Anyone who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.
Franklin P. Jones
We’re Pandora and Diane.
Pandora is an Australian Cattle Dog (with an 1/8th of Border Collie thrown in the mix) and she was born February 3, 2020. She came into our hearts on March 24th and into our home on March 28th.
Interesting tidbit, Australian Cattle Dogs (ACD) are also known as Queensland Heelers, Blue Heelers (if they are mostly white and blue/black), and Red Heelers (if they are mostly red/brown and white).
I’m Diane, and I’m somewhere in the mid-point of life. I’ve raised a horde of boys and they’ve all grown up into fine men (that statement is completely, wholeheartedly biased). Now I’m trying to raise a fine young girl of the canine species. It’s not as easy.
No matter how I word my searches, Google just will not confirm my suspicions that ACDs are difficult to train. When I complain to my husband, he uses his standard line, “it might be user error.” Hmpf!
Hence the beginning of this website. I aim to share the struggle joys of training. You will find the information that we’ve learned to further our progress. You’ll also get an idea of possible setbacks and what to expect when those happen. They do happen. We are in the midst of a setback as I write this page.
Basically, we hope to give you realistic insights, pass along information that has helped us, and give that clear picture of what’s it’s really like training a dog when you’ve never done it before.
We also hope you’ll share tips that have worked for you and that you’ll share your struggles. In this way we can learn from you and vice versa…or we can at least commiserate and figure it out together.
At the end of the day, we want everyone to know that most days are enjoyable, some are a struggle, but every day is worth it and we’ll all get through the wild puppy stages.
I’ve seen a look in dogs’ eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that dogs think humans are nuts.
John Steinbeck