It's fun to work with a dog who has fun doing what you're asking it to do.

But a lot of ESS don't have as much fun in obedience as they might and don't continue as far as they could go because many trainers try to train all dogs the way you can train the dogs who are willing to becoming robots.

ESS learn quickly and bore quickly.  They usually see little point to endless repetition.  After the 3rd recall, they start thinking.  You called, they came.  You called, they came.  You called, they came.  Hmm.  Maybe you want them to come faster, slower, before you call, to finish without command, not to sit.  There must be some reason you keep asking them to do the same thing again.  A lot of obedience problems, such as lagging, are caused by training overkill.

Some breeds, such as retrievers, seem to thrive on taking direction and being repetitive.  That's a characteristic selected for that fits the kind of work they're expected to do in the field.  ESS, on the other hand, are expected to show a lot of initiative and independent thinking in their  work.  To expect them to act like robots then in obedience seems to me inappropriate.

Some people in obedience choose to polish their dog's performance so they can earn high scores.  Others, even though some trainers can't believe it, are satisfied with - or even prefer instead a happy, dependable performance and are willing to accept less precision.  Unfortunately, because many of  those people are never encouraged to show in obedience - "because they're not ready yet" - the breed loses out on lots of titled novice dogs - and on dogs and owners who would probably have had a ball in Open and Utility where they get to finally do  some doggy-fun things.

This follow-up was written by Marah Bolden:

I agree completely with Henriette on the obedience. When I started training, I had a Weimaraner; he loved the regimentation and so-called German methods of training in those days (50's). Repetition meant a chance to show he could do it better. The standard poodle loved it all also but with a gentler hand. Both these dogs were in the ribbons, high scoring dogs. The Lhasa Apsos I trained taught me patience and that perfection is not everyone's "thing". Then we got our first ESS. She was to become a wonderful hunting companion, a champion, a CD. She said, "I know you'll love me in the end, so if you want to do those precise corners, sits, etc. feel free, I'll just sit here and watch." She was trained on a buckle collar as was her son. It is so boring to have to sit straight each time, I should be happy for a sit. This, 'you'll love me in the end' routine has been waved at me by many ESS. Followed by the, 'feel free, etc. don't let me stop you from walking around' look I have become familiar with.

About this time (60's) we began to realize that some dogs were more predisposed to obedience than others. I think that in ESS language this means they are even smarter (sometimes a horrifying thought).

These dogs take less work to train and want to learn. This means faster training/exhibiting to get that boring CD. It means practice for only 5 min. a few times a week; none of this daily stuff my first dogs thrived on. It also means going to a class where the ego of the trainer/teacher is not tied to the dogs in his/her class. Some trainers/clubs like to brag about how many dogs placed in trials. How many times have we heard, "Your dog isn't ready for trials yet" only to find the dog somehow is never ready.

At one point some people used to train dogs thru open and into utility, then begin to exhibit in novice. They felt the dogs were not as bored.

How much nicer (in class) and more inclusive to talk about the legs; forget the scores. The main purpose of training is to have a well behaved lady or gentleman doggy. Also dogs love the challenge of learning.

And remember, every dog learns differently. One method does not fit all. When I started Reynolds <English Import - Navale Evening Shade, CD> , he loved it, but his method of learning so different from all the other dogs and breeds I have trained. He is really fast! I think Mark finds this with Logan <Alden’s sire> also. Throw that dumbell out there and these guys go right out to fetch  it. Show them the jump, give a quick demo and that's done. Where the  boredom enters in is do you want the jumping to be a certain way; are you going to fuss so on the sit of the returning dog that it is not fun to do the rest of it.

So the dog does an automatic finish; I also practice doing a finish from the heel position; this counts as a crooked sit and the finish is fine (sorta, may have another crooked sit there) but the points lost not as great.

The best thing with a happy dog is the bystander comment, "Your dog wags his/her tail all the time. He/she must be having a great time."