Dog thread: Weekend at Bernese

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Internet VFW > Dog thread: Weekend at Bernese

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Reginald cannot understand the concept of an elderly, toothless Pug that doesn't want to play. Seriously, who doesn't want to play?

# ¿ Jan 30, 2015 21:26

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 06:00

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Today, Reggie knocked a pillow off the couch by accident, looked longingly at it on the floor, then hopped down to pick it up. He puts it back on the couch, and then curls up in a sunbeam to nap. Dogge has the best life.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2015 23:20

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

holocaust bloopers posted:

Friend just sent me this.

boop that nose!

# ¿ Mar 13, 2015 00:26

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Harvey Mantaco posted:

This was Squeaky.

Goodnight sweet prince

Obviously a good dogge.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2015 18:27

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Spicy Guacamole posted:

I would pette that dogge

# ¿ Apr 17, 2015 16:59

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Rigel posted:

She launched herself out of the basket and landed on her head 15 minutes before this and seemed no worse for wear.

Cattledogges have very resilient heads so that they can get kicked and or stepped on frequently as a matter of their jobs. It's scolds and a lack of pettes that actually harms them.

# ¿ Apr 27, 2015 22:39

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Murder posted:

I spent way too much time giving this dogge pets instead of working.

Repent. Quit your job. Pette dogges.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2015 01:13

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

EXTREME INSERTION posted:

He found the pillow and put it there

My dog likes pillows, too. My wife got up to refill her drink, and he totally snagged her spot and then looked smug about it.

# ¿ Jun 30, 2015 03:48

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

Please post any and all dogges and slight variations of dogges in this thread

regardless of whether or not it's a repost or you even have a slight inclination that it's a repost

V/R - GIP

Oh, ok then. Here's Reggie, being a good boy.

Hey, what do you have?

You mean this chicken's foot is for me?

It's really for me?!

*bone crunching noises*

# ¿ Jul 31, 2015 00:29

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

That's a nice dogge. Is he old or just his coat?

That's just his coat, he's 1 1/2 years old now. He's a cattledogge.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2015 00:36

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

You also saw Mad Max growing up?

My dad has a dog like that. Barely 2 years old but looks really old because of the coloring. Do they need more than normal room to run/play/etc than most dogs?

-edit Honestly a cattledog barely fits the higher threshold of my size limit. Don't think there's a lot as rescues though

Reggie likes Mad Max-ing it up on the farm.

They need exercise a few days a week, even if that's just going jogging for a couple miles, or snatching a frisbee out of the air at the dog park. But most importantly they need some sort of mental stimulation every day to make them mentally tired. Reggie has a job on the farm (moving cows, pigs and ducks around) so when he's home, he's normally pretty chilled out and willing to lounge around like a good boy.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2015 00:55

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

Can I work with Reggie or...?

Looks quite a bit bigger than I thought. Guess they just have that smaller dog but thick thing going on

Is he done growing? When do they usually stop? Before 2 ish?

He's about as big as he's going to get. He's 50lbs, pretty lean, about 20 inches tall at the shoulder.

The breeder we got him from is in Maine, and breeds for health, working traits, and personality. Reggie has a really strong herding instinct, and if I walk out into a field and don't pay attention, he just starts bringing cows to me. He also has slightly longer fur than most "show standard" cattle dogges, since the breeder has been selecting for a more "northernized" dogge over the past few generations.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2015 01:11

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

EXTREME INSERTION posted:

Every time I go downtown someone thinks pax is a pitbull

Post pics so we can see how wrong they are.

# ¿ Jul 31, 2015 01:56

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

EXTREME INSERTION posted:

╔══════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ══════════════╗
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Repost this if ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ you are a beautiful strong black woman ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ who don�t need no man ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
╚══════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ══════════════╝

# ¿ Aug 1, 2015 23:23

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Wise Fwom Yo Gwave posted:

Hi timothy

# ¿ Aug 4, 2015 01:02

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

FiestaDePantalones posted:

Guys help I think my dogge has an inner ear infection.

Belly rubs are the prescription.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2015 17:06

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Reggie has some new cousins:

Bonus pic of Reggie's sister:

And of Reggie as a puppy dogge. (on the right)

# ¿ Aug 6, 2015 00:55

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Cole posted:

guess who is having a birthday today?!

