I was initially concerned this thread might offend people owned by breeds other than BCs, so i was sorta just watching how it went....there are brilliant dogs of all types, and i half expected there would be a protest, and wanted to stay outa the line of fire, ha ha, but i guess no protest. whew!
But i gotta agree, as easy as BCs are to train, there are some drawbacks. Sometimes, Buddy totally understands a trick or a command, but just doesn't care for it, so he won'nt do it. He has that independent BC thing, and does make his own choices about which items i am training he will go along with, and which ones are out..MOST are okay, but a few do not interest him.
I'd say Buddy is an incredibley obedient dog, BUT he does not care to do some things. Just doesn't care for it. He also gets bored with tricks he has done too often, so i gotta be careful not repeat same stuff too often, gotta mix it up regularly. (It's how i found this website!!) So there is a challenge, not to get Buddy to understand, but to get Buddy to 'go along with my program'!! ha ha!!
I also gotta say that my BC is not always "ON" 24/7...he can lay around and be relaxed for hours here and there, even among a group of people. He can even lie and rest with some dogs around, depending on the dog who is visiting. He is OFTEN "on", but not ALWAYS. He will never ever turn down a chance to play or work on something, never. But he CAN chill out here and there.
He can run like lightening though, when he is done resting. This speed has increased even more since he befriended a greyhound down the street. He can entertain himself for a long time, or work with me to figure out some new word for a fairly long time by now.
I happen to love it when Buddy IS "on", and lets me know, "I'm ready to do something, are you?" I guess i am lucky, my dog is never obnoxious, or annoying. AT least not to me.
I'm surprised how often i hear, "Oh, i'd get a BC, but they are too much work to keep busy." cuz i dont' find my BC to be that way. Maybe i am just lucky, or, maybe i have found nice balance of activities for Buddy and it just doesn't seem like work to me...i LOVE interacting with him, figuring out what he can do.
I have friends who have dogs who drop balls into their laps 24/7, i mean nonstop. See, i'd find THAT boring after a while...i'm not entirely certain how much excercize those dogs are getting, those owners very well might deserve to be pestered for the crime of not excercizing their dogs enuff, can't say for sure.
(I'm sure there are probably some BCs who do that ball dropping thing, too!) Guess it's all relative...
PLUS, once you love your own dog, one can tolerate behaviours or quirks, cuz you love that dog.
I know a woman whose has a breed notorious for gas, she seems oblivious to it, the dog IS her lil baby and she is crazy about it...she coos and loves it, and brags on it, and i almost feel sorry for her for having such a boring lil dog who farts every 5 minutes....She probably feels sorry for me that i cannot pick up my dog and put it on my lap...who knows. but, see what i mean?
But, i am fascinated by the people who post they find BCs TOO easy to train. Whole new concept to me!! Ha, i guess i AM lazy!!