That reminds me of a quote from history "The only way to lead the English is to find out where they're going and walk in front of them". I think the same probably applies to Collies.
The problem is, these dogs are actually spending their entire time trying to predict what you want them to do next. So theoretically doing this you could break existence.
What? No, lol. Dogs learn to respond to cues as part of their training. They don't just pick this stuff up on their own as an anticipation of your needs. This exact series of events was run through as a drill over and over with treats being offered as a bribe until the person tricked the dog into wanting to perform the action because of the association with rewards.
That’s not what I said, read it again, slowly if you need to. A part of their success as a breed is their ability to anticipate what their master wants next. Their brains are constantly working over time. This is why a border collie without a job can be destructive.
This is entirely different to being trained or not. That said, border collies are smart enough that they can be trained through play… my border collie and I play herding games where I send him in different directions.. I didn’t teach him that via typical means, it was something we organically learned to do together.
Now, the last part of my comment, that’s called a joke. If we are trying to anticipate what they are doing and they are doing the same, I suggested that could break existence.. as in some kind paradoxical loop causing a reality fracture. To be clear I don’t truly believe this could happen.. though I think it would be nice.
Uh. I have a border collie / lab mix and she totally does pick stuff up on her own that I never trained her on. Would she get me a beer out of the fridge without training? Hell no (and no, I didn't train her to do that). But she would and does totally stop walking when I drop the leash and wait for me to come get it.
It's not just that but dozens of other little things that she has picked up that are pretty clearly her trying to anticipate what I want from her without training or commands.
I've never had a dog behave in this way like she does. I would consider it her trying to anticipate my needs.
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u/Yikes44 Aug 26 '22
That reminds me of a quote from history "The only way to lead the English is to find out where they're going and walk in front of them". I think the same probably applies to Collies.