Re: [PyrNet-L] pyr intelligence

[wetheri@emmanuel.edu (Ann K. Wetherilt)]

Couldn't agree more, Jan. A breeder-friend once told us she'd placed out
one of her dogs because, in her words, "if she'd wanted a golden, she'd be
breeding goldens!" This dog was a real sweetie, anxious to please, did
everything she told him when she told him. Frankly, I don't think the guy
who wrote that book on canine intelligence was talking about intelligence
as much as trainability--not the same thing at all. I've taught Paddington
and our other pyrs at different times to retrieve a ball etc. In each
case, they learned it almost immediately, retrieved for me a couple of
times, then looked at me as if to say, "I brought it back to you as many
times as I'm going to. If you wanted it, why did you throw it away again?"
I love the independent thought processes of these dogs, and the way you
have to figure ways to work together with them, not simply train them to
follow commands.
Ann, Peg, Paddington and Ivy Rose