Training an NI dog your experiance welcome

As some will know I now have three NI dogs who come training,
After trolling through some sites and threads on dogsey,, I realised there is little info on training these dogs,
or info on what others have achieved with these dogs

I would love to hear what owners are training these dogs to do,
what strong points you feel the breed have, also any problems you have came up against when training,

I dont want this to turn into a battle field, I only want to hear others experiances when training this breed,

thanks x​

Everything has to be a huge amount of fun for them with training, they, my two, become despondent if it becomes to strict.

For me they are not the sort of dog you should ever think you are able to take to a small park and play fetch - outside they are zero toy orientated and are easily distracted by wildlife! Outside also even treats loose their interest - so rather than load myself down with treats and set routine for our walks I load myself with loads of energy and prepare to be a hell of alot of fun.

The best thing for my dogs is to go out with the bike so that I am fast moving regardless of rabbits and deer they follow me everywhere without fail so long as I am their speed.

Best thing for recall with mine is hide and seek, if they think it's a game they will turn on a six pence to come back. If I just stand there call them back for a treat - boring.

The way I have gotten them to come back and break chases of wildlife or interest in other dogs is to show them I simply wont be there when they come back - they are heavily pack orientated and as much as they love to chase they also like to keep their pack in their sight. So as soon as they run off and I want to remind them to pay attention I go out of eyesight - then it's a game for them to find me and also rewarding for them because we are reunited - they don't like to be apart at all - this is what I use to my advantage.

Excercise first rules and regulations second. They mellow with age but with a young NI they will barely be able to focus with excess energy.

Right or wrong I frequently take mine to the forest at night so they can let off steam and be dogs and in general have a free for all where it's safe and away from people it may bother and they are more mellow for me when I want them to be. Inside the home mine are a dream - relaxed and happy to chill out. But I believe they are a dog that does need the ability to behave a little 'crazy' when the time is right.

By far mine are not the most well trained by any means but I don't expect them to be as I could never set a totally well disciplined life style on them, when I find it difficult to follow one myself, so what can I expect. Me and the dogs are all happy so long as we can all be a little wild as and when needed lol.

A big sense of humour - lots of fun and knowing that they just don't really do serious are the key issues.

I speak for my own dogs only.

thanks for that myschievous x

Shila is extremely easy to train her stomach rules her head so as long as i have food all eyes are on me
I have found that I have to keep it all a game, if it becomes to strict she gets bored really easily, they do seem to be all about the fun.
I have also found that i need to keep her mind busy all the time otherwise she gets very bored and has shown some destructive behaviour so I do flyball with her daily But have to change the course constantly to keep her busy
Apart from that she is quite easy to train xx

thanks jem x

Mine are GSD x NI so don't know if they count?

They have both been relatively easy to train, Storm being more responsive than Meeka.

Meeka took a long time to learn that if I called when she was on the tail of a rabbit she had to come back so I changed the recall to a distance down which works everytime.

Don't know how much of this is NI or GSD though so probably not much help

that is a good idea about doing a distance down, I have trouble with Cariad once she is on the trail of something I may as well not be there!!! Lona is really good and responds to leave every time.

No problem. I have to say, everyone else's NI always seem to sound more well behaved than mine - but what do I expect with me as their influence - I love anarchy as much as they do LOL - We just try to look half way well behaved when we need to!

thanks to all who have given there views on this thread, Im sure I will go back often to see what others have done with there NI, Utes and x's of any of those breeds, its hard to find any info on the net really about trainig of the breeds, so thanks again x

My advice is that mine are totally different to each other, even though they are half brother /sister

Talli is very sensible, has excellent recall when I want him back, I don't have to bribe him with food, plays retrieve with his throwing ball and generally is very well behaved and sensible. He does have a high prey drive for rabbits, but comes back when I tell him to. He is a couch potato and loves his sofa.

Sapphire is very active and can be spiteful to Talli (if dogs can be spiteful) She will race him to the throwing ball and go and drop it in the lake, then she will run up and down guarding the bank so he can't get it back. She has ok recall, and is getting better, but will try to outwit you.

They are totally different

LOL Ali.. you could be talking about Freya on the spiteful bit.

My two both attended puppy classes, which used clicker training.. this worked well on both dogs. They are both quite food orientated... but only for something different and tasty

Freya is more obedient than Noah.. She usually does as she`s told immediately... but Noah usually needs to be told more than once.. and sometimes won`t recall.. unless Freya comes back too

Mack is 3/4 Ute and 1/4 GSD so don't know if this will help....


He loves to do things, and be busy, but it has to be FUN, he wants to please you, but has a low boredom threshold

I train with him everyday, but keep sessions short,fun, and do different things with him, he loves searching on a trail, and he is good at it. He does have an excellent nose, this is also a problem if he smells a rabbit
I have trained an emergency sit stay, if I see something before he does, he will respond and wait till I get him, if he sees something and starts to chase, out comes my squeaky Pheasant that is only used on walks , which he loves, and I leg it in the opposite direction, and being a Mummies boy he always come to me.

