OES at War
This came to mind as I was reading numerous posts about aggressive sheepdogs in the forum. These dogs have a tremendous amount of courage, as those of us who have had them over the years know, and they are remarkably intelligent and sensitive. I wonder if some of the aggressive behavior is not a result of frustration by the dogs in question? (I am also familiar with the puppy mills that inbreed and thereby emphasize the recessive unwanted traits.) However, if the dogs are well bred, sometimes a good run or play session will give them a means to express their instinctive behavior, which is an expression of aggression: managing and protecting a herd. To put it in the vernacular: If you give them a chance to "get their rocks off" the dog might be more docile and calm. An occasional romp in a park, if there is no yard available, or a good long brisk walk does wonders for these dogs. |
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airdale wrote: However, if the dogs are well bred, sometimes a good run or play session will give them a means to express their instinctive behavior, which is an expression of aggression: managing and protecting a herd. To put it in the vernacular: If you give them a chance to "get their rocks off" the dog might be more docile and calm. An occasional romp in a park, if there is no yard available, or a good long brisk walk does wonders for these dogs.
I agree wholeheartedly that plenty of exercise and play are beneficial and will probably help with some behavior problems. I'm not sure aggression is one of them though. OES are herding dogs - but not "aggressive" herders like some of the other breeds. There should be no signs of aggression in them - regardless of whether or not they are working dogs. |
| I've read and heard that the OES was bread to minimize aggression because they were mainly 'droving' dogs, the dogs that took the sheep to market over the alleys and country roads, they needed to keep the sheep in flock formation but they were not responsible for the more aggressive herding done by the collie's who had to find strays and 'hound' (that's where that word comes from!) them back into the flock. I've also heard that OES were bread to withstand long trips to market and can drove for more than 30 miles a day.
My dad has a running joke about my OES'- he always says after a long walk - "well that's a couple of miles down- 28 more to go yet today!" I am really curious about some of this OES history/breeding history stuff, I've never found a definitive resource, lots of sketchy stuff- is there a good website (aside from this one) or a good book I can start hunting for?? Up. |
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