Ok, so, I gotta share this picture...

[Abbey]

I can see the Beagle in her. Does she put her nose to the ground? That's a Beagle.

I had one many years ago. I hate to say it, but probably the dumbest dog I've ever had. Just how they are in a good sense. I tried and tried to get this dog to make eye contact with me on a walk. Nope. Not the beagle. Her nose was to the ground 100% of the time.

Cattle dogs never lose sight of your eyes. I love Australian Shepards. They are completely focused on the task, and you...as the trainer...are the task. Whatever you are doing or want them to do, they follow suit.

I'm so glad your dear pup has found a loving home.

Abbey

 

[Shari]

She has a beagle head and ears, and that NOSE...that nose is her biggest downfall! lol She's like ADHD poster dog...she'll be flying along on a task and almost roll herself because that nose will hit the ground and freeze...can we say "distractable"? lol But once she got settled in and knew us and trusted us, she started doing much better. Nose still hits the ground, but she can be called off of it now.

The only other dog we looked at that really was a candidate was a cattle dog mix. She was a fetching machine, and difficult child really did want to try her out, but the rescue group she was with won't let us adopt her without spaying husband's blue heeler, which husband doesn't want to do yet. This rescue group told me when we finally do decide to spay the heeler, to give them a call, they'll probably still have this dog available because her energy level makes her basically unadoptable in this area - difficult at best! So they'd rather she live her life in a shelter than potentially go to a home with an intact working dog...I don't get it, but whatever. And the more I think about it, the more I think she may have been too much for difficult child, anyway. Cattle dogs NEED jobs or they get in LOTS of TROUBLE (kinda like husband's heeler and the chickens...). Daisy seems able to entertain herself when she needs to, so...