I really do not understand what some people are thinking with dogs either.

I just recently adopted a wonderful Cattledog/heeler X Border collie and ran across a women who came up to meet her (we were shopping for new doggie goodies) saying she also had a heeler, weren't they wonderful, etc. I mentioned that she had exhibited some herding behavior including the nipping heelers are known for with another dog and (being excited to meet an "experienced" heeler owner) asked what she'd done to curb the behavior or "program an off switch" at least around humans.

She looked at me in this horrified manner and said essentially "you can't train it out of them, it's what they are bred to do" and then mentioned that hers routinely BIT her CHILDREN while "herding" them .

Ok lady, I understand the first point, but certainly you can set boundaries, and biting a human (genetically programed or not, which it isn't) is one of those boundaries. She then went on to tell me that I shouldn't have adopted a heeler if I didn't want to deal with herding... RIGHT LADY... I don't mind her herding, but I still want her to "leave it" and "come" and "down" when told, regardless of what she's doing at the time or what her genetics are and I certainly don't want her biting because she was "herding" a human!!!

Luckily she has limited her herding to other dogs to this point and is making consistent progress on the command obeying in all circumstances (still have a way to go before it's all circumstances, and when she's in "herd" mode is still one of the problem areas, but we are getting there).

Some people.