Tane showed up at Waikanae SPCA a few weeks ago. I actually met him the first day he arrived so he was quite worried and paced around, wouldn’t take any treats I offered him and cried a little as he explored his new temporary home.

Still, as I sat and watched him pace and sniff, he would occasionally shuffle up next to me, give me a nose nudge and a quick lean. Then he would be off again.

A week later he was a much more relaxed dog. He had settled into his new routine and felt comfortable with the other dogs. He actually seemed to have some sort of calming affect on the other younger dogs, (although Tane is only 1 year old).

To start some training I introduced Tane to the clicker and as he realize that the click was related to what he was doing, he started to offer me, not sits, but downs! In fact I have never met a dog who is so enamoured of the ‘down’ position! If you ask for a sit you get a down, target?- down, focus?-down. And not some lazy down either but a full fledged obedience, attention giving, solid, I won;t move unless I am hit by a car DOWN.

Over the last few weeks We have worked on a few new behaviors, like sit. Tane still offers a ‘down’ first, but then has learned to fix himself by sitting up from the down position, as of yet he has not mastered the art of sitting form a standing position! Although he has learned a focused eye contact (very good at this being a herding dog breed) and a pretty solid ‘target’ cue which has helped him learn to follow a hand signal and lure.

So, if you are looking for a smart, sweet, cuddly dog, who gets along well with other dogs (I have a feeling he would be very gentle with children) AND you really like a dog to LAY DOWN, then this is absolutely the right dog for you.