Ha, well at least it is maybe not my complete inexperience then! It is nice to hear that you are making progress! It gives me hope!
Yes, I think that we definitely need to sharpen up on this! I think we may sign up to another set of obedience classes and then give the gundog training after Christmas! Also having a despairing moan on the school run, this morning I have a couple of other parents with tricky dogs, so I am wondering whether we can help each other out with some more frequent set ups!
All these comments about X is working line so full of energy... I'm sure there are snoozy showline dogs, and snoozy working line dogs. But I know an awful lot of working line dogs and when it comes to crazy high energy behaviour, and being distracted by other dogs and people, they are a walk in the park compared to my two.
This makes me feel better as I keep thinging "darn it, we should have gone show line!!" There are no guarantees, hey?
There are definitely no guarantees, and I don't think you can stereotype one as being high energy in comparison to the other. I have a working line 18 month lab, full of life and energy, but very calm around people and dogs. One whiff of a scent of a deer on the other hand and given half a chance and she'd be off like a shot!
Yep, all very different. And that's not really a working line characteristic - working line Labs work as retrievers, not hunters. They are supposed to be as steady as they come, and completely under control. Unsteadiness is traditionally a showline difficulty.
