, 80-100 metres away. When I call the dog, I get them to stop halfway to me and drop to the ground.
All of this can take many months of regular evening walks to get a high level of obedience happening. It is only when we have full control of the young dog that we begin training with sheep.