Basic commands I found him easy to train, sit ,stay, heel, though the word heel never worked?? so I say "back" and he literally will jump back to my side and wait for what to do next,I used positive methods, he loves clicker training, but he does love food;-)

I have found Mack extremely intelligent, he really can work things out by watching you, he can get in to all the cupboards, doors, fridge, he knows when something is up. I have found him more clever than both my GSD and collie.
He could probably do so much more if I had the time TBH.
He loves playing solving games,and using his brain.

I am starting Cani X with him, as he loves to run, but is most definitely not a sled dog

He is a sensitive dog, and wouldn't work getting heavy with him,he loves positive interaction, so I would say make it fun, interesting and constantly change what you do with them. He knows when I say it I mean it, and I give a look rather than yell, and it works everytime


I hope that is some help.
Fun, fun, and more fun, and variety, and keep it a game does that make sense.:?

I have two NIs, both very different. Spike is extremely energetic and excitable whereas Blaze is very laid back and takes the lazy option every time (LOL). Although Blaze had no recall training before I got her four weeks ago (she's 2), she follows me about like a shadow and so far her recall has been 100%. Spike will come back when he sees Blaze doing so - but is much more tempted by playing with other dogs (or given the chance - livestock! Beware!) and doesn't come back as quickly as Blaze.

Spike has no interest in toys and very little in food so the points made earlier about becoming separated and being fun to be with are important ones. He prefers his exercise in short explosive bursts and would rather go for a shorter, faster bike ride than a longer, slower one. Blaze would rather go for a walk and her hips aren't great so I wouldn't cycle with her.

I would say as a rule, they can be easy to train if you are an experienced handler, but not for a first timer. In the right hands they are eager to please although you might have to be a little more resourceful than usual if you are used to food or toy orientated dogs. They are intelligent and versatile but easily distracted and training should be in short, fun sessions.

If dogs were star signs, I would say NIs were like Geminis: always moving from one activity/interest to the next, full of fun, needing company, extremely friendly (might show more interest in meeting the lady at the other end of the field than doing a sit-stay for you) and they are very versatile - NIs seem to do well in a wide variety of dog activities.

thanks guys there are some really similar points to the breed in many of the posts, re: prey drive, poss problems with recall

that said there also seems to be dogs that are at one end of the scale,,,eg really outgoing, or the other kinda lazy, so that helps too,

will keep you posted on how things go with training, if I find a great method,, I will defo share it with you all x

Please note: Although I have said Blaze is laid back and will take the lazy option if poss', I don't think she is particularly fit (I've only had her 4 weeks) and her hips aren't great so these are important things to consider as they may 'skew' the breed traits in her somewhat.

Hi Sally thanks for that,, yup I appreciate the above things could cause her to be more laid back,, that and just honeymoon period too, but having talked to a few multi dog owners of the breed,, I kinda got the impression some show prey drive others dont with no real middle ground, much as it can be in rotties, age of the dogs will also come into it,

x

So my next question, those who do agility with these dog, would they say its helped channel those high drives hence making the dog far more responsive in day to day situations? would you say a high pray drive dog is easyer to recall after this type of training?

the same question for flyball?

the same for obed?
If you have done other types of training such as clicker work or whatever, did you see a rapid improvement

x

Inca is not food orientated at all.
If we are out and I do take a treat she won't eat it.
Her recall is pretty good, honest!.... but her great big pink ears don't work if there is a bee or a beetle or the possibility of a small ant walking in the hedgerow!
She is very prey orientated and has to be kept on lead at bunny time as the field is near a road.

At home doing sit, dow, stay etc she is very good and wags her tail the whole time. She picks thigs up very very quickly but then gets ahead of herself.
So when you say 'sit' she thinks she kows whats coming next and will then lie down and then play dead, whereas Tonto will sit looking at her like she's mad 'coz Mum has't said that yet!'.

She is very willing to please, and as mys says if it's a game it sinks in.

Spike does this too! He quickly picks up on what you USUALLY say next so training sessions do need to be varied.

TBH Shona Mack is only one ,and I have seen huge improvements in his prey drive as he gets older. Don't think it will ever go though.

I use the make yourself the most exciting thing on the planet, and it does work with him, I do also use an emergency down or sit stay, and if I bellow that he knows I mean it


He is very active, but as long as he has a good run and playtime, and some mental stimulation, he is fairly chilled out

I do agility in the garden, nothing major as he is still growing, but I would like to do some in the future. He loves it, haven't done flyball.But he retrieves better than my retriever

He has been clicker trained since day one, and he does love learning new things and tricks, and picks things up very quickly using the clicker.

He has did well at training classes , his obedience is excellent in those situations, it is just if a rabbit ran in front of him, I know I have either jump around like a loony legging it,or bellow down.

I think they are responsive dogs, as long as you find out what makes them tick

I don't know if this helps.