UKC

Anyone have a recomondation of breeds for crag dogs???

In reply to Robbie57:

How about 'Hush'?

In reply to Robbie57:

Border collie. Especially the one that's just woken me up & demanded a walk, which is free to a good home right about now :p

In reply to Robbie57:
Any one from a rescue place that would have been put to sleep otherwise. My border collie cross loves other climbers and being at the crag but more important is how we got her.

In reply to Robbie57: My collie sits patiently at the bottom of the crag while I climb. That said, if there's another dog he'll just want to play.

You can get any dog to be a good crag dog with good training. there are probably a few exceptions - but the key is just training

In reply to Robbie57: I have a Kelpie x Collie and she is great now she's nearly 5. Last couple of years I have worked from leaving her outside a shop not tied up to leaving her at the bottom of multi-pitch crags and I have no worries about her going more than a few feet from the bags or chasing livestock.

Kelpie = old collie bred with dingo by early Aussie settlers.

Here she is at 6 month's with her mum (the pure Kelpie - which are a breed worth looking at too)

youtube.com/watch?v=miQe1u0Ngcs&

BW

In reply to Robbie57: My collie gets bored out of her pants at the bottom of a crag which unfortunately leads to general loopyness and mischievousness.

In reply to Robbie57:

You'll no doubt be aware of this but it's worth planning *when* you get your dog, to give yourself the maximum chance of him/her being old enough (and sufficiently well trained!) to come to the crag with you - for instance, if you get your dog in October then you've got the winter to work on training.

I agree with the comment that any well-trained dog can be a good crag dog. I'll be finding out about pointers in this regard come summer...

In reply to Tall Clare: its quite easy really. when mine was a pup we took him everywhere to get him used to people, different places and most importantly - other dogs. all the while, whenever he behaved in a particular way we liked he got a treat and lots of praise. Now when he goes out he's alaways excited to meet people and dogs. though he's recently started randomly barking at people with hats or hoods which I need to sort out.

The biggest problem with collies is the instinct to give chase to anything not human or canine (though he always wants to play with these), in particular sheep. we were advised to just avoid them as much as possible and work on call back training. this has worked so far but it's a bit impractical when I go running for instance as Its not always safe for me to have him on a lead - he can run A LOT faster than me!

in summary - introduce them to as many dogs, people, experiences as possible. praise and treat ALL good behaviour, ignore the rest though dn't be frightened to use your voice to scare them from doing something they shouldn't, like stealing someone's blueberry muffin at the crag! (true story)

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Agreed - but the OP getting a puppy in, say, April, means it could well not be ready to go to the crag with him before the autumn, unless he's with others who can help to keep an eye on it.