# ¿ Aug 9, 2015 16:54

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

Not even all those treats and toys can keep this sleepy pup awake

A sweet dogge

# ¿ Aug 12, 2015 05:06

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Hey dogge thread:

Recommend me a good frisbee/throwing disc that Reggie cannot rip into small bits if he decides to chew on it when I look away for thirty seconds. Also, if it flys well, that is a bonus, because he loves to catch frisbees.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2015 05:10

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Reggie waiting at the top of the basement steps, for me to throw a stick when I came back up. He waited for an hour. A good dogge.

# ¿ Aug 14, 2015 05:07

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

I found Reggie sleeping like this tonight. He ran almost ten miles today following tractors, moving cows, fetching sticks, and jogging with my friend's wife. He is a tired dogge.

When I gave him a pette, he gave me this look.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2015 05:01

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Oh, you guys are going to bed, don't mind if I do...

# ¿ Aug 15, 2015 05:50

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Helldump Immunity. posted:

A good dogge.

So say we all.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2015 00:29

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Infinity posted:

# ¿ Aug 26, 2015 00:58

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Reggie has a new piglet.

# ¿ Aug 31, 2015 13:42

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Turtle Dad 420 posted:

Hello, Rocco!

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

^ Gonna need more cattle dog pics like that

Not Rocco, but here is some more Reggie.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2015 03:45

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

I accept dog pics in all forms and flavor

Also some pics of him at work!?

I was a fool, let my ipad on the hood of the tractor last week and then proceeded to plow it into a rye field. I'll try to get a few pictures of Reggie with the cows tomorrow.

In the meantime, have more of him around home.

Hey, can I have a butt scratch?

Awwww yisss...

# ¿ Sep 1, 2015 03:50

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Here's some older pictures of him working with animals. Some are from last winter.

Ducks -

Chickens -

Learning about Pigs -

Learning about Cows -

# ¿ Sep 1, 2015 04:15

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

suboptimal posted:

This hasn't been properly acknowledged on this page, but Charlie's a drat good dogge.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2015 23:34

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

So I know their natural instinct is to herd and have a job through breeding and evolution I guess but how much training or teaching do you have to do?

Border Collies always try to herd my pup to me

The amount and type of teaching and training varies heavily from dogge to dogge, and depends largely on four things:

- The job the dog will be doing
- The "instinct" already inherent in the dog
- The specific personality and intelligence of the dog
- the specific personality and intelligence of the handler

Border Collies make great "fetching" herders. They can go bring an animal to you, and they (typically) tend to work "strong eyed" meaning they make a lot of eye contact with the stock they're working and compel the stock to move based on that. They make really good sheep dogs because of this, since sheep like to flock and they can move multiple animals by getting one animal on the move that the others will follow. That's instinct, so the handler has to teach the dog how to be subtle about looking at the stock so the dog doesn't spook the sheep, and how to cut either left or right to maneuver the flock to a designated target. The dog should learn by doing which way it needs to swing around a flock to get them to go to the spot, but also be willing and able to take corrections on the fly from the handler if the handler wants to tweak the routine.

Cattle Dogs are (typically) loose eyed herders, meaning they either use little eye contact, or try to avoid it. This is good with large animals like cattle, since eye contact can spook them and the last thing I want is a herd of cows stampeding because Reggie decided to stare at them too strongly. Most "driving" dogs are loose eyed, and are designed to move stock by their position in space relative to the herd, always staying in the blind spot of the herd and applying "pressure" to move them. Reggie has good instinct for this, and will keep between 5 and 7 o'clock on the cows so they can "feel him" but not see him.

So when I work Reggie, I use commands to regulate his distance from the herd so that they move at a speed that I want them to move. If he's getting too close, and they pick up speed, I'll use "wait" to have him stop and crouch until the pressure eases up a little. If he's too far out and they're dawdling, I'll ask him to "walk up" and get a little closer to speed them up. He's still working on some light fetching, which needs to be done if a cow strays off from the herd and needs to be brought back. About 75% of the time he does the right thing and walks in slow to the cow's flank to pressure it back to the rest, but occasionally he just wants to chase a cow and shoots off at it like a bullet. He'll get better with age and experience.

I'm also working on some "strong eyed" herding with him with ducks as the stock, since I think he's smart enough for it. The big commands here are "come by" and "away to me" which means either go clockwise or counterclockwise around the flock. There's also the "get out" command which means move away from the stock at once. I like that one because I'm basically using :frogout:

in a real world setting with a real meaning.

