But instinct does not guarantee an excellent working dog. Genes only go so far, the rest must be accomplished with intense training. I would venture to say that not a professional out there has had a Border Collie that they could turn loose and it herded sheep naturally, like my story above. It takes hard work and months of training to get a top notch working dog. Genes will never accomplish it alone.
Genes are the basis for it all though.
It is all about genetic potential . A trait may be absolutely 100 percent inherited but without the environment to express it, it will never show. Not to say that it isn't there. If you don't feed your kids enough food, they won't grow up to be tall not matter what. But then again, without tall genes they won't grow up to be seven feet no matter how much you feed them.