I think you have gotten some really good advice, but considering JJ's early
training (or should I say the lack thereof)  it is hard to say what he
would be like with the right start.  For those of you who are not familiar
with JJ, he was taught to sic'em, and the prey drive was encouraged at a
very young age.  I think that ducks may not be a good choice for training
for a dog with plenty of prey drive, but the method that Linda tells us
about should work.

At this age, the best thing to do IMHO is to get a good kennel and keep him
under control around stock until he can learn (hopefully) to control
himself.   Many dogs that naturally work in the cur style (like JJ) are not
left loose around stock until they are much older,  Livestock Guardian
dogs, on the other hand are raised with the stock.

A lot of good stock dog trainers say they never give up on a dog that is
not yet two.

If considering breeding JJ, that would not only depend on how he turns out-
(does he eventually learn to control himself, or is he like the GSDs?)  but
also on exactly what are the characteristics that will balance his?
Figuring out just what kind of bitch would work best would depend on how
things work out.  Too bad we can't start him all over again!  We would have
a much better idea of what his genetic behavior would dictate.

JJ's first owner encouraged him to get the stock, and he should have been
teaching  him that dogs only eat what and when "Alpha" says so.

Linda's experience with the GSD is the same that I had with that breed- and
another list member if I remember correctly.  They are extremely hard to
keep from killing poultry, for some reason.   I think they have been
selected for no-farm characteristics for too long to be much use on a farm.



Reynolds
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