It's hard to get photos of him working since I'm trying to control and photograph at the same time, but I gave him a little practice on a couple of cows in the front pasture this morning.

1) Reggie just got a "wait" command, since he got too hot and the cows started moving too fast.

2) I gave him the "walk up" to move the cows to the gate in the opposite corner of the pasture.

3) Bonus image of Reggie and Big Joe. Big Joe is a newfie friend of Reggie's on our friend's farm. We'd lent them our combine and went to get it back this afternoon.

4) Big Joe managed to get into some serious burdock last week, and instead of picking all the burrs out of him, they just shaved his butt where he'd sat down in them.

EDIT: FunFact - During bear hunting season, Big Joe has to wear an orange hunting vest so that he doesn't get mistaken for a black bear!

Weltlich fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Sep 2, 2015

# ¿ Sep 2, 2015 00:47

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

A good post. That poo poo is cool. I just wonder what dude at what point in time was like "hey let's train/breed these animals to do herding for us!"

So what's the farmer/dog dynamic like? I assume the dog is always with you and a part of the family. I guess what I'm asking is if a farmer didn't like dogs and say just locked him up unless he needed him to work he'd be defiant. I mean of course he'll work better the stronger the bond.

It's not an understatement when I say every border collie tries to herd pup at the beach. I'm not sure what it is; I guess his size. But there are a lot of small dogs. They always bee line it to us, start circling us, and keep nipping him in the back of the neck intermittently herding him to me. He of course has no idea wtf and is terrified

I've found that a close handler/dog relationship is a good thing. Reggie is pretty much my sidekick at this point, and he's really not happy unless he can follow someone around all day. He generally favors me, but he'll follow my wife, or one of my business partners, or anyone who he's decided is a friend. He makes a good jogging dog as well.

My business partner has a Lab and a Bernese Mountain Dog, and they're total porch hounds. They don't really get off of the front porch unless there is food involved or they're asked to come along for a walk. Reggie just assumes that if someone is going out into the farm, he'll be needed, so he tags along. A friend of ours who runs sheep has a Pyrenees that never comes away from the flock, but that dog isn't so much herding the sheep as it is guarding. He actually has to put that dog in the truck when he brings his Australian Sheperd out to herd them, since the Pyrenees will assault the Aussie while it's trying to do its job.

Part of what the border collies is instinct, but I'd put money on them just being jobless dogges. BC's are a breed that NEED a job or heavy mental activity every day to be happy, and if they don't have it, they start inventing work for themselves. Pax is just getting fun policed

Reggie brought the ducks up from the creek for feeding tonight.

# ¿ Sep 2, 2015 01:20

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

When you say they have jobs is it something they simply know how to do or that in addition to knowing when and doing it clockwork without direction

It can be either or both. Some dogs have professional jobs, and that occupies their minds and physical energy, and generally puts them to productive outcomes. (Herding dogs, the celery sniffing beagle at customs, seeing eye dogs, etc.) In this case it's taking instinct and adding layers of training so that the dog can rely on both, and it makes for a job that both the dog and the human finds "satisfying" in the outcome. They know how to do things, and when the proper time to do them is (usually with some direction, but often they just know after enough practice.)

Sometimes herding dogs are very reliant on the handler, though, and are known as "push-button dogs" the dog is well trained, and well disciplined, but it may lack confidence or initiative. In this case, it's a chore for a handler because in addition to doing their work to help move the animals, they're constantly having to micromanage the dog.

And in other cases, working dog breeds have great timing and initiative, but they lack training, so they start to invent their own weird dogge-jobs. This is where you get Border Collies that won't let children out of the living room, or Cattle Dogs that snatch a roll of paper towels off the counter before systematically tearing it into a million thumbnail sized pieces, or Dobermans that adopt a doll and treat it like a real baby.

# ¿ Sep 2, 2015 04:49

Weltlich: Feb 13, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Nostalgia4Dicks posted:

Getting more aggressive with the crate training but he's still not having it. He's getter better, though. Not a fan of that bed I guess

For crates, we found that a memory foam bathmat from Costco was Reggie's favorite crate liner. It's fairly flat, but still squishy and soft. He has one in both his crate in the living room, and in the bedroom, and he treats them like his "dens." He has a big fluffy bed, but he almost never uses it in favor of the crates.

# ¿ Sep 2, 2015 04:52