Just think of him as a high-horsepower race car. He has the potential to go zero-to-sixty at the drop of a hat, but he can also spend his entire life cruising around at thirty miles an hour. Your job is to keep him out of the race, prevent him from revving up at the starting line, and ensure that life isn’t pressing the gas pedal and pushing him into top speed. You keep him in low gear by intervening when things get exciting and giving him a break for a few minutes to settle it all down. If he is too stimulated by a situation, go ahead and physically remove him before an altercation can occur so that he can return to a calmer state. Life happens, of course, and you may find that you are unable to prevent a high-arousal situation for your bull dog; so stack the deck by having effective collars (head halters are great for having control of his strength when he surges out toward a team of skateboarders) and interventions (quick-draw collar leashes can make it easy to get ahold of him before he gets ahold of one of the ducks in the lake). Whenever there is an atmosphere of excitement in the air, and when his blood starts pumping in response, you want to help him return to that low-gear mellow state, and then reward him well for his cooperation.

Bull Dog Relationship Survival Key:

1. Take steps to keep his system in its natural low gear so that his GENETIC high-arousal response to excitement doesn’t get the better of him.
2. Ensure he has adequate opportunities to express himself, make sure he is very well-managed, and not overly confined in his daily ENVIRONMENT.
3. Keep that brain in LEARNING and thinking mode by regulating his excitement levels and impulses.
4. Relish his bigger-than-life personality for all that it is as you steer clear of trouble traps.

MEET YOUR . . .

Herding Dog

“WORKING WINGMAN”

Australian Cattle Dog

Australian Shepherd

Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler) • Australian Kelpie • Australian Shepherd • Bearded Collie • Beauceron • Belgian Groenendael • Belgian Malinois • Belgian Sheepdog • Belgian Tervuren • Berger Picard • Border Collie • Briard • Cardigan Welsh Corgi • German Shepherd • Old English Sheepdog • Pembroke Welsh Corgi • Polish Lowland Sheepdog • Puli • Pumi • Pyrenean Sheepdog • Shetland Sheepdog • Standard Collie • Swedish vallhund • mixes of any of the above breeds

You’ll fall in love with your herding dog because she’s:

A ROBIN TO YOUR BATMAN—Ready to heed the call for any mission on the horizon, she will not rest as long as there is an adventure to be had.

ATTENTIVE—She is keenly aware of her environment, as well as her partner’s emotions and instructions.

RESPONSIBLE—This type-A personality keeps her i’s dotted and her t’s crossed with rules, routines, work, and games.

You might find a herding dog hard to live with because she’s: