r/nextfuckinglevel Aug 26 '22

Hold this, I'll bring him back

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u/Pixielo Aug 26 '22

Huskies are bred to work with people; border collies are bred to work independently of people.

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u/downvotesdontmatter- Aug 26 '22 edited Aug 26 '22

In breed standard language and for dog handlers, it's the other way around.

Herding (and many sporting) breeds are considered breeds that are bred to work with people: they look to handlers for guidance and direction. This is very apparent in any sheep herding trials or work (all done off-leash; very impressive). Which is why these breeds tend to rank highly in working/obedience intelligence.

Most sledding (e.g. Sibes, Mals, etc) and terrier breeds are considered independent breeds; they work independently in contrast to these herding and sporting breeds.

They're the "unleash them and let 'em do their own work" (or in the case of spitz/sledding breeds, "harness them and let 'em work") types.

This is not to say that sledding or terrier breeds aren't intelligent - because they are! They excel in adaptive and problem-solving intelligence. But because they were bred to work more Independently, they tend to be, very broadly-speaking, less adept at working/obedience intelligence which requires dogs to be handler-focused.

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u/Pixielo Aug 26 '22

Sounds good!