Remember that Beardies were bred to herd: that is, the
dog is pre-wired to chase things. If the
“thing” being chased is a sheep or cow, usually that’s not too bad for a
Beardie. If the “thing” is a car,
however, the Beardie generally loses.
Although I’ve not compiled any specific statistics, I’m fairly sure that
the leading cause of non-disease-related deaths in Beardies is being hit by a
car.
So please keep in mind that especially for “escape artists”
or noise sensitive Beardies, you need to be alert to prevent them from getting
into traffic.
Another fall-out from this herding instinct is that once
your Beardie has concluded that you are its master, it will try to make sure
that any objects running around your property are properly grouped and
controlled for you. The “objects” can be
other dogs, cats, or small children.
Over the years I’ve placed many rescued Beardies in new
homes, and the only case where I had a dog returned to me was a home that had a
couple of children under 6 years of age.
As I recall, the children were playing in a tent they had built for
themselves in the back yard, and the Beardie had planted herself across the
entrance to the tent refusing to let the kids out. The kids were terrified, and the parents were
understandably concerned: the dog was
growling after all. I took the dog back
and found another good home for it (one without young children), but this was a
case where the dog was just herding the flock for the master, and no real
aggression was involved.
If you have a chance and the interest, you might enjoy
taking your Beardie for herding instinct testing. There, your Beardie is put in a pen with a
few sheep or ducks, and an experienced observer watches the behavior. It is really amazing to see a Beardie that
has never seen any sort of farm animal to suddenly “turn on” and exhibit the
behaviors which --- when properly trained and channeled --- would make the
Beardie an excellent herding dog.
These instinct tests are offered by many herding clubs and
regional Beardie clubs, so keep your eye open for them. You should probably wait until your Beardie
is at least 18 months old before trying such a test. Also, you should be prepared to try the test
at least two or three times. Sometimes,
a young Beardie can be so overwhelmed by the experience of getting out that any
herding instinct present would be masked by the anxiety. Give your Beardie at least three chances
before concluding whether the herding instinct is present. There are some Beardies that will never
exhibit this type of behavior, but they are still great companions,
nonetheless.