Herding dogs not only notice these distinct Sudden Environmental Contrasts (SEC’s); they specialize in perceiving them and responding to them. Exaggerated by artificial selection in herders, this naturally adaptive phenomenon was exceedingly useful to humans. The ability to quickly recognize patterns and reflexively attend and respond to breaches had its place for a dog tasked with keeping head count, order, and safety in a large herd.

Organizing, moving, and protecting a group of animals requires constant attention to detail, anticipation of the behavior of others, and lightning-fast reflexes for responding to the moment’s demands. Hypersensitivity to infractions against a rule is valuable in a herding dog helping a shepherd move a flock to a nearby pasture. But in a canine companion, it can be maddening.

One moment she is walking beautifully beside you as you stroll down the quiet street in the cool morning air; and the next you’re struggling to hold the leash as she leaps and barks furiously at a man coming over the top of the hill. You cannot figure out how this same dog attended a downtown festival with you yesterday without incident, surrounded by masses of people from all walks of life.

Here’s the reason: It’s all about the contrast. Yesterday, you got out of your car on a busy street filled with people moving about, and your dog quickly perceived and adapted to the status quo of the scene. No one person or event stood out within the pattern to her, so she did not react. This morning, however, she observed a completely different picture, one without any people or animals moving about. Until he appeared. He violated the pattern.

Rather than pulling your hair out in exasperation over her remarkable sensitivity and reactivity to these kinds of events, develop an awareness of them yourself, and direct her accordingly. Once you start to perceive the world through her eyes a little better, you can be prepared to guide her rather than despair at her little outbursts.

Herding Dog Relationship Survival Key:

1. Prepare yourself for her herding GENETICS to micromanage the natural world.
2. Offer a structured and suspenseful ENVIRONMENT that satisfies her instincts for work.
3. Fulfill her almost supernatural propensity for complex LEARNING by endlessly finding new things for her to do (like fetching the remote, cleaning up her toys, getting you the leash, or finding your misplaced keys).
4. Recognize and embrace the awesome intensity of having a fulltime canine wingman at your side.

MEET YOUR . . .

World Dog

“RENAISSANCE DOG”

Mixed breed

Mixed breed

World dogs are not breeds created by humans with closed gene pools or artificially selected jobs. Nature is the breeder in this case, and has continued to create these dogs all over the world. Their physical forms indicate that they have no specific predominant job in their ancestry, other than to be good at simply being a dog.

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