@Goldenrod off topic but i have had questions smoldering in my head for such a expert as you.
1. can a working dog be trained to not do its primary behavior? a friend had a beagle as a house pet. always had dogs. her father trained their hunting dogs. she spent time every day with this dog. she read and watched videos. this dog was smart, seemed to understand english. it could never heal without the leash. once the leash was let go, it was off beating the bush. not running away, but zigzagging in front of our path.
2. does mixing 2 different types of working dogs create a fucked up dog? another friend got a dog that was half hunting half herding. the dog seems exhibits both behaviors and it seem to confuse her at times. its loved and trained, it just doesnt seem to have capacity to learn much.
All dogs in the world can be trained to do whatever you want them to do. People who say the opposite are wrong.
The dog that doesn't heal when the leash comes off doesn't respect the owner.
Mix breeds, pure bred dogs it does not matter. It will be harder and you may need harsher tools and no I am not cruel to any dog/never hit them ever but hunting dogs can be trained to do heal off leash like a poodle. I had a coonhound rescue and he could spot a cat a mile away but if I said heal he went to my side and wouldn't leave but it was twice as much work as it was with my border collie rescue. It was his nature to chase down small animals.
Dogs come with traits from years of breeding but my Bouvier is a herding dog so when he sees the cows behind us he should run after them but he doesn't because I don't allow it. He will push the boundaries just like any kid would so I set him up, leave him out back and I go inside where I can see him but he doesn't know I can and when he decides fuck you buddy I'm going for it, I yell no, down and he lays down. If that doesn't work, I would use a vibrating collar as a communication device with my voice.
If a dog knows how to sit and it doesn't when you say sit - he/she is basically saying fuck you I don't have to listen to you.
It isn't cruel to have rules and boundaries for dogs, it saves their lives.
With the exception of an odd dog, most dogs want to please you but they are kids and kids will do what they want if you let them. Once a dog learns what you want and there are repercussions for not following those rules they will do it 100% of the time. Bomb proof your dog, I say look and my dogs look at my face and you can shoot a shotgun off or throw balls by them and they will not look away. That took hours of practice with help from people in our classes but it teaches your dog to pay attention to you at all times.
I teach a command place so people can enter the house in peace. He barks and warns someone is there and I say place and he sits on a pillow in the front room. He will sit there for hours unless I release him. That isn't cruel, some people are scared of huge dogs so if that happens he sits or lays on his pillow bed until they leave.
Long answer to a short question - any dog can do what you ask them. Dogs bark and when my dog barks and someone is at the door I am happy and say thank you because it is a deterrent but when I say quiet they stop. This stuff isn't hard to teach any dog once you are taught by someone who knows how to train animals.
If I sound like a Nazi with my dogs I'm not - we walk everyday (mostly my wife does that) and they work for their food like they would in real life, I play with them, they get excellent medical care, top raw food with some orijen kibble and human food mixed in everyday as most dog food is crap, they get attention, and I love them.
A hungry dog is a dog that will work for their food like in the wild, I train my dogs when they are hungry and their reward is food. If they blow me off - they don't get the rest of the food. I would never starve my animals but dogs will be much more motivated to work and be obedient when they are hungry. This is just for the start of training. Later on they just do it because it is second nature. If you don't use you lose it too. So never stop working your animals - making supper, make them down while you cook and then reward them after with a play session and prize treat like liver.
I will shut up